I’m a little behind schedule with posting entries about Esther, so I’m kinda going to hit on both chapters 3 and 4 in this one.
As I was reading through chapter 3, the date of the writing of Haman’s edict jumped out at me: the 13th day of the first month. This may not mean much to you, but we studied the Feasts of the LORD during the devotion time at rehearsals for the Easter show. We spent most of our time on Passover… Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of the first month. So if the edict was written on the 13th day (the day before Passover) and “the couriers went out hurriedly” (v.15), wouldn’t it make sense that the Jews living right there in the city of Susa would have been hearing this edict as they were preparing for the Passover feast? Can you imagine how they must have reacted? Here they are, about to celebrate their deliverance from slavery, and they find out they will be annihilated.
Then I read through chapter 4, and Mordecai’s words to Esther in verse 14 stood out to me. When she says (essentially) that her hands are tied, Mordecai confidently explains that “relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place” if she doesn’t act. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the proximity of the edict to Passover influenced his faith. Did he think back to the time when Moses (a former member of Pharaoh’s household) came wandering back in from the dessert to deliver God’s people from Pharaoh’s hand? His words indicate a faith in God to provide a deliverer even from the most unlikely place. Mordecai also recognizes that God will accomplish His purpose
with or without our help.
If I’m completely honest with myself, I think I’m most often like Esther in the beginning of chapter 4. I look at so many situations and think about how it’s impossible for me to do anything because of the risks involved with taking action. I think Mordecai’s exhortation– “and who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this”– is such a powerful encouragement. If God has me placed in a certain position for a certain time, would it not logically follow that He would be working behind the scenes so I could accomplish the purpose He had set out for me? And can I be so arrogant as to hold my comfort, my security, even my life as more important than the purpose and glory of God Almighty? I pray that I would have Mordecai’s faith in God to accomplish His purpose and Esther’s humility of spirit to say “… and if I perish, I perish” (v.16)
