Esther I - "For Such a Time as This"

Esther 1-4

For the next three days, you will be reading the story of Esther. While there have been other female leaders in the Bible (egs. Miriam the sister of Moses and Deborah the prophetess in the time of the Judges) and another with a book named after her (Ruth), Esther raises some unique leadership issues and thoughts about spiritual gifts. But what a story. It’s like reading the latest episode of the latest reality TV show or soap opera. For that reason, along with its lack of references to God,many throughout Jewish and Christian history wonder why it is in the Bible at all. Had it not been connected to an annual feast of the Jewish faith (Purim), it might not have made it. The festival of Purim will be held this year from sundown, February 27th to sundown March 1st (the date varies from year to year). During those days, devout Jews will do the following:

1. Listen to the public reading, usually in synagogue, of the Book of Esther in the evening and again in the following morning (k'riat megilla)
2. Sending food gifts to friends (mishloach manot)
3. Giving charity to the poor (matanot la'evyonim)
4. Eating a festive meal (se`udah)

Chapter 1 – “Power Issues”
George H. Bush, our 41st president, spoke to a group in El Paso and said, “Just after I became president, I was sharing with Barbara what a great opportunity it was to be the ruler of the free world and what I hoped to accomplish.” She said, “Oh, ruler of the world, pour the coffee!” The power and presumption of King Xerxes is nearly laughable. In American culture, we know exactly why Queen Vashti wouldn’t be lorded over by a drunk in public. What’s even more absurd is the conversations of his assistants who are afraid that Vashti’s lack of cooperation would set off an epidemic among all the wives of the leaders – “There will be no end of disrespect and discord.” (Esther 1:18) The deposing of Vashti was to have the following goal, “All the women will respect their husbands from the least to the greatest.” (1:20) Isn’t it interesting how people with power and responsibility tend to globalize? I’ve seen it in more than a few church meetings.

Chapter 2 – “The Search for a Queen”
It is hard for us to understand such a different world, in which a king gathers the most beautiful women into his harem in hopes of finding a new wife (each getting new wardrobes and “beauty treatments”). Much like Moses the Jew ended up being raised in the palace of Pharaoh, Esther ends up as one of the beautiful ones chosen for the harem and brought to the Persian palace. So Esther the Jew (her ethnicity unknown to the king) became Vashti’s replacement as queen.

It just so happens that “father” Mordecai (who had taken in Esther as his daughter because of the death of her parents) gains favor of the king, by exposing the plot to assassinate the king.

Chapter 3 – “Haman’s Plot”
Those of us with a sense of history see this plot as a pattern of history – the attempt to kill the babies by Pharaoh, the subjugation and massacre of those in the kingdoms of Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians, the massacre by Herod in Matthew 2, and right up to the Hitler concentration camps and plans for extermination by Mideast rivals even today. The same advisors who called for the disposition of Vashti, now with Haman’s leadership call for the extermination of the Jews. I can’t help but see here what happens when groups gather and create what Reinhold Niebuhr called “collective egoism”, a group selfishness and distortion that allows for dehumanization and even destruction of those who are different or are perceived as a threat. The sin of a group is often more than the sum of the sinfulness of the individuals involved. If you have ever been a part of a group that ended up doing more harm than you thought they would, you understand this dynamic. The contemporary example is when crowds riot, but there are many other situations that carry out the sin of collective egoism. This one, too, has wounded and destroyed churches by the thousands.

This bring up a leadership issue. King Xerxes does not seem to show the gift of discernment, nor has he sufficiently seen the corruption in the motives of his advisors. Very sincere people can do great damage with misdirected passion and misinformation. Haman, is the classic example of this, as we will see later.

Chapter 4 – “The Times of Our Lives”
Just as Moses had been planted in the palace to deliver the Jews from bondage, now in what seems to be very impure processes, Esther has been planted to spare her people from extinction. Let’s reflect a moment on the plan of God in the ordinary and even “impure” circumstances and decisions of our lives. The Old Testament never apologizes for God being able to use the deceit of the patriarchs in Genesis and there is no apology here, either. I was taught a long time ago that God uses us for His purposes, sometimes working with and in us and sometimes working in spite of us. If we’re honest, we know that to be true for us all.

But Esther is also learning about “time.” Most of us think of chronological time: days, weeks, months, years, hours, minutes. But there is another time, what the bible calls “Kairos”, in which things come together and God moves. It is more about timing than time. Each of our lives have chronological and kairos moments. Esther was in place “for such a time as this.” But even Mordecai qualifies that with “who knows”, “perhaps” or “maybe.” In the present, it can be very hard to assess timing. Is it the right time to do such and such? Are the people ready? Is the funding there? Do I feel the sense of God’s Spirit in it?

The gift of faith shows up in Esther in the end of chapter 4. She sees what is before her and calls for a three day fast and then she would approach the king. She then says, “If I perish, I perish.” She lives at the whim of the king, so the risk is real. This reminds me of the commitment of Jesus when it says, “He set his face to Jerusalem,” knowing the crucifixion was going to be the likely if not certain result. Paul would do the same thing later. Faith, at least at times, means living at the edge of risk. The gift of faith from the Spirit is often what gives us that confidence. But I have a question for you.

How do we know the difference between bold risky faith as a gift of the Spirit and mindless presumption?

I welcome your comments.