“And he (Mordecai) brought up Hadassah, that is Ester, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful.” Ester 2:7
Scripture admonishes us to not despise the day of small things, for it is in and through those small, apparently insignificant things, that God works most wonderfully. Such was the case with a little maid whose name was Ester, and the deliverance of an entire people, or the nation of Israel, while in captivity during the reign of Ahasuerus, king of Persian and Media.
The enemy of our souls, and all believers, conceived a devilish plot to kill all the Jews in the Persian empire. His means was the choosing of a man, whose lineage dated back to the days when Israel was fleeing Egypt. As they fled, they were attacked by Amalek, and his people. The attack was such a defiant, and devilish act by such a godless race that after Joshua, with the intercession by Moses, had defeated Amalek, the Lord declared: “I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:14) Scripture then declares, “…the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (v.16) Many years later, Samuel would kill the king of the Amalekites, who had ravaged and killed many Israelites. His name was Agag. The man that Satan would use in Ester’s day, to seek the total destruction of Israel, would be named Haman. He was a descendant from Agag, an Agagite, the Jew’s enemy.
In the story of Ester, we find Haman being elevated to a position of authority in the kingdom, with the power to ask the king to destroy all the Jews, in one day. This effort was far-reaching, in that the kingdom at that time extended from India to Ethiopia. Haman’s desire was to kill all the Jews, every man, woman, and child. Once he received the written permission by the king, with the king’s seal of approval, what could ever be done to thwart such a heinous endeavor? The answer would lie in God’s sovereign work through Ester’s uncle, and Ester herself, who had been elevated to become queen.
Mordecai had raised Ester, as her parents had died. She had become queen because of the favor that God gave her in the eyes of both king and court alike. It would be only when learning of Haman’s plot, and being faced with Mordecai’s unmovable stance, humbling himself before God and praying, along with all the Jews, that Ester is brought to the pivotal point of her existence, that of seeking God, and finding Him, for wisdom, grace, and mercy, to appeal to the king for her people. She had not yet revealed to the king that she was Jewish, as Mordecai had instructed.
God would work in a wondrous way prior to Haman coming to power, and this by Mordecai learning of a plot against the king’s life which was averted. However the king did not remember this, although the account of Mordecai’s action was written down in the book of the chronicles. Returning to Ester, after she realized that she had indeed been put into a position by God, to be instrumental in the saving of the people, accepting to perhaps perish, losing her life, she determined to come before the king, into the king’s court, without an invitation. She requested prayer by the people and Mordecai, as this was a dangerous thing to do. The king had only to not extent his golden scepter, and she would be killed. However, he did accept her, responding to her requests for Haman and the king to come to a banquet she had prepared. This she did twice, only to present to the king the second time the following declaration: “For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish.” (7:4) She would then name wicked Haman as the adversary and enemy. It is then, in the space of a few seconds, that God’s deliverance comes for all the people by one woman.
Dear Father, Sovereignly work through us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.