The Queen Who Chose to Be a Servant

Esther was a great woman. Her greatness did not come from prestige or riches, nor did it come from her beauty or personality. The source of her greatness was her simple willingness to do all that her Lord commanded her to do. God honored Esther in such wonderful ways only because she placed herself in the position to be an instrument to Him. She is the central figure of a marvelous story, a true story full of beauty and glory to God.

The story of Esther took place after the captivity of Judah and during the time of their restoration. Judah was first captured by Babylon, and Babylon was then overthrown by Persia. Therefore, Persia was the world power at this time, controlling a total of one hundred twenty-seven provinces. These provinces spanned from Ethiopia to India. The Biblical period of the book of Esther is between those of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem had been completed under the leadership of Ezra but the walls of the city had not yet been rebuilt under Nehemiah's direction.

God placed Judah in captivity because of their rebellion against His laws and His prophets. Although He allowed them to return after seventy years of judgment, they did not even desire to do so. They were content to remain where they were, having little to do with the LORD their God and His righteous laws. It would seem that God would chastise them yet again in order to drive them back to their homeland, but we see from this story and others during this period that God was merciful to them; He loved His people with “an everlasting love.” (Jer. 31:3)

It was during this time that an enemy of the Jews, a man named Haman, sought to utterly destroy God's chosen people.  Though they were completely undeserving of His mercy, God rose up a deliverer to save them from certain destruction. Through the amazing story of a woman named Esther, we see God’s marvelous mercy and kindness toward His sinning people. It is also worth mentioning that, although the name of God does not once appear throughout this account, His hand can be traced through even the most minute of circumstances.

In the third year of his reign, King Ahasuerus prepared a grand, elaborate feast for all the nobles of the many provinces under his rule. For one hundred eighty days, he showed them the majesty and splendor of his kingdom, the empire of the known world. It was as this extended event was coming to a close that a week-long feast was taking place in the beautiful court of the king's palace, all bedecked with stunning tapestries, marble pillars, and golden vessels. The queen, Vashti, prepared a seperate feast for the royal women.

On the final day of this celebration, when King Ahasuerus was drunk with wine, he commanded that the queen be brought to him wearing her most stunning royal apparel. Queen Vashti refused. The princes and chamberlains were stunned. King Ahasuerus was in a rage. After some heated discussion with his counselors, the king commanded that Vashti be unceremoniously dethroned and that another more deserving queen be sought.

The rightness of Vashti's rebellion has been debated; we will not discuss that here. Remarkably, however, we see that God made a way for a deliverer for His people through this occurrence. A royal “beauty contest” was announced.  Maidens from all across Persia and its many provinces were brought to Shushan the palace, perhaps against their will, for the purpose of selecting a new queen of the Persian empire. For an entire year, these women underwent extensive treatments for the outward and inward purifying of their bodies.

Among the many women in the palace was a young woman named Esther.

"And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." (Esther 2:17) Of all the hundreds or even thousands of women present, a simple Jewish maiden, having no position or wealth, was chosen.  It was not that Esther simply happened to please the king above all the other women.  Proverbs tells us, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it withersoever ever he will.” (Prov. 21:1) God, according to His merciful plan, allowed Esther, a simple, Godly Jewish girl, to be crowned queen of all Persia and its one hundred twenty-seven provinces.

It was no accident that God chose Esther to be the deliverer of His people. God chose Esther because He knew what was in her heart: submission to His will. This was the truly remarkable thing about Esther and the most important lesson we can learn from her. Her submission to God's plan of deliverance was what the entire race of her people hung upon. Obedience is absolutely crucial. Would the Lord have chosen a young lady with a reputation of trusting her own judgment, doing her own thing, and ignoring the inevitable consequences of  life's decisions?

God knew exactly what kind of instrument He needed, and He saw exactly that in Esther. However, Esther's attitude did not develop on its own. Submission was something that Esther worked to instill in herself since the time she was a young girl. Esther 2:20 tells us, "Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him." When Esther was a child under the care and authority of her cousin Mordecai, she made it her pattern to obey him. But, even though she was now the most powerful woman in the world, she realized that nothing had changed in her relationship with Mordecai. He was still her authority. She acknowledged his wisdom and submitted herself to his leadership, and she realized that by doing so, she was submitting herself to God.

Esther realized that God’s commands are given through authorities. Mordecai had good reason to tell Esther that she must not let anyone know that she was a Jew. The commandment was for her own good and for the good of her people. Esther willingly placed herself under Mordecai's good judgment, just as she did throughout her years under his care and guidance, because she knew it was the right thing to do.

It was because Esther had learned to respect and obey the authorities in her life that she was able to submit herself so completely to God's plan. If she had grown up as a rebel, she could not possibly have come to the crucial point in her life and have chosen to obey God's plan. It would have been impossible for God to use her if she was willful and stubborn. An attitude of submission does not happen overnight, and such was certainly not true for Esther. Saying yes to the right thing was natural for Esther because she made it her pattern to obey in the simple, unimportant, day-to-day circumstances of her life. She chose to submit her will and her ideas to her cousin's wise judgment, and she did whatever he told her to do with a joyful readiness of heart. This is the truly remarkable thing about Esther: she was given a Godly heritage and, because she was appreciative, she placed herself in a position to be used of God to deliver her people.

Esther had a heart for God. That sounds like such a simple thing, but it is most certainly not. When a girl has a heart for God it transforms everything in her life, and others can see the difference. During the years 1904-1905, the great Welsh Revival took place. It was a time of salvation and spiritual renewal that swept across the entire country, resulting in 150,000 souls being saved, lives being transformed, lifestyles changed, homes healed, and churches being on fire for the Word of God. I have read that while God was working in many hearts and many churches throughout the country, what truly stirred hearts during the beginning of the revival was the testimony of one young girl as she stood in church and said with a trembling voice, "I love the Lord Jesus with all of my heart." They were not empty words, but the testimony to the fact that she had made a decision to surrender her everything to the Lord.

God can use a girl that has a heart for Him and is unafraid to make it known. When a girl shows by her simple walk with the Lord and the joy in her eyes that comes from knowing Him, others are motivated to do as Lamentations 3:40-41 says, "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." This is what it means to have a heart for God. It means to completely give ownership of your life to the Lord, live accordingly, and find absolute joy in doing so!

Esther sought God’s will for her life. In the amazing account of Esther’s life, we see again and again that she surrendered her life up to God’s will. She made wise decisions based upon what she knew was pleasing to the Lord. The perfect flow of the plot expresses that she did not strive against His plan. The book of Esther might have had a very different ending had Esther sought to advance her own will, and she certainly could have done that with the power she had as queen. We see, though, that she chose to view her life in the scheme of things rather than living selfishly.

Esther is a great example of a woman of prayer and dependence upon God. When she learned of the decree of her people’s destruction, her first response was prayer and fasting. She lived in prayer; she knew that without God she was nothing and could do nothing. When she reached her crucial point of facing possible death before the king, she cried out to the Lord. Esther said, “If I perish, I perish.” Placing her life in God’s hands, she depended upon Him for her own deliverance. She was willing to sacrifice her life if it meant sparing the lives of her people. Esther realized that God had a purpose for placing her in such a blessed position and that He had a plan greater than what she feared might happen. 

Esther was a real woman with real feelings and dreams, just like any other woman living today. She probably never imagined that her life would come to what it did. She probably felt like she had absolutely no control over what happened to her life. However, God placed Esther in a very blessed position and she accepted it -- joyfully! Esther showed through her testimony that she fully realized and accepted God’s purpose for her life as queen of Persia. She chose to trust Him and to obey His will regardless of what it might cost her.

There came a day in the palace of Shushan when wicked Haman, newly promoted chief of the princes, sauntered pompously through the king's gate where all of the king's servants were performing their business. The very moment these men caught a glimpse of important Haman, they abased themselves at his feet, for such was the royal commandment. However, there was one man who did not bow. As a nervous hush spread across the courtyard, in the midst of prostrate men Mordecai stood straight and tall with a holy gleam in his eye. Now, Haman was surely irate but it seems he allowed this silent resistance to pass unrequited for some time. Day after day Haman marched vaingloriously by; day after day Mordecai vowed he would bow to no one but the LORD his God. Haman could stand no more! His wrath simmered until it at last boiled over. He schemed and stewed, seeking the most satisfying means of destroying his enemy. To punish Mordecai alone would be too simple. Haman loathed Mordecai's entire God-fearing race. He would not rest until every last one of them had been utterly annihilated.

Pouting Haman brought his complaint before the king. He did not name the Jews specifically but described them as a lawless, rebellious people deserving of death. He slandered them in the worst way possible. Haman wanted God’s people destroyed so desperately that he was even willing to lose money in order for it to happen. Proverbs 17:23 describes Haman well: “A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.” Haman, with his slander and bribery, convinced the king to pass a law that would have the Jews destroyed. Then Haman and the king sat down to drink and have a victory banquet. Smugly, Haman imagined Mordecai's response to the news. He will be groveling at my feet and begging for mercy! he exulted.

Letters were sent by post to every province, commanding that every Jew be put to death on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. No one would escape. Can you imagine the terror that filled the souls of these poor, defenseless people? What went through their minds? Did they cling to hope, or did they, in their few remaining days, make preparations for the end? Cherishing moments with their families. Reconciling with enemies. Returning to the Lord. Yes, the Jews knew that they had sinned against the LORD their God by refusing to walk in His ways. "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." (Lam. 3:40-41) I believe they cried out to God and turned back to Him with their whole hearts. I believe God, in His mercy, used this terrible experience to draw His people back to Himself and create revival, knowing that in the end He would work all things together for good.

We can see a wondrous parallel in the book of Esther to the lost condition of man's never-dying soul. The Jewish people were appointed to die but God did not want them to die. He had a plan to bring salvation to those doomed to certain death. The decree of death went throughout the whole known world and no one would escape. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). All are under the decree of eternal death in Hell, the just judgment for sin. But God wants all men to be saved. He sent His precious Son to take away the sin of the world. All the horrific wrath and judgment of God over sin was poured upon the spotless Lamb of God. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Heb. 2:9) God "commandeth all men everywhere to repent." (Acts 17:30) The Lord "will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:4)

God so loves everyone under this decree of death and He is working out a plan to deliver them, a marvelous plan called the Great Commission. A hymn by John M. McCaleb says, “Where sin has gone, must go His grace; the Gospel is for all.” Oh, how can it be? If we are worthy of anything, we are worthy of death! No one escapes the dreaded decree, but neither does anyone escape the love of God. All we must do is ask Him for the gift of eternal life. He will turn no one away. All means all. Whosoever means whosoever. It means just what it says! Praise His Name, He rose up a Deliverer for us!

God placed Esther in a blessed position. She was in a high place but that did not mean she was exempt from the decree of death. Esther had a choice to make: she could plead for her people and perhaps perish, or she could remain silent and refuse to be used of God. God could very well have raised up another deliverer in her place. But Mordecai brought to her attention, “You are come to the kingdom for such a time as this.” Mordecai said, "Esther, you are not the queen of Persia by coincidence. It wasn't just because of your good luck or your good looks that you put in this position!" Overnight, Esther went from being a nobody to being the most powerful woman in the world. She had everything, but God did not give her those blessings for her personal comfort and pleasure. He gave her that place of privilege for His divine purpose: the salvation of those who were appointed to die.

We, as children of God, are in a very blessed position. We are saved and given assurance of that salvation! It is an unspeakable blessing to be saved and to have sins forgiven and to have a home in Heaven and to know God! Don't you remember? He brought us up out of an horrible pit! At one time, all we knew was hopelessness and shame. Now we experience hope and glory and life -- and that abundantly! We’re blessed that we have the the King James Holy Bible, the inspired and preserved Word of God. Over half the world does not have the Bible. I have heard it said that we need to cherish and read and study the Bible like it’s the only book God ever wrote. (Ponder that for a while and you will realize just how precious it is!)

Why does God give us all these blessings? Just so we can hoard them? Just so we can get fat off of His goodness? No, God blesses us so that we can extend those same blessings to other needy people. God gives us a Savior, a Bible, and all spiritual riches so that we can tell a lost and dying world about Jesus Christ the only Savior. Millions upon millions of never-dying souls are under the decree of death, all of whom God longs to save. It is up to us to tell them!

Esther had a burden for her people to be saved. How can I endure to do nothing, when I know on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, all my people will be slain? Esther sought God's face and cried out to Him. She and the Jews fasted and prayed for three days, crying out to God to deliver them from the destruction that was so absolutely certain. And, as they prayed, God worked in the hearts of two people: Esther and Mordecai.

Mordecai knew what Esther must do. He said “that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.” (Esther 4:8) For Esther to go before the king uninvited meant certain execution! It was impossible! But it was the only way. However did Esther manage to surrender so completely at this crucial moment? What an intense struggle in must have been!

But no, I really don't think so. I don't think it was difficult choice for her. We know that before, when Mordecai told her not to tell her people and kindred, she simply did what he said. It was true that now circumstances were very different. Obeying Mordecai meant risking her life! However, Esther realized that God reveals His will through authorities. She knew that this was what the Lord wanted her to do, that it was the only thing she could do to save her people. This was the very reason she was placed in this blessed position. So, once again she chose to obey. She asked no questions, nor was she ruled by fear when she knew that her obedience required possible death. Esther made the courageous choice to heed Mordecai’s instructions.

"If I perish, I perish." She decided that she was going to obey God's will. She counted the cost, she knew the price she might have to pay, and she was willing.

The hour of decision came at last. On the third day, Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court before the king, uninvited. “And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.” (Esther 5:2) Once again, the LORD marvelously turned the king’s heart according to His will, and Esther was delivered from the decree of execution. As Esther stood before King Ahasuerus, she asked the king and Haman to come to a feast that she would prepare. She did not plead for her people at this time but chose to wait until the very best moment, as the Lord directed her.

After two days of feasting, the king asked Esther, "What is thy petition, queen Esther?"

Then Esther the queen answered and said, "If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage."

Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, "Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?"

And Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. (Esther 7:2-6)

At the right time, Esther told the king of her kindred and pleaded for their lives. What a courageous woman Esther was! And not only that, but when the king asked her who the man was who intended this evil against her and her people, in the presence of wicked Haman himself, Esther boldly pointed at him and declared, "Guilty!" He who had condemned Mordecai, a righteous man, was now experiencing the same dread he sought to inflict. Now it was his turn to grovel for mercy!

And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, "Will he force the queen also before me in the house?" 

As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, "Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." 

Then the king said, "Hang him thereon." [The death sentence! Yes! King Ahasuerus was a good man!] So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified. (Vv. 7-10)

Haman's pride was his downfall. "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him." (Prov. 26:27) Haman did not realize that when he struck out against Mordecai and the Jews, he was "picking a fight" with the Lord GOD of hosts! And God will always win.

Esther pleaded for her people before the king, but the decree could not be reversed. The laws of the Persians and the Medes could not be altered under any circumstances. But Esther was desperate. Some days later she spoke to the king yet again, falling down at his feet, and begged him with tears to deliver her people from death. Her heart was so torn; she cried, “For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” (Esther 8:6) At last, the king was persuaded, and he thought of another way. He commanded that a second decree be made which would allow the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies.

Have you ever realized that the salvation of the Jews depended not only on Queen Esther, but upon the king's messengers? When the decree of death was made, the message was sent throughout the whole kingdom. No one would escape. But now there was another decree, a decree of salvation, and it must also be published "unto the uttermost part of the earth." It was real and it was free to all, but the people did not know about it! So it was up to a band of men "on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries" who were sent to each of the one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to tell them. These men had to ride hard -- they had to catch up with the first messengers bearing the decree of death! The lives of the Jewish people depended on these men! Esther 8:14 tells us that these men were "hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment." Don't delay! Hurry!

Every person living on this earth today is under a decree of eternal death in hell. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Rom. 5:12) But another decree has been made and it is available to all. This world is filled with never-dying souls for whom Christ died; no one is barred from His pardon if they will only receive it. But first they must hear it! "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14) Their lives depend wholly upon the messengers who bear the Gospel, the good news that Jesus saves! But it is good news only if it reaches them in time.

We are in a blessed position; we have been given salvation. We have also been commanded! Whether we feel like telling the lost about Jesus or not makes no difference; we must tell them. Who will go? Who will tell them? The Gospel is the most glorious, life-changing message ever given to man... and millions are dying without ever having heard it once. The Gospel is for all, and it is up to you and me to give it to them.

The men carrying the message of King Ahasuerus certainly grew tired and saddle-sore. I'm sure the man assigned the furthest province grew especially weary. What an incredible journey to make! He must have wondered if he would ever reach the people in time. But he could not stop, he could not even slow down, or he surely would not reach the doomed until it was too late. What happens if we slow down, Christian? The lost will die if we do not hasten and press on by the King's commandment! The King wrote the wondrous decree for them, but it does them no good if it does not reach them in time. We must run, because we have to overtake the pale horse of death carrying the decree of eternal judgment! The race we are in is a matter life and death! We must reach them faster than the rate of death or they will enter eternity without ever hearing the blessed news of salvation. Oh, we need more riders, we need more surrenders! We need sold-out Christians who will say, “I’ll saddle that mule, and I’ll ride.”

But, oh, the messengers did reach the Jews in time! They delivered that glorious message of deliverance. And as the Jews heard it, how they rejoiced. What tears of returned hope they must have shed. How they must have bowed to the ground to praise and thank their God. What shouting and singing was surely heard! As that once-dreaded day came and they were prepared to fight for their lives, they discovered that their enemies were unwilling to go through the trouble. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month was once a day they feared, a day of torment and death -- but it became a good day! The Jews had light and gladness, joy and feasting!

Oh, just think of all the souls God longs to save. Think of how precious they are to Him. He paid the most dear cost for the never-dying souls He so loves. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Rom. 9:27) -- what a fearsome day and a terrifying eternity they must needlessly face! Jesus has already paid for the wages of sin. If we will but tell them and they will only receive Him, oh! He will make the Day of eternity "a good day" indeed. With Light from the Lamb of God, gladness and joy, we will experience Heaven forever!

Esther was a great queen not because of her rise to power from the lowest of positions, but because she chose to humble herself as God’s servant. Because Esther placed her faith in God so completely and obeyed, absolutely willing to fulfill the cost, a whole nation was delivered. The thirteenth day of the twelfth month was once a day of anguish and dread for the Jewish people, but through the sacrifice and obedience of a queen named Esther, it became a good day. Instead of destruction and death, “the Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.” (Esther 8:16) Let us follow Esther's shining example. Let us trust God and boldly plead for those who are appointed to die. If we will offer up our lives to go and to serve, having counted the cost and chosen to pay it, He will use us to deliver the lost as He used Esther, the queen who chose to be a servant. 

In the paintings: 1) Queen Esther by Minerva Teichert; 2) Esther by Ga Sirani; 3) Esther Accuses Haman by Gustave Dore.