God’s story — better than fiction!

 

 

READ Esther 1-4

A good mystery keeps me occupied for hours. I prefer books, but enjoy some movies and a few television shows, particularly the British shows with a far better combination of plot and character than our home-grown varieties. Last night we watched an episode of “Shetland” then I finished a book by Charles Todd, not realizing how these would set me up for today’s reading.

Today’s reading begins with a powerful king who wanted to show off his beautiful wife to the leaders of the territories that he ruled. She refused to do it and he was furious. He didn’t kill her, but made certain she was no longer queen. He also passed a law that every man be master in his own household so the women of his kingdom would not follow that queen’s example and cause all sorts of problems.

Esther was an orphan raised by her uncle Mordecai. She was minding her own business when the king remembered he had no queen. His young attendants suggested he gather a few beautiful women and choose a new queen from the one he liked the best.

At this point I thought how beauty does not necessarily mean character, talent, or any quality that fit the role of being a queen. In the book I’d finished last night, a very beautiful and charming woman had been murdered because she didn’t “have a brain in her head” fit for the nobleman who married her. Fiction, but nonetheless a reflection of a reality that fits men too. Good looks are often a deterrent to character-building and used to gain position and popularity until the realization comes that they have little else to offer.

Esther must not have been like that. The king loved her for her looks? It seems he was impressed by her other qualities, but before that shows up, her uncle overheard a plot to kill the king and reported it to his niece. She told the king and the plot was stopped. Mordecai’s good deed was recorded in the chronicles and filed away.

The king seemed to be one of those powerful men who listened to advice more than making his own decisions. For some reason, he put a man named Haman in a top position without realizing this guy was a snook who cared more for his own ego than the lives of thousands of God-fearing people. When Mordecai refused to honor him, Haman determined to kill all the Jews throughout the kingdom.

Of course Uncle Mordecai eventually got the message to Esther and begged her to do something. She felt backed into a corner. If this king was approached without being summoned, he had the power to kill whoever came in without an appointment. Either way, she would die. The conversation went like this:

Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:13–16)

This reveals the character of this young woman. Unlike Haman who would kill to protect his ego, she would die to protect her people. I have to wonder what I would do in her place. I also realize that while dying physically is a huge threat, it should not be so for a Christian. Paul said,

We walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 5:7–9)

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (Philippians 1:23–24)

Death is a great threat, but dying to self is my current challenge. Paul also wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) The old me, the old way of life, have been crucified with Christ. Living accordingly is a daily choice. What I do may not affect thousands of people like the decision facing Esther, but I don’t know that. The power of God and even the Butterfly Effect tell me that my decisions each day could have far-reaching effects. Even if they do not, doing what God tells me to do is a vital part of what it means to be a citizen in His kingdom.