“Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (v.14)
At the end
of chapter 3 we learned that Haman became obsessed with killing the Jewish
people. In fact, he was able to convince King Ahasuerus to sign an edict to, “annihilate
all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the
thirteenth day of the twelfth
month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder”
(v.13).
Now here in
chapter 4, Mordecia has learned of the edict and urges his cousin Queen Esther
to intervene for the people by saying to her, “Who knows whether
you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (v.14)? However,
approaching the king uninvited was punishable by death. But Esther “seized the
moment” and agreed to go before the king to intercede for them!
This
is the second time in the book of Esther we find a women willing to stand before
the king and speak her mind. To save her honor, Vashti was willing to lose her
crown. To save her people, Esther was willing to lose her head. What
courage!
During the 20th century, millions of Christians died as martyrs while
others denied their beliefs. Corrie ten Boom's father saw this truth clearly.
During WWII, a Dutch clergyman refused shelter to a baby, saying, "We
could lose our lives for that Jewish child." Father ten Boom took the baby
into his arms and said, "You say that we could lose our lives for this
child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my
family."
Most
of us will never face a test like the ten Boom family or like Esther did. But
all of us can take courage from their example to “seize the moment” and stand
for righteousness.
The
Truth
“Then Jesus
said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my
follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If
you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life
for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)
