For Such A Time As This

I’ve been eyeing this watercolor for a long time. I told myself that it’s outside my budget. And that I don’t really need it. But my husband splurged for my birthday, aaaaand it’s mine. I love it because it alludes to the story of Esther. It reminds me that perhaps… 

I was born for such a time as this. 

Might it be that you were, too?

Esther’s Story

Esther was an orphaned, exiled Jew in Persia in 479 B.C. King Xerxes had just banished his queen from the kingdom because she refused to “come before” him and his drunken friends one night. King Xerxes ordered all the beautiful women in the royal precinct to come to the palace so he could choose a wife; he chose Esther as his new queen. She was 14. Her Uncle Mordecai advised her to tell no one of her Jewish heritage.

Hold the phone.

Don’t we need to pause the story here and talk about this? Do you get what kind of man this king is? His wife refuses to “come before” he and his drunken friends one night (ugh…what was that all about?). So, he kicks her out of the kingdom. Just like that. The text doesn’t say what became of her, but I bet she didn’t end up on Rodeo. Then, Xerxes orders (Orders?!?!) all the beautiful women to parade before him so he can choose a new queen. Esther wins the prize. (Not so much a prize IMHO.) Uncle Mordecai tells Esther not to tell anyone that she’s Jewish. Mordecai knows it’s not safe, especially in this court, to be a Jew.

On social media, Esther’s life looks pretty great. She’s rich, beautiful, wears all the right clothes, and is married to a powerful man. She’s a queen, for heaven’s sake! But, we all know that things are not always what they seem.

It gets worse.

King Xerxes’ right-hand, Haman, hated Esther’s uncle and discovered he was Jewish. So, he came up with a big story about how the Jews plotted against the king (not true!) and convinced the king to exterminate every Jew. Yeah. Man. Woman. Child. No rhyme or reason. See, things were not all that different back then, right? Just horrible.

Mordecai was smart. And desperate. He appealed to Esther to ask Xerxes for mercy for the people. Esther’s flabber was ghasted. It’s not like they were in love. They weren’t even  a regular husband and wife. Everyone had to be summoned by him; she hadn’t even seen his face in over a month! Here’s the crazy part. Ehrm, crazier part. The king held a gold scepter all of the time. If someone was bold enough to approach him without being summoned, he could, if he wanted, raise the scepter to “show mercy and life.” Or not. And they’d be killed. Plus, Uncle Mordecai, did you forget that she’d be revealing that she was a Jew to someone who had just signed a decree to kill all Jews?!?!!?

Here’s where the famous line comes in that’s written on the painting and teaches and inspires us to this day!

Esther 4: 11, 13-16

11 “All the world knows that anyone, whether man or woman, who goes into the king’s inner court without his summons is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter; and the king has not called for me to come to him in more than a month.”

13 This was Mordecai’s reply to Esther: “Do you think you will escape there in the palace when all other Jews are killed? 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, God will deliver the Jews from some other source, but you and your relatives will die; what’s more, who can say but that God has brought you into the palace for just such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther sent this message to Mordecai: 16 “Go and gather together all the Jews of Shushan and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day; and I and my maids will do the same; and then, though it is strictly forbidden, I will go in to see the king; and if I perish, I perish.”

Then what happened?

Esther went to see the king, and he extended his gold scepter to her, saying, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even if it is half of my kingdom, it shall be granted you.” (Whuut? Tempting…) Esther invited him and Haman to a banquet the following night, and he accepted. At that banquet, Esther invited them to a second banquet the next night. (Scholars have different opinions about this strategy.) The king and Haman attended Esther’s second banquet, where she told the king about the lie against the Jews.

Disturbed by this revelation, the king asked who had organized it, and Esther told him it was Haman. The king was incensed, and he had Haman executed! After Haman’s death, the king gave Esther Haman’s estate, and Esther appointed Mordecai as its overseer. Then the king allowed Mordecai to write a new decree, and the Jews were saved. (Well, that was extra.)

What this story means to me

Earlier this month was National Women’s Equality Day. I don’t live in Esther’s world. But I don’t forget that countries torn apart by conflict sadly continue to endure a terrible burden of restricted human rights. The US has come a long way from the 5th century – but it wasn’t long ago (1920) that women couldn’t vote in the United States. (Eye roll) And things still aren’t equal.

People like to hold others down to raise themselves more easily. But God doesn’t think that way. Esther’s story is one example. She was a fourteen-year-old girl made to parade in front of and marry a man who was cruel, unbalanced, and the most powerful man of his time. He held all the cards. But God didn’t see her as helpless.

The most enticing part of the story to me is when Uncle Mordecai said, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, God will deliver the Jews from some other source but you and your relatives will die; what’s more, who can say but that God has brought you into the palace for just such a time as this?”

God has a plan for the world and for our lives, and Mordecai is saying –

If you don’t do it, someone else will.

If you don’t do what God has uniquely gifted you to do in his world, God will still fulfill his plan. But, he’ll use someone else. Why are you here right now? If God will fulfill his big overarching plan anyway, why shouldn’t you be a part of it?

The artist has created four identical watercolors, just like mine, except the girl is different in each. Mine features a redhead, and the others feature an African American, a brunette, and a blonde girl. Hmm. We might each look a little different, but we all belong to God. He has a plan for us! He has given me a ministry to help you with relationships. It’s not a business. It’s not a hobby.  I alone have been appointed in this unique way. God works through any and all means, both ordinary and extraordinary. I have decided to be obedient and leave the rest up to him.

What about you?

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” –St. Catherine of Sienna.