The Value of Self-Sacrificial Service: The Example of Queen Esther
Queen Esther is a clarion example of courageous risk in the service of others, and for the glory of God. In the fifth century before Christ, many within the Jewish community were in exile to Persia. During that time, there lived a man named Mordechai. Mordechai had a younger cousin named Esther, who grew up to be a beautiful woman, and was eventually taken by the Persian King Ahasuerus to be his queen. Though, one of the Persian royals, Haman, developed a pathological enmity towards the Jewish refugees. He lobbied to have them wiped out and exterminated. Ahasuerus did not even realize that his own wife Esther was a Jew. Mordecai dispatched word to Esther, and pleaded that she make intercession on behalf of her people. Esther was well-aware of royal law which made it a capital crime to approach the king without being called upon, unless he lifted his golden scepter. Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”"If I perish, I perish," she declared. She had no cognizance of the outcome, but she trusted in God. This is the Spirit of Christ at work. As our Lord proclaims, in the Gospel of John (v. 15:13,) "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."
—Esther 4:15-16
Here is a fascinating fact: before being taken as the King's wife, Esther bore the Hebrew name Hadassah, which means "myrtle" in Hebrew. Likewise, the name Esther is most likely related to the Median word for myrtle, astra, and the Persian word setareh meaning star. Interestingly, the myrtle blossom resembles a twinkling star. The word also connotes "hidden," and God placing Esther precisely where He placed her allowed the Lord to fulfill His purposes in saving His people in much the same way the Lord used Joseph.
Related:
Esther Chapter 4-6
posted by Ryan S. | 1:08 AM
2 Comments:
Amen.
This is a remarkable story. The Lord saw fit to preserve and protect Esther, but she took a step of faith with herself on the line.
And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king, and said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing seems right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”
—Esther 8:4-8
Ultimately, the oppressor of her people was brought to judgment. While, we will not likely run into such cirucmstances in our lives, the example of self-sacrifice exemplified by Esther is something we should strive for as disciples of Jesus Christ. This familiar story of a remarkable woman of faith very much foreshadows Christ's love for the church (ekklesia) spoken of in the New Testament. It is good to revisit from time to time.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
—Romans 5:7-8 (NKJV)
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