For Such a Time as This — Bible Reflection for Monday, September 19

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Esther 4:4-17

     ⁴ When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

     ⁶ So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate.⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

     ⁹ Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to them and spare their life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

     ¹² When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

     ¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

     ¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

The lectionary readings from the Old Testament are now coming from the Book of Esther. It’s a book that’s the basis for the Jewish festival of Purim, which celebrates the events related in the book. Esther tells a heroic story that’s historically significant to the Hebrew people. And today’s listed reading is the heart of the story.

Esther is the story of a young Hebrew woman who lived in the Persian Empire during the reign of Emperor Xerxes. (The Hebrew version of her name is ‘Hadassah,’ which is also the name of a Jewish women’s organization.) You might remember that the people of Jerusalem and much of Judea were dragged off into exile after the Babylonian army sacked the city. Then, about sixty years later, the Persians in turn conquered the Babylonians. The Persians said the Jews could go back to Judea, but apparently lots of them had put down such deep roots that they just stayed in what was now the Persian Empire. (After all, after sixty-some years of exile, many of the Jews had never been to the homeland, which didn’t really seem that much like ‘home’ to them.)

In the story, Esther is chosen for her beauty and grace to become the queen of Persia. But not long after her coronation, her relative Mordecai (who had raised Esther after the death of her parents) uncovers a menacing plot. Mordecai learns that one of the top officials of the Empire has persuaded King Xerxes to let him exterminate all the Jews. Mordecai goes to Queen Esther with this information, and today’s reading is the passage in which Esther learns about this plot – the first intended genocide against her people.

That’s why I say that this passage is the heart of the Book of Esther – because it poses the moral challenge that the story revolves around.

Mordecai urges Esther to go to the king and plead for the lives of her people. But she points out that under Persian law, no one is allowed – on pain of death – to approach the king without being invited. Apparently that includes the queen herself. So Esther claims to be powerless.

But Mordecai won’t let her off the hook that easily. The fate of her people is in her hands, he says. And Mordecai then utters the most famous line in Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

That’s a bracing challenge: Is Esther willing to risk her own life to save her people from genocide? And with this challenge ringing in her ears, Esther agrees to approach the king in spite of the risk. “And if I perish,” she says, “I perish.”

And since there’s a festival celebrating these events, as you might suspect, the plan works. Esther does get to the king and turns the tables on the plotters to save her people. She risks everything for the sake of the covenant people.

It seems to me that this book is meant to pose to all people of faith the same challenge that Mordecai poses to Esther. There is important work to be done for the kingdom of God. It has risks. And our natural inclination is to shy away from those risks. Of course, most of us aren’t called on to risk our lives, but we might be called on at some point to risk our social standing or our friendships or our business relationships or our chance for promotion for the sake of the kingdom.

But as Mordecai asks Esther in the story: Who knows? Maybe the very reason God has put us where we are is to take risks on behalf of God’s people and his kingdom.

It seems to me that this passage has a special resonance for anyone engaged in church leadership – pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, even committee members. In challenging times for the church, we should probably ask ourselves the question Mordecai asked Esther. Who knows? Maybe God has put us where we are for just such a time as this. The future will not be like the past, and maybe we’re being called to help lead the church into a new time when church life will be conducted in new ways.

In the story, Esther has made it to her royal position because of her beauty and grace. But she shows a courage and a commitment that allow her to save others – and to go down in history. She’ll do it, she says, and, “If I perish, I perish.” God isn’t calling most of us to risk our lives. Shouldn’t we be willing to take the tiny risks we face in the service of God’s kingdom?

Let’s pray. Lord, help us to see our own lives as Mordecai helped Esther to see hers – that maybe we’ve been put where we are for just such a time as this, so we can serve you faithfully, even in times of risk. And help us to show the courage she showed, to serve you and your kingdom whatever the cost. Amen.

Every Blessing,

Henry

(The other readings for today are Psalms 57 and 145; Acts 18:1-11; and Luke 3:1-14. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.org, the website of the International Bible Society.)