A Tale of Two Esthers

Most people who spent any time in Sunday school growing up have heard a version of the book of Esther, though perhaps only in the form told to small children. It’s the type of story that lends itself to that group, a tale of a slave girl becoming queen and defeating the evil villain. It’s the blueprint for countless fairy tales, and yet all the more marvelous because it is true. As we grow older, we start to become aware of the deeper meanings, the wonders of God’s provision and saving power, but even then the fairy tale calls out to us undiminished.

As with many books of the Bible, it seems that there are near endless lessons that can be drawn. The scriptures speak to us differently at different times in our lives, perhaps even on different days of the week. We can be forgiven for overlooking many of them, yet it becomes a great treasure to us as God reveals new meanings in ancient words, as in the case of the two Esthers.

Both of these women had common beginnings. They were born captives in a land of oppression, orphaned and left in the care of an uncle. As one, they found themselves taken from what life and family they knew, thrust among strangers, and destined to be cruelly used. Yet even then, God intervened, taking the handmaidens and placing a crown on top of their heads.

It would be wrong of course to look upon their lives at this point. While queens in name, they had no authority to reign. Rather than facing the whims of a nation, they were subject to a single man, yet his power over them was absolute. Still, as captives in a hostile land, they were surely at the top of the heap. Without power, they yet had influence. Still servants in all but name, they had access to wealth, prestige. And having much, they had much they could lose, and it’s at this point that the difference between our two queens makes itself known. 

One of our queens, it seems, was a “go-along-to-get-along” type. While she had shown herself adept at handling some difficult situations in the past, she was still unsure of who she was in this foreign land. When the pronouncement was made that before long her people were to be killed like animals, their lives forfeit and property taken, she froze. While she had influence, attempting to use it would expose her to risk, perhaps even death. It was not a path she could seek out.

Our second queen, in much the same position, began down the same road, and then received the counsel of her uncle. It was both plea and a warning, with a grim message: Aside from the Lord, there is no security. Perhaps bolstered by faith or perhaps motivated by fear, she nevertheless stepped out, and provided the instrument for God to do a great work. Not only were she and her people saved, but their conditions were soon very much improved in the land. For her, it was indeed a very happy ending.

If it seems to you that I have played some kind of trick on you, that there was really but one Queen Esther the whole time, I say to you yes… and no. As God proclaims, when we are in Christ, we are all “new” creatures. The old ways, the old person, is gone. Yet true as that is, some of us insist on keeping the body up and around. 

Rather than choosing new paths, we remain stuck in the old. Where we should be bold, we are afraid. Where we should speak out, we remain silent. We walk as though carrying the old person with us each step of the way, because we never try the new path, the one that can only be found by stepping out in faith. 

We face a time in our nation when Christians overseas face brutal persecution, often death, in lands that our government supports, by religious zealots whom our government defends. We tolerate smaller, but increasing, oppression of ourselves in the states. We fear to stick out, to draw attention, to speak out and say “This is wrong!” We fail to act, most Christians to the point they don’t even vote, or if they do they teach themselves so little about the candidates that they are as likely to hurt their cause as help it. And, lest we forget, it isn’t our own cause we are hurting. Nor are we the only ones who will pay four our inaction when the time comes.

Which Queen Esther are you? Are you the one who will stay low, and avoid conflict at all cost? Or will you step out on faith, and make some noise knowing full well it may come back on you? Such decisions are never easy, and they never will be. If people of faith continue to avoid making them, however, they will soon find themselves with no power of decision at all.