No stranger to turmoil, Esther was orphaned when her parent’s died. Taking the roll of father, protector, teacher and guardian, her cousin Mordecai also shared his devout Jewish practice with his niece and raised a daughter unto God. Descendants from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, their ancestors, back 4 or so generations, were exiled out of their homeland of Jerusalem during the Babylon captivity. Now living in modern day Iran, they were part of the vast Persian Empire, which spanned from Egypt in the west, to Turkey in the north, through Mesopotamia to the Indus River to the east.
King Ahasuerus was the leader of an army of over 2 million. His lineage of authority was responsible for vast battles, massive takeovers and innovative growth. After banishing his own wife for refusing to be summoned upon his command, the King was in search of a new mate.
The game was set, without the cameras of modern day television, roses of choice like seen on the Bachelor, this reality show was designed to allow the king to choose the finest womanhood in the land to adorn his arm and produce offspring. (Mind you he already had six children from his first wife.)
Beautiful Ether won the heart of the King and became the Queen.
“And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
Established in the house, with servants, with adornments and wardrobes, she was his servant, she was confined to the rules of the authority of her husband.
While I wont’ go into the full account of events leading up to the tumultuous story and painful future of the Jewish people, sufficeth to say, the entire Jewish family was in danger of total annihilation. The Prime Minister, Haman plotted to destroy all of the Jews because Mordecai refused to bow and worship the power mongering Haman. A decree went out into all the land, that on a specific day, all Jews were to be slaughtered.
Pleading with his cousin, Mordecai exclaimed, “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther gathered her courage, for her husband did not know she herself was a Jew.
“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”
Esther prepared both spiritually, through fasting, and physically, by exemplifying her beauty.
She petitioned her husband for relief from the burden of destruction. He complied with his wife’s wish of protection. The initial decree which went out among the entire land encouraged the slaughter of all Jews, everywhere, now was rescinded and gave the House of Israel means to defend themselves against their enemies. Those who plotted to kill members of the house of Israel, themselves were destroyed.
Esther:
- Born into exile
- Orphaned through death
- A member of the house of Israel
- Beautiful
- Faithful
- Loved by a nation
- Courageous and strong
She was born into the Kingdom of Persia, for such a time as this.. Her purpose was very clear. While we do not sense the danger she was in for approaching the king, the threat was very real. Her life and the lives of the Jewish family were spared.
What about you?
What are the circumstances in which you are born? Whatever the story; whether your family is the quintessential vision of perfection, or born into betrayal and pain; your gifts, your talents and are a simply divine. You have a mission, a sacred obligation to breathe life into the children of God.
You were prepared for this.
There is a simple thread of vision that I want to instill in you.
“I am a woman”
“I am enough”
“I am loved”
Elder Ballard at the recent Women’s Conference:
“Recognizing that women have been “divinely endowed with a unique kind of discernment and strength” different than those qualities given to men, Elder Ballard told some 15,000 people in the audience that those differences are intentional and eternal.
“They don’t make you better than a man, nor do they make you inferior to him,” he said. “They just make you different—wonderfully, deliberately, everlastingly so.”
“Balancing everything among all of the available options can be a challenge,” he said. “In the end, most of us have to choose among competing options to determine what is best for us.”
Those decisions will have to be made individually, with the help of the Lord.
“Each of you must come to know what the Lord wants for you individually, given the choices before you,” he said.
“Today, more than ever, we need faithful, dedicated sister-saints who … have hearts that are fixed, who trust in the Lord, and who … are willing to save souls and build the kingdom of God.”
