She was an orphan who hid a family secret until becoming a national heroine. Today her life is honored in synagogues around the world and celebrated in the streets of Israel during the Jewish holiday of Purim. With noise-makers, costumes, and practical jokes, her national family still remembers one of the great stories of history.
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| Plot: | An unseen Protector uses a Jewish orphan to block a plot of racial genocide |
| Place: | Capital of the Persian empire |
| Time: | 5th-century BC |
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| Cast: |
Ahasuerus—King of Persia Vashti—Queen of Persia divorced for Esther—Hadassah, a Jewish exile, chosen to replace Vashti God—The invisible, unmentioned Protector |
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Act I
For 6 months, the King of Persia has been showing off his wealth to officials from all corners of the realm. For the finale of his palace open house, Ahasuerus hosts an extravagant seven-day banquet.
On the seventh and last day of the royal party, drinks are flowing freely, and the intoxicated king calls for the queen to parade her beauty before his drunken guests.
To the king’s embarrassment, Vashti says “no.” Her response shakes the palace. According to the king’s advisors, the queen must go. If such insubordination is tolerated, women all over the empire will follow her example. They will see the queen’s example and look with contempt on their own husbands.
So Ahasuerus issues an edict that serves notice to women everywhere. Vashti is to be dethroned and banned from the king’s presence. Men are to be the masters of their own homes. The king’s command becomes a law of the Medes and the Persians.
Act II
When the king’s anger cools, he remembers Vashti and what he has lost. His advisors console him by coming up with a plan to find someone more worthy of the crown. They send messengers to the 127 provinces of Persia to bring the most beautiful young women of the land to the king’s palace.
One of those drafted into the national search for a queen is a young Jewish woman named Hadassah. Since the death of her parents, she has been living under the care of her older cousin and guardian, Mordecai. At his insistence Hadassah has gone by a Persian name, Esther, so as not to call attention to her Jewishness.
Esther’s beauty destines her for the national spotlight. The eyes of the empire turn to her when she emerges from obscurity to wear the crown of the Queen of Persia.
Act III
Mordecai remains nearby. One day, while sitting at the palace gate, he overhears two guards conspiring to kill the king. He gets word to Esther. She tells her husband, and the two conspirators are arrested and hanged. As a result of his action, Mordecai is given a line of honorable mention in the national record of Persia.
Mordecai’s honor, however, is soon forgotten. Before long he lands in trouble for refusing to bow to Haman, the king’s prime minister.
When Haman learns that Mordecai is a Jewish man who bows only to his God, he convinces the king that the Jewish people are a national security risk. He explains that they have their own laws and resist assimilation. He urges the king to solve the Jewish problem by signing a law calling for their elimination. The king goes along with the plan, not knowing his wife is a Jewess.
When Esther discovers the plot, she finds herself in a difficult spot. To side with her people against the law of extermination would mean revealing her Jewishness. In all likelihood such disclosure would result not only in the loss of the crown but her life as well. Mordecai, however, gently urges, “If you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:14).
Esther senses her destiny and the risk that is before her. She agrees to use her influence to come to the aid of her people, and says, “If I perish, I perish!”
Act IV
Heaven helps the queen. The king has a sleepless night and asks that the national record be brought to him. As an attendant reads the routine details of the kingdom, they come to a line about a man named Mordecai who reported a conspiracy to kill the king. Ahasuerus realizes he has done nothing to honor the man who saved his life.
When the morning dawns intrigue turns to irony. The king asks his second-in-command to honor Mordecai. Haman must sing the praises of the man he despises. Soon afterward Esther cleverly exposes Haman as the man who has conspired to kill her and her family. Haman hangs on the gallows he has built for Mordecai. Instead of a Jewish ethnic cleansing, the exiles find the strength they need to overcome those who have been intent on killing them.
Esther—a Story for Today
God is not mentioned once in the pages that bear the name of Esther. Yet in the unfolding drama of the Bible, this chapter of history shows that God doesn’t have to be mentioned to be present.
The story of Esther is a timeless tribute to the God who doesn’t have to be announced or understood to be present. He is the God of the sleepless night and the surprise ending. He is the God who works for us in the darkness, confusion, and fears of our lives.
What is inspiring about this story is that it is not all about Esther. It’s a story about the God who, while being our provider and protector, can use us to bring help to others. Who can say when we, like Esther, may find ourselves looking into the eyes of destiny as we contemplate the needs of a hurting child, a lonely neighbor, a frightened co-worker, or a disillusioned mate? Who can say that heaven has not brought us to this place—for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14).
