The day drew near for Esther to go before the King and she knew that each woman who went in to be seen by the King was allowed to take whatever they desired in with them. Esther only took in what Hegai, her instructor, advised her to take. King Ahasuerus immediately fell in love with Esther and she found favor with everyone including the king. Women played such an important role in biblical history. Read more about them in our Women of the Bible series!
The story of Esther reveals a woman growing into her God-given role and becoming an example for the ages. The characteristics she models for us are:. Submission is a concept that has been sadly misused and abused in and outside the faith community.
It has been twisted to mean that a woman has no choice or voice and must just silently obey her husband and even accept abuse.
Submission is voluntary and the person being submitted to has an obligation to lead in the likeness of Christ who never abused or exercised authority in the way we sometimes see it.
Here, Esther demonstrates submission to Mordecai and he then operates in the kind of leadership that models Jesus.
We see her giving a command to Mordecai, but it is a command to fast and pray. It is an unselfish command. She obviously knows the power of prayer combined with fasting, and she knows that the end result could be her own death. Still, she chooses to use her authority only for fasting and prayer.
Wealth, power, and position were nothing compared to the lives of her own people. She was willing to sacrifice everything for their sakes even though she had the power to do just the opposite. Notice that she never questioned what Mordecai asked of her. They had developed a relationship based on love and trust — which, combined, generate faith.
She knew Mordecai to be a man of wisdom and so she was willing to listen to and do what he asked. What he asked was never for selfish gain. Mordecai did not abuse his authority over Esther. Instead, like Jesus, he loved and cared for her, risking his own life to save her.
The King did not abuse his authority either. In fact, as the story continues, she was able to do things that others had not because she honored God, her people, and King Ahasuerus.
Esther clearly knew she could be killed for what she was going to do. She had the wisdom to go about it very carefully but, as she had seen with Queen Vashti, she knew that King Ahasuerus could change his mind about her at any moment.
Knowing all of this, she still moved forward. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the ability to act in spite of the fear. They have, in fact, been ashamed of anything that might remind them of it. Witnessing to the rock from which she had been hewn, Esther dared to risk death for her people and so escaped dying with them.
By her patriotism she won for her nation a great deliverance and God used her as an instrument of His providence for the working out of a glorious purpose. Serve the Master to the limit of your ability where in His Providence He has placed you, and thus prepare yourself for a larger circle of service if such be His will. From her character we learn — 1.
To seek divine guidance in times of difficulty Esther To obtain a knowledge of human nature, so that we may know how to take advantage of any circumstances which may favor our cause if it be a proper one. When there is a necessity, to be ready to renounce self and exert ourselves for the good of others. To value and seek the cooperation of fellow-believers. Dealing with the ultimate safety of the Jews which Esther secured, we learn— 1.
To acknowledge God as the Author of all mercies. Thinking of the reversal of fortune of Haman, which Esther brought about, we further learn— 1. There is such a thing as righteous retribution.
Haman himself received what he had proposed for others. He was paid back in his own coin. The transitory nature of earthly grandeur and the end of all ill-gotten earthly power and possessions. The best value in digital Bible study. No software to install. Try it FREE. The king had trusted his right-hand man to use his power properly.
That right-hand man, Haman, abused his power using it to put into play a plan to destroy a man and his people because of the hatred and jealousy that had overtaken him. What he did not know was that Esther was to be one of those people to be destroyed. Esther found favour in the eyes of the king and she was careful to approach him in meekness. She submitted to his leadership thus gaining the right to appeal a decision that he had made.
In this passage we see how:. We are left with this and other great historical accounts that have been recorded in the Bible so that we can learn from them. This Queen of Persia demonstrated character traits such as faith, grace, determination and caution. She did this all the time knowing that she might be trading her own life for the life of many others. In this way we might say that Esther is a type of Christ who willingly gave his life as a ransom for all.
Do you know Jesus? I pray that you are as blessed as I am by this precious story of Esther and I pray that this causes you to examine your own life. Would someone consider you to be an Esther? Story of Hannah in the Bible. Tagged as: Bible Story , Esther. Pamela Rose Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother.
She and her husband, Dr. Michael L. Williams, have served in Christian ministry since Additionally, she works with her husband using their extensive experience in information technology to provide Christ-centered teaching and resources to people all over the world. Learn more about Pamela at Christianity Every Day. Read them in the archive below. If you like what you're reading, you can get free daily updates through the RSS feed here.
Thanks for stopping by! Well done Pam. I believe you are the picture of Esther in many ways by your example of godliness and faithfulness to not only the Word of God but to God Himself.
Thank you for all you do sister. I learned that God rewards obedience and loyalty. God is in control and I should always trust that He has a better plan for my life. Esther was a great woman of character. Thank you Pamela. Would Esther be contravening the law by marrying a non Jew. Would she be able to attend worship since she was living a sexually impure life with the king?
Hello Mr. MCKendry and thank you for your question. If not for her heroic act of going before the king without his asking, she risked her life, so Esther was a brave, godly woman, but she had no choice but to marry the king. Remember the king had power over the Jews and all of the nation were subject to his commands, so she was not living a sexually impure life.
She was married to the king…but obviously, against her will. I am truly blessed by the book of Esther, she was a beautiful, brave Woman of God Her kindness towards others was wonderful.. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.
Subscribe me to your newsletter. All Rights Reserved. Sitemap Privacy Policy Disclaimer Advertise. Great read, thank you!! Thank you Pamela Reply. Cancel reply Leave a Comment. What Is Speaking In Tongues? What Is the Rapture? What does the devil look like?
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