Esther - Selflessly Corageous

What a great week in Old Testament!  

I have been reading in Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Job. Studying the words and lives of Prophets of old - really helps me put my life and my experiences into perspective.

Now first, to fulfill my student choice assignment for the week.

Let's talk about Esther!

I have heard the shortened version of how Esther saved her people many times. I think this is the first time I have ever read the full account of Esther and there is so much more to this story than I ever knew.  

There are three individuals in the book of Esther that really possessed qualities  of strength, faith and courage.

Queen Vashti 

Vashti was married to King Ahasuerus.  She was beautiful and "fair to look on"(Esther 1:11) The King was throwing a big party and had invited nobles and princes from all around. This was quite a shin-dig and on the 7th day of drinking and making merry, the king called for Vashti to come before him, "to show the people and the princes her beauty."  Well, the King was pretty "merry with wine," (Esther 1:10) and I can image why Vashti did not want to go before him. Though the culture was much different for women then, I think Vashti was pretty brave and strong to refuse to go before the

king.  A wife refusing to obey her husband was dangerous back then and to disobey the king was even more risky. When Vashti refused to come and King Ahasuerus was furious. He called his wise men to counsel him in how to handle the situation.  They all agreed that Vashti might give other women and wives similar thoughts about disobeying their husbands and it was determined that this woman must pay to teach women all over that they must obey their husbands and follow the laws of the land.  The king made a decree (a royal commandment) that all the wives shall give to their husbands honor." (Esther 1:20) Vashti was replaced as queen. 

Mordecai 

Mordecai was Esther's cousin, but when her parents died, he adopted her and raised her himself. After Queen Vashti was banished, the King called for all the fair virgins to be brought forward, so a new queen could be selected. Mordecai brought Esther to the King's house.  He advised her to not divulge her Jewish heritage.  Later when Esther was selected as Queen, Mordecai found favor in the King's sight by discovering a plot to assassinate the King and getting word to him so the assassination could be prevented. Mordecai really showed his strength of character by refusing to bow down and worship Haman. This dedication to his belief in honoring God only caused a decree to be put out by Haman that all Jewish people would be exterminated.  Mordecai gets word to Esther about the upcoming extermination of her people and he asks her to go speak with the King about it.  When she expresses concern about the consequences of approaching the King, Mordecai says, "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Thou he loved Esther dearly and knew it was dangerous for her to approach the King, Mordecai had the clarity of mind to see what was the most important thing - protecting the Jewish race.  

Esther

Esther is also an example of a great hero in this story.  She was beautiful, smart, and so faithful.  I love the introduction for the Book of Esther in the OT Student Institute Manual.  I reads, "Esther's beauty was such that it could catch and hold the eye of an oriental emperor accustomed to being surrounded by loveliness.  Combined with her physical charms, were qualities of spirit that revealed her inward beauty as well. Esther was loyal and dedicated... She was submissive yet courageous, yielding yet faithful." Most of us know the story of what she did pretty well, so I will not go into too much detail, but I learned that when Mordecai asked her to go see the King, she told him that she had not been called for by the king for the last 30 days.  She must have been wondering if she no longer was pleasing to the king and these doubts must have made her very scared that she would not be welcomed by him.  However, she had wonderful faith and she quickly asked Mordecai and her people to fast and pray for her for 3 days.  Then she went to see the King and he reached out his sceptre to her.  She devised a plan to throw a banquet for the King and Haman for the next day. At the banquet, she revealed Haman's wicked plan and she revealed her heritage as a Jew. The King helped her save her people.

The attributes that I most admire about these individuals is their faith in God, their determination to do what is right, and their selfless courage.  I want to be firm in my convictions as Mordecai was when her refused to bow down to worship Haman.  I want to have the kind of faith and courage of Esther, who asked her people to pray and fast for her that she will be successful in pleading with the king for mercy for her people. I think I can develop these attributes by studying the lives and examples of the faithful in the scriptures and trying to follow in the steps of my Savior.