Basic HTML Version
For Such a Time as This, August 26
Esther 4:14-17
And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time
as this?
Esther 4:14
.
A certain day was appointed on which the Jews were to be destroyed and
their property confiscated. Little did the king realize the far-reaching results
that would have accompanied the complete carrying out of this decree. Satan
himself, the hidden instigator of the scheme, was trying to rid the earth of those
who preserved the knowledge of the true God.... The decree of the Medes and
Persians could not be revoked; apparently there was no hope; all the Israelites
were doomed to destruction.
But the plots of the enemy were defeated by a Power that reigns among the
children of men. In the providence of God, Esther, a Jewess who feared the
Most High, had been made queen of the Medo-Persian kingdom. Mordecai was
a near relative of hers. In their extremity, they decided to appeal to Xerxes in
behalf of their people. Esther was to venture into his presence as an intercessor.
“Who knoweth,” said Mordecai, “whether thou art come to the kingdom for such
a time as this?”
The crisis that Esther faced demanded quick, earnest action; but both she and
Mordecai realized that unless God should work mightily in their behalf, their
own efforts would be unavailing. So Esther took time for communion with God,
the source of her strength. “Go,” she directed Mordecai, “gather together all the
Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me ... : 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.
To every household and every school, to every parent, teacher, and child
upon whom has shone the light of the gospel, comes at this crisis the question put
to Esther the queen at that momentous crisis in Israel’s history. “Who knoweth
whether
thou
art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
[245]
40
Prophets and Kings, 600, 601
.
41
Education, 263
.
253