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Esther, the Hebrew Girl Who Became Queen
267
present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three
days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will
go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”
Verse 16
.
The events that followed—Esther’s appearance before the king,
the favor he showed her, the banquets of the king and queen with
Haman as the only guest, the king’s troubled sleep, the public honor
shown Mordecai, and Haman’s humiliation and fall—all these are
parts of a familiar story. God acted marvelously for His people. The
king issued a counter decree, allowing God’s people to fight for their
lives. Mounted couriers “went out, hastened and pressed on by the
king’s command,” to communicate the decree to the realm. “The
Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the
people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon
them.”
Esther 8:14, 17
.
On the day appointed for their destruction, “the Jews gathered to-
gether in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus
to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could
withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people.”
Esther
9:2
. God had commissioned angels to protect His people while they
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“gathered to defend their lives.”
Verse 16
, NRSV.
The king promoted Mordecai to be “second to King Ahasuerus,
and he was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude
of his brethren.”
Esther 10:3
. He worked to promote the well-being
of Israel. In this way God brought His chosen people once more into
favor at the Medo-Persian court, making possible His plan to restore
them to their own land. But not until the seventh year of Artaxerxes
I, who followed Xerxes the Great, did any large number return to
Jerusalem, under Ezra.
The experiences that came to God’s people in Esther’s day were
not unique to that age. John the revelator, looking down the ages,
declared, “The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went
to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the command-
ments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Revelation
12:17
. Some today will see these words fulfilled. The spirit that
led people long ago to persecute the true church will lead to similar
efforts against those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now
preparations for this last great conflict are underway.