HERE IT IS AS PROMISED ESTHER!!! Early this year a friend of mine came to me and asked if I would do a Bible study with her. She has been going through some tough stuff and this study I had done in Esther while I was going through some tough stuff came to mind, so we set to work. And quickly I realized that as I sat and studied Esther God was using this study to work a miracle in my heart , but more on that later. I found myself (yet again) being influenced by a person I have never met, and more so dead! I’m sure Esther had no idea what on earth God was going to do in her life. I’m sure she had no idea that millions of people would read about sweet Esther in the Bible.
Esther- A Invisible Teenager
Let’s lay some ground work for this young woman:
- She was young- most scholars place her around 14-16 years old
- She was a Jew that had been exiled to Persia.
- She was an orphan being raised by her cousin Mordecai..
- She wasn’t married.
By all rights Esther didn’t really fit the bill for an influencer at all. They were living in another country because God had punished the Israelites by kicking them out of the promised land (they had ample warnings to change). Esther was just in the age bracket to get married, common in those times.
Esther-Kidnapped
So not only did Esther have a sad childhood when we pick up with her in the Bible, we are about to see that her teenaged life is about to take a turn for the worse. But let’s talk about the king of Persia- Xerxes. I don’t know much about this dude other than what the Bible tells me and some other details from other sources but no matter what you read there are two things about Xerxes that they all agree on. XERXES LOVES HIS ALCOHOL and XERXES LOVES PARTIES!! And we find Xerxes in the midst of a crazy party where there was no limit on the alcohol. He then calls for his queen-Vashti! She says no. He consults his buddies and basically they say if you don’t de-throne her and you let her get away with this, we too are gonna have trouble with our wives and it’s gonna be your fault!
So Vasti is moved to the concubine house to live out her remaining days.
Now the king needs a new wife.
and so his med ride throughout the kingdom “collecting suitable women”. Let’s stop right there. Does that sound familiar? Can you say HUMAN TRAFFICKING? they kidnapped all these girls and brought them to the palace and you guessed it Esther is in the mix. these girls were given a years worth of beauty treatments and then one by one they went in to spend one night with the king and in the morning they would be taken to the concubine house where many women would live out their remaining days , never to see the king’s face again.
Esther’s Initial Influence
So here is this young Jewish girl amongst all of these Persian women. I’m sure she wasn’t the only Jewish girl there but Esther stood out above the rest. Her character influenced the eunuchs and they gave Esther special treatment. We aren’t given very many details as to what exactly this entailed but we do know that they instructed how to carry herself before the king and wha to bring with her.
Esther’s Impact So Far
I don’t know about you but if I were in her shoes I’m pretty sure I would be a basket case! no longer able to see my family and being kept in a home that wasn’t mine with women who also didn’t want to be there. Whew! I would also be asking some serious questions of God and I know it doesn’t give details about God working in this book (because He isn’t mentioned once) we can see him fulfilling his promises to his people to protect them.
Sitting here writing this account, it seems so hopeless for this young woman, BUT the cool thing is I have the rest of the story
Over the next 6 days we will look at the 6 Influential Attributes of Esther. Tomorrow we will start with her WILLINGNESS, won’t you join me?
Let’s Chat: What are some positive influential attributes in others lives that have really impacted you?
