以斯帖记

Meditative Reflection
The Passing Glory of Persia

“and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.” (Est. 1:3)

King Xerxes ascended to his throne in 486 B.C., inheriting unprecedented wealth from his father Darius, with a great treasure of gold and magnificent buildings that offered him an extravagant and luxurious lifestyle.  The Persian Empire was ready for another assault on the Greeks.  It appears that Xerxes was throwing a great feast to garner support from his nobles for such a conquest.  Historical records relate a strategic meeting called by Xerxes in 483 B.C. (i.e. his third year of reign).  In order to further garner support from the people, he threw an extra seven-day feast for the people of Susa.  With a parade of his wealth and military might, he was hoping to have full support of the Persian people, with a promise of lucrative rewards for those who would support him.

However, all such efforts were in vain, as history tells us.  At his assault on the Greeks which took place after four years, his army was defeated, and he suffered tremendous losses in more ways than one.

Indeed, man can plan all he wants to, but without the blessings of the Lord, all will come to naught, as the Psalmist puts it, “unless The Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless The Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” (Ps. 127:1).

Meditative Reflection
All is Vanity

“Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.” (Est. 1:19)

After 187 days of unbridled feasting, the king was indeed “in high spirits” (probably meaning a state of drunkenness), he wanted to show off his greatest treasure to his nobles — the beauty of his queen.  Surprisingly, the queen refused to comply with his order and that sent the king into a fit.  At the advice of the leaders, the king basically divorced queen Vashti.

There are naturally many speculations among scholars as to the reasons for the queen's blatant disobedience of the king’s order, from pregnancy to nudity and other nobler reasons.  But the Bible is silent on this point, perhaps because it is not important for us to know.

However, this incident reminds us of the sudden mishaps in life.  Such a beautiful queen, the apple of the king’s eyes, she lost all she had overnight, just because of the drinking of her husband.  The king obviously had his regrets when he was sober and he missed her (2:1).  But he had, in his rashness, issued an irreversible decree which even he could not annul.  Indeed, Queen Vashti had come to know that “all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2).

Today, we all work so hard to build our career, family and church.  We seek to reap certain achievements and to affirm our own identity.  But whatever we seek to build is not under our control and life is but a dream.  When the storm of life threatens to swallow all we have achieved, we panic in despair, all because we have based our identity and our value on things that will pass away.  The Bible is clear, the world and the things of the world will pass away, “but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 Jn. 2:17).  And the Lord further assures us that He is our rock, our fortress and our shield (Ps. 18:1-2), and He will never leave us or forsake us.  He desires that we will learn from the Psalmists and know that we do belong to Him: “Know that The Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 100:3).

Meditative Reflection
Between Two Worlds

“Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah." (Est. 2:5-6)

According to Esther 2:5, Mordecai was a descendent of Kish, who was the grandfather of Saul (1 Sam. 9:1-2).  Shimei was so loyal to Saul that he once cursed David to his face (2 Sam. 16:5).  In other words, there was royal blood in Mordecai, and he was certainly of God’s chosen people.  As his ancestors were carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar together with Jehoiachin, king of Judah in 597 B.C., he would likely be a second generation Persian-Jew.  The book only mentions Esther as having two names. Her Hebrew name Hadassa means myrtle, and her Persian name means star (see Introduction).

Mordecai and Esther shared the same ethnic background and both lived as exiles, serving a Gentile king who was known for his licentiousness and incapability.  In essence, they had to live in two worlds — their own ethnic world and the Gentile Persian world — with two very different languages and cultures that clashed with one another.  The challenge to them was how to negotiate back and forth between the two worlds — being able to survive in this perverted secular society, without having to compromise their God-given mandates inherent to their Jewish culture.

Today, we too live in two worlds: The heavenly eternal world and the earthly transient world.  As citizens of heaven, we live in a world under the control of the evil one — this is our double identity.  How then can we negotiate back and forth within these two worlds, and be “in the world” without being “of the world”?

Our Lord asks us to be the light and salt of the world (Matt. 5:13-14).  However, many believers, for a variety of reasons, have compromised with this perverted world consciously and subconsciously, losing their saintliness and their brightness.

Esther is not just a story of courageous deliverance of one’s people, but an example of how one can be the light and salt in a secular culture.  Let’s learn from both the successes and failures of Mordecai and Esther, so that we may clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and bring glory to God in all that we say and do.

Meditative Reflection
Is It Worth It?

“Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.” (Est. 2:12)

It is obvious that all the girls in the pageantry were vying for the coveted prize of being the queen; glory, wealth and power await such a lucky girl whose life will never be the same again.

Of course, they had to subject themselves to twelve months of serious training and preparation, having to soak themselves in oil, perfumes and cosmetics, so that these ingredients could become part of their bodies and the king might be charmed by their fragrances.  All the effort that went into the twelve months of preparation would be tested by just one appearance before the king.  If they were not called again by the king, all the preparation would amount to nothing.

We have to pity these contestants, because only one would be chosen, but all could have had a bright future of their own.  But they, perhaps not of their own choosing, had become a toy of the king.  Such pageantry had robbed them of their dignity as a person.  Perhaps, some did not have a choice, but some of them willingly put their fate in this contest, hoping to hit the jackpot.  This is not unlike the dream of many young people today, as they seek to become movie stars and pop singers, hoping to become famous, but what a heavy price many of them have to pay!

On the other hand, I am reminded of our Lord.  He is the King of kings, and He has absolute say in our lives.  He, too, has called us to Himself, but not as His slaves or tools, but as His friend, the object of His divine love.  And for that purpose, He gave His own life to give us eternal life, and to make us His friends.

As He says, “I am the Good Shepherd.  The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11).  But He also says, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn. 15:15).

Dear Lord, we thank you for choosing us; we thank you for your love and that our lives are never the same, because they are now abundant lives!

Meditative Reflection
For God’s Glory

“But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.” (Est. 2:20)

Scholars differ in their opinions as to why Mordecai chose to hide their ethnic identities:

- Some opine that it was simply a prudent thing to do at the time, and anti-Semitic feelings were probably very prevalent (read how Haman tried to exterminated all the Jews in 3:1-6).  Esther probably did not really have a choice in her position as part of the pageant.

- Some would criticize their action as a lack of faith, and even a compromise to the perverted culture of the time.  They compare them to Daniel, praising the latter for his courage and witness for God in openly declaring his ethnic identity to the king.

I do not wish to take sides in this debate. However, I could not help but think of many believers today, intentionally hiding their Christian identity in order to gain recognition or acceptance by the world.  Examples include shying away from saying grace before meal and accepting the invitation to attend functions that do not befit Christians. Of course, there might be situations that call for prudence, like missionaries in a Muslim country.  To expose one’s faith unwisely may result in arrest and the loss of opportunity to share the gospel.  This is why some missionaries have to go in the guise of being teachers or medical personnel in order to reach out to the Muslims. Their motive is for the sake of the gospel, and their hiding of identity is for the glory of God which is the admonition of the Apostle Paul, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31).

Meditative Reflection
God is in Total Control

“Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.” (Est. 3:6)

Many scholars view the Agagites as the symbol of the enemy of Israel based on their historical animosity with Israel (1 Sam. 15:1-3), and so Haman is representative of such hatred towards the Jews.  History does bear witness to such a power that drives the world to go against the people of God, even seeking to eradicate them. The book of Esther vividly portrays the struggle of the Jews against this power: The personal vendetta of Haman against Mordecai because of his refusal to bow before him had developed into his plot to kill his whole race.

However, the book of Esther also bears witness to the fact that God is in total control over the fate of His people, in fact, He even had control over the “pūr”, giving Mordecai and Esther 11 months to participate in God’s plan of deliverance of His people.  It is interesting also to note that the king’s decree was issued on the thirteenth day of the first month which was on the eve of Passover (Exod. 12:18).  And God did once again deliver His people, just as He did in the time of Exodus.

Meditative Reflection
For Such a Time as This

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Est. 4:13-14)

For the sake of Esther, Mordecai told Esther to hide her ethnic identity in the beginning (chapter 2), but because of the plight of the entire people of the Jews in Persia, he now asked Esther to plead Sbefore the king, which obviously meant the revealing of her ethnic identity.  Now Esther was confronted by an almost dead or alive choice.  Here we read that Mordecai sent a very powerful message to Esther to urge her to do the right thing:

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place...And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (4:14)

This is both a reminder to Esther and to us that nothing in life is accidental, because behind each incident is God’s control to accomplish what He wills to do.

Indeed, all things do work for the good of those who love God.  Although the name of God was not mentioned either by Mordecai or Esther, the course of the events leading up to this point in chapter 4 shows the providence of God — the blatant disobedience of the queen against a brutal tyrant, the divorce that followed, the choosing of a new queen in Esther, and the subsequent deliverance of her people because of her royal position.  Mordecai was right, “you have come to royal position for such a time as this”!

In such a critical moment, the people of God cannot shirk from making a choice, and Esther made hers, backed by the prayers and fasting of her people.  She has set an example to all God’s children to be aware of our God-given role and God-given opportunity to make a choice for God and His purpose, even though we may have to risk our lives.