I like Esther. She’s probly my favorite queen of all time. (whoa!)
She has it all—she’s beautiful, charming, intelligent, wise, graceful, thoughtful, decisive, and humble.
I’ve read through the Book of Esther before, but I have never before noticed the humble queen. Esther has every reason to be proud. She’s the queen, for pity’s sake! She overcame her tough upbringing—she was an orphan, remember?—and rose to the top! She’s a model of working hard and overcoming your circumstances. But do you see Esther on Oprah talking about her successes? Nope. In fact, where is Esther?
Remember Zeresh the problem solver? Well, Esther was a problem solver of a different type. When she heard that she and her people had been scheduled to be “destroyed, killed, and annihilated,” she didn’t erect a gallows. (Haman had already done that for her.) No, Esther and her maidservants and all the Jews in Shushan (at Esther’s request) humbled themselves before God with prayer and fasting. For three days.
Esther was afraid to go to the king, and rightfully so. I mean, if he didn’t feel like seeing her (could the last 30 days be a clue?), her life was forfeit. But Esther wisely remembered who she was—before God and before the king. As queen, she had access to the king when others did not, yet she was still subject to his wishes. As a servant of the Most High God, she knew that the outcome of her chat with the king was up to Him.
But here’s what impressed me most about the humble queen. Allow me to set the scene. Haman has just been hung on his own gallows. The king has settled down a bit. He’s just given Mordecai his signet ring. Things are going well. The day is saved. The bad guy’s dead. Esther’s life is safe. But what did she do?
“Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite.” (8:3)
I’ll bet those weren’t fake tears. Esther was burdened for her people, and she willingly humbled herself before the king on their behalf. From what I can tell, Mr. King wasn’t much on follow-up. Perhaps had Esther not pled with him, he would have just left things as they were.
Esther wasn’t willing to take that chance. Lives were on the line, and Esther was committed not to “doing her best” to save them, but to doing what it took to save them. I want to be an Esther. I don’t want to just do my best. I want to do what it takes to get the job done excellently—even if takes more than my best.
I’m sure you know the rest of the story, but here’s a little something for you. It was on the third day of the three days of fasting that Esther hosted the first picnic: did she eat? :P
She has it all—she’s beautiful, charming, intelligent, wise, graceful, thoughtful, decisive, and humble.
I’ve read through the Book of Esther before, but I have never before noticed the humble queen. Esther has every reason to be proud. She’s the queen, for pity’s sake! She overcame her tough upbringing—she was an orphan, remember?—and rose to the top! She’s a model of working hard and overcoming your circumstances. But do you see Esther on Oprah talking about her successes? Nope. In fact, where is Esther?
Remember Zeresh the problem solver? Well, Esther was a problem solver of a different type. When she heard that she and her people had been scheduled to be “destroyed, killed, and annihilated,” she didn’t erect a gallows. (Haman had already done that for her.) No, Esther and her maidservants and all the Jews in Shushan (at Esther’s request) humbled themselves before God with prayer and fasting. For three days.
Esther was afraid to go to the king, and rightfully so. I mean, if he didn’t feel like seeing her (could the last 30 days be a clue?), her life was forfeit. But Esther wisely remembered who she was—before God and before the king. As queen, she had access to the king when others did not, yet she was still subject to his wishes. As a servant of the Most High God, she knew that the outcome of her chat with the king was up to Him.
But here’s what impressed me most about the humble queen. Allow me to set the scene. Haman has just been hung on his own gallows. The king has settled down a bit. He’s just given Mordecai his signet ring. Things are going well. The day is saved. The bad guy’s dead. Esther’s life is safe. But what did she do?
“Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite.” (8:3)
I’ll bet those weren’t fake tears. Esther was burdened for her people, and she willingly humbled herself before the king on their behalf. From what I can tell, Mr. King wasn’t much on follow-up. Perhaps had Esther not pled with him, he would have just left things as they were.
Esther wasn’t willing to take that chance. Lives were on the line, and Esther was committed not to “doing her best” to save them, but to doing what it took to save them. I want to be an Esther. I don’t want to just do my best. I want to do what it takes to get the job done excellently—even if takes more than my best.
I’m sure you know the rest of the story, but here’s a little something for you. It was on the third day of the three days of fasting that Esther hosted the first picnic: did she eat? :P
-Michelle
2 comments:
Kirsten, that closing question will haunt me until eternity...
Ok, so, I apparently can't tell the difference between my sister and my pretty-much-sister...Michelle, you need to start signing your posts for those of us contributors who are more than usually blonde...
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