“But he disdained to lay hands on only Mordecai, since they had told him of the people of Mordecai. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”

— Esther 3:6

At one time, the fate of the entire Jewish people rested in the hands of one young Jewish woman, Esther. This is the story of that short book in the Old Testament and how God in His sovereignty saved the Jews. But if Esther had given in to her natural inclinations, they might have perished, or God would have saved them through some other means, but she and her family would have perished.

The wicked Haman had convinced King Xerxes of the Medo-Persian Empire that all the Jews must be destroyed on a certain day. The laws of the Medes and the Persians were irreversible. Haman selected that day of massacre by the lot. The plural for the Hebrew word for lot is purim, and it is the Feast of Purim that the Jews continue to celebrate until this day, remembering when their people were saved.

Esther’s cousin Mordecai told her that she must go see the king, but she told him that it was absolutely against the law—she could be executed for going to see him unbidden. But Mordecai said to her, “For if you remain silent at this time, protection and deliverance for the Jews will be ordained from some other place, but you and your father’s house shall be destroyed. And who knows if you may have attained royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). These are classic words. At one time or another, every Christian, down through the centuries, has no doubt asked, “Is this not true for me as well?”

Lord, You who are our protector, give me strength for today to do what is right rather than what is easy. Give me Your sure protection and thank You for the time and place in which You have set me…

IN GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
CAN STAND BEFORE KINGS.