April 6, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Courageous Plan

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Opening Prayer

God of Truth, I live in a world overcome by lies. Today, may my words be disciplined by Your Word.

Read Esther 4:1-17

[1] When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. [2] But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. [3] In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes. [4] When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. [5] Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. [6] So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. [7] Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. [8] He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. [9] Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. [10] Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, [11] “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” [12] When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, [13] he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. [14] 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?” [15] Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: [16] “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” [17] So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (Psa. 37:7). Hard to do, but important.

Some time ago, as I resolutely climbed the office stairs to present an issue of serious concern to a superior, I was reminded of Esther. Unlike Esther’s, my situation was hardly life- (or even career-) threatening; nonetheless, I felt I’d been placed in my role for “such a time as this” (14). Maybe you’ve had a similar experience. Esther, from within the palace confines, was not aware of the plot to kill the Jews until she learned of Mordecai’s extreme behavior. Maybe he was trying to catch her attention with his expression of deep mourning–and with good reason: the whole Jewish community recognized their situation was dire, as the threat of genocide within the year loomed.

A series of messages, conveyed by a trusted intermediary, eventually had the desired impact on Esther. The content of the edict would have shocked her. Her people were vilified as ill-disposed, defiant, outlandish, hostile and to be given no pity or mercy–for the sake of Persian stability and peace. Esther proposed several legitimate reasons why she could not obey Mordecai’s request to act on behalf of her people, but she was finally persuaded by his proposal that maybe she had been placed in her present position just so she could act. She agreed to put her life on the line, without fully sharing Mordecai’s seeming certainty that somehow the Jews would survive.

Any reference here to God’s involvement is veiled, but as Esther prepares for her courageous approach to the king, she is supported by a fasting (and praying?) community. “We only recognize the working of providence by looking back, but we have to commit ourselves to God’s providence and live our lives going forward” (David G. Firth; see also Gen. 50:19-20). 

Apply

Would you risk life itself to obey Christ’s challenge to some difficult but necessary task or role? If not, how might you become better prepared “for such a time as this”?

Closing prayer

Lord, I need to be prepared for those moments of challenge You bring before me. Assure me of Your grace for such events.

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