For Just Such a Time as This - Esther 4:12-17

The story of Esther is a fascinating one. In some ways it is interesting that this one made the Bible at all. One of the distinguishing marks of this bit of writing is that it is the only book of the Bible that doesn’t mention God at all.

The story is set not in Jerusalem, but in Susa, one of the three great royal seats of the Persian Empire, the other two being Babylon and Ecbatana. It centres on just five characters. There is the king of the time, Xerxes, who, in some versions has his name translated as Ahasuerus. Xerxes reigned from 486 to 465 BC and it is stated that the events of the book of Esther took place towards the beginning of his reign. There is Queen Vashti, who disobeys her husband, and so is banished. There is Esther who becomes queen. There is Mordecai, an exiled Jew living in Susa, Esther’s guardian and mentor, and her cousin. And there is Haman, the prime minister, an ambitious and arrogant man who plots against Mordecai and the exiled Jews.

The story really centres on this plot and Esther’s courageous efforts to save her people.

We get to the point in chapter 4 where the Jewish people, a significant community within the empire are under a fairly substantial threat. Mordecai is desperate on behalf of his people for Esther, now queen, to intervene. Esther herself, on the other hand, is, by no means, sure that she should. Catch the king on a bad day and that’s it – goodbye Esther!

But Mordecai challenges her, verse 14: Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this. And maybe we need to say to ourselves more often: could it just be that God has put me here for just such a time as this? Is there something that God has in mind for just me to do? What faced Esther certainly involved risk, certainly involved courage – but offered the possibility of really making a difference. Esther had the chance to make an impact. Now, of course, it might have all gone horribly wrong – but, in the end, though she did need a bit of persuasion from Mordecai, she got on with it. Of course, it is difficult to stand up and stand out, as Esther did – but maybe she is where she is “for just such a time as this”.

And sometimes we find ourselves surprised by what God asks of us.