Esther

Esther (Persian, perhaps “star”; her Hebrew name Hadassah means “myrtle”) was a Jewish exile who became queen of Persia and, under God’s hidden providence, the deliverer of her people from annihilation. An orphan of the tribe of Benjamin, she was raised by her older cousin Mordecai in Susa, the Persian capital (Esther 2:5-7). The book that bears her name is famous for never once mentioning God by name, yet it shows his unseen hand governing every “coincidence” for his people’s good.

When King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) deposed Queen Vashti, Esther was chosen from all the young women of the empire to be queen, keeping her Jewish identity secret at Mordecai’s counsel (Esther 2:17). Soon Haman the Agagite, raised to highest office, was enraged that Mordecai would not bow to him and secured a royal decree to destroy all the Jews on a day chosen by lot (Esther 3:8-11). Mordecai sent Esther the charge that has echoed ever since: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Resolving, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16), Esther fasted and then risked death by approaching the king unsummoned. Over two banquets she won his favour and exposed Haman’s plot (Esther 7:3-6). Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai (Esther 7:10), Mordecai was exalted in his place, and a counter-decree allowed the Jews to defend themselves, turning a day of doom into one of victory (Esther 8:11).

The deliverance is commemorated each year in the joyful Feast of Purim, named for the “pur” (lot) Haman had cast (Esther 9:24-28). Esther stands as a model of courage, wisdom, and self-sacrifice for her people, and her story is a powerful witness to God’s providence: though his name is unspoken, he preserves the covenant line — and so the lineage of the Messiah — through the faithfulness of a hidden queen raised up “for such a time.”