Hello, my lovely friends! We’re nearing the end of the Women of the Bible series, and I wanted to be sure to write about my favorite biblical heroine and some of the things I’ve learned from her as I read her story. This girl is one of two women to have a book of the Bible named after her and was somewhere in her mid-teens when her story begins. Her name is Hadassah, also known as Esther.
Who was Esther?
Esther was a young Jewish woman living in the kingdom of Persia. The book of Esther is ten chapters, and I would recommend reading it straight through. Since it’s so long, I won’t put her entire story in this post; rather, I’ll share a few of my favorite verses.
What Can We Learn from Esther?
She had humility
Esther was quickly taken from a quiet life with her uncle Mordecai and thrust into a life of attention and glamour. But she didn’t let that change her into someone who thought only about herself.
When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her.
Esther 2:15
I love this example of Esther’s humility. Esther was a beautiful girl, as we’re told in chapter 2. But she wasn’t conceited or prideful; rather, she was quiet and humble, listening to the advice of others. She had a gentle and quiet spirit, and she was favored by those around her. During her first year in the palace, Esther and the other girls were given all sorts of beauty treatments. When it was time to go to the king, rather than demanding anything she wanted, Esther listened to what Hegai had to say, doing only what he suggested. I think humility is especially important today when there are so many ways to put yourself out there and be noticed. I know that I want to be more like Esther, listening to the counsel of others and practicing kindness and humility, even when it’s difficult.
She had courage
Esther was married to a powerful king. But even she couldn’t go before the king without express permission.
“But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days. . . Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
Esther 4:11, 16
I think that Esther would have felt at least a little scared, not knowing how things would turn out. What if the king ordered her to be put to death? Then who would help her people? But I love what she says here: “If I perish, I perish.” She was willing to do whatever she could to save her people, even if it meant she would die. One of my favorite quotes is, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Esther realized that the lives of her people were on the line. So, she faced her fear of going in to the king, uninvited, and ultimately saved all of the Jews in the kingdom.
She allowed herself to be used by God
Esther was an ordinary girl who came from an ordinary family, but the way God used her to save his people is incredible.
“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14-15
The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible where God’s name isn’t mentioned directly, but we can see all the ways that God was working behind the scenes. In the that culture, Jews were the least important. An orphan girl like Esther, who was also a Jew, would be at the very bottom of society. No one would take any notice of her. Yet God chose her to be in a position to save an entire nation from destruction. Like Esther, God is using us, too. He might not need us to marry a king and save millions of people, but you can serve him right where you are.
Go Live It
Is it easy or difficult for you to listen to the advice of others?
How can you practice courage?
How does knowing that God used Esther for great things encourage you?
