Walking with God – Day 10
Walking with God with courage: Esther
Se(di)ngolwa (t)sa Bibele
ESETERE 4
These intriguing and daunting words are found in a book of the Bible that does not mention the name of God, and is one of only two books in the Bible named after the woman in it. However, it is a remarkable account of amazing events in which God works miraculously in the lives of his people to save them. God inspires Esther, through simple faith, helped by her cousin Mordecai who had raised her as his daughter after the death of her parents, to use the challenges they face to overcome evil.
Read this captivating book for yourself to see how God works through her courage and wisdom. Esther is a young Jewess, beautiful in looks and character, who wins the heart of King Xerxes of Persia who makes her the queen; but she does not become conceited and proud so that she forgets her identity. When she hears of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews, she supports her people, showing more concern for their well-being than for her own safety and, humbly following Mordecai’s advice, she uses her royal position for their good.
With the threat of the death penalty hanging over her, Esther prepared carefully for the quest to go against the law and to approach the king, unsummoned, to speak for her people. She fasted from food and water for three days, but she made the Jews join her, showing that they were all crying out for God’s deliverance. “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 maids 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.” (Esther 4:16)
By God’s grace, she did not perish. Instead, Esther found favour with the king as he extended his golden sceptre to her; but Haman, the enemy of the Jews, was hanged on the very day that he had planned for their slaughter. “For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
Esther’s courage and faith speak to us in our world today, where God calls us to love others as we love ourselves, to show that he is with us and to act on behalf of those in need, regardless of age, gender, race or culture, against the wrongs and injustices inflicted by society.
Will we heed his call?
