For Such a Time as This Esther 4:14 - Equipped for Battle

The dialog between Queen Esther and her older cousin Mordecai was concerning the salvation of the Jews who were destined to be destroyed by an edict from King Ahasuerus and promoted by Haman. Esther was concerned that if she were to appear before the king uninvited that she might be killed, and Mordecai's answer to her was that she should not think that she would escape the carnage even though it was hidden that she was also a Jew. In chapter four and verse fourteen, we see a pinnacle phrase in Mordecai's comments that places Esther in a God given destiny for this situation. We read:

For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but you and your father's house shall be destroyed: and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

The verse begins, “For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;” After sharing with Esther about not thinking that she would escape this edict, Mordecai warns her about what would happen if she were to “hold your peace” at this time. In other words, if Esther decided that it was too much risk to go before the king uninvited, and there was no way she was going to jeopardize her life, then God would send “enlargement” which means “relief” and “deliverance” which means “escape” to the Jews from somewhere else. Esther was in a prime position to affect the salvation of the Jews, but if she should choose not to go before the king, God would save the Jews in some other manner.

The verse continues, “but you and your father's house shall be destroyed:” Now this is a heavy warning. Not only would Esther be killed, but also her relatives as well. We remember that her dad and mom were already dead which was the reason Mordecai adopted her in the first place, but now Mordecai tells her that the rest of her family would die as well if she did not go before the king. Can we imagine what Esther felt like when she heard those words?

Finally we read, “and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Now we see the climatic question of this message from Mordecai. Let us remember that Mordecai does not have the advantage of knowing how this story ends at this time. He is not sure about why Esther became the queen of Persia, but he considers that divine providence has orchestrated her in this manner just because of this edict. “For such a time a this” might be the very reason that Esther was queen. God in His eternal knowledge knew there was going to be an effort to destroy the Jews, and behind the scenes He was moving Esther to the position that could alter the entire outcome. There was an answer to Mordecai's question “who knows” - God knew.

What situations has God put us in the middle of that might be our “such a time as this”? Has the culmination of the events in our lives been directing us to a specific purpose whereby people will be saved? Are there special situations that have arisen that require that we risk our lives, our status, and our all to be used to affect a change? As we ponder today's verse, let us open our hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him where we may be used “for such a time as this”, and may He give us the courage to step out in faith to do so.

Next time we will look at another answer from Esther, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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