Do you ever put yourself in the place of a Bible character? I know physically you can’t, but mentally do you exchange places in your mind? Do you ask yourself, “What would I have done if I were them?” The lives and times of Esther and Mordecia were challenging to say the least. They lived during the reign of Ahasuerus, aka Xerxes. He was king of Persia for 21 years, 486-465 BC. This was approximately 50 years after Daniel had died. In the last ten years of his reign is the story of our book Esther. Hatred of the Jews is nothing new. Satan has always hated the people of God both in the past and in the present. He will continue this pattern into the future as well. A character is revealed in this book named Haman. He is evil, prideful, powerful, and seeks to have the Jews killed because they won’t bow to him as a political appointee. He deceives Ahasuerus and gallows are constructed to begin executing these unruly Hebrews. He was a Hitler before there was a Hitler.

Early today, I was reading the story of Tom Buergenthal. The article was titled “Child 3390” written by Jonathan Turley. As a small child Tom was sent to the concentration camps of Germany. He and hundreds of other kids would be killed, abused by starvation, or mutilated by experimenting medical butchers. Tom would stay alive, be spared only to be sent to different camps while other children were executed or used for experimental drugs and procedures. Tom was finally moved to Auschwitz- Birkenau which was perhaps the most infamous of the camps. Joseph Mengele (the Angel of Death) ran the camp. The children at Auschwitz would go to sleep with a piece of paper laying on them. During the night, Mengele would go through the building as the children slept marking those who were to live and those to be executed. Tom recently died at 89 years. His story isn’t new. It is as old as the Bible. Esther and Mordecai are prime examples for us to learn from. The book is divided easily into three sections. Chapters 1-2 we see God working and Esther (Jewish) become Queen because of her beauty. Chapters 3-4 Mordecia refuses to bow to Haman. Haman’s hatred begins. Chapters 5-10 we find Esther constantly outsmarting Haman and ultimately, he is executed on the same gallows he had planned to hang Jews on. What are we to learn? Let me give you three things to think about from the fourth chapter.

  1. We must Publicly take a Stand. Mordecai had been a good citizen, but evil was happening in the capital city, so he put on sackcloth clothes and sat by the king’s gate. Esther, the Queen, sent him clothes and he would not wear them. He was publicly calling attention to the evil and the horrors that were coming fast. Jesus said we are to be “salt” and “light.” Salt sometimes stings as it helps healing. It also preserves which as Christians were ought to want. Light exposes the bad. Bugs, dirt, snakes just to name three. It also gives direction such as the light on a hill or a lighthouse on a coastline. The Christian life is a happy and blessed life. It produces joy unlike any other life. We see Mordecai sitting at the gate in 4:1-3.
  2. We must Present the facts honestly. Dishonesty doesn’t endear trust but denying truth only speeds destruction. Esther tells Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains to go speak with Mordecai and find out what is the problem. We see this in 4:6-9. The facts are laid out quickly, but most important honestly. This was a trait Haman was sorely missing when seeking to deceive Ahasuerus. Opportunity will present itself to you and me in the coming weeks and months to share truth. What is truth? It is certainly not relative. There is nothing subjective about truth. Biblical truth is objective. It can be relied on every day, all-day. It doesn’t change with the latest cultural fad or political season. Biblical truth is defined on the pages of holy writ, our Bibles. Let the Bible decide for us not a humanistic philosophy which hates everything about God, his book, and his bride.
  3. We must Pray for Strength and Courage. We see Esther responding to her cousin Mordecai’s admonition “for such a time as this” (4:14). She needs courage to approach Ahasuerus. I need all of you to pray for me was her greatest need (4:16-17). If she walked into the presence of the king without an invitation it could mean instant death. Esther hadn’t seen the king in a month. He’d not called for her but now she was about to walk into his presence without an invitation and say her piece. We must pray for each other for courage and strength. Let me start closing this blog today with a question which I was asked when I first met Christ. “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It is my prayer that every Christian on the role of Corinth Baptist Church would be convicted in minutes because they are Christian in every area of their life. Let me adapt that question. “If you were arrested just because you are a Christian how would you handle it?” It isn’t beyond the imagination that arrests and persecution could occur with increasing frequency. The devil still hates God’s people. It already happened in a few circumstances and could become more numerous as Christians take their stand for biblical truth. Why not camp out in Esther in the next day or so. Place yourself in Mordecai or Esther’s sandals and think how you would respond. Let’s all pray for each other that we’ll have the courage to do the right thing.