Unsung Heroines-Esther’s Maidens

Introduction: Esther was a Jewish maiden who was selected to become Queen of the Persian Empire. The Book of Esther gives additional information about how she truly lived a dream come true. We’re not told how many girls from the Persian Empire were evaluated, but Esther won the contest and became queen.

And it was no accident she was chosen, either. Something awful was already in place to destroy the entire Jewish race. She was notified about it, then deferred making a decision, but eventually knew she had to take a risk no matter what it might cost.

But she wasn’t alone. She had a number of maidens with her, and these ladies were some of the Bible’s unsung heroines.

Text: Esther 4:15-17, KJV: 15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

Thoughts: Esther had any number of privileges as queen but even she had to abide by the rules and customs of the court and the king. One of those restrictions was to approach the king at your own risk unless you had a personal invitation. Aware of this, Esther relayed this information to Mordecai when he had given her a copy of the decree, signed by the king, to eliminate all the Jews (details in Esther 3).

Esther tried to explain to Mordecai that if she approached the king, uninvited, she might lose her life but Mordecai told her in so many words, “If they find out you’re Jewish, too, they’ll take your life anyway! Who knows but that you were selected for such a time as this? (4:9-14)”

So then, Esther knew what she had to do. And the first thing she did was to call a fast among all the Jews in Shushan, asking them to eat or drink nothing for three days and nights. Esther didn’t stop there, either: she commanded her maidens to do the same thing.

We don’t know anything about these maidens, like how many there were or where any of them had been from originally. Were any of them Jewish, like Esther herself? Could it be that some Gentile women had come to faith in the God of Esther? We’ll never know down here, but I’m sure that the prayers and fasting of these unknown maidens, some of the unsung heroines of the Bible, all had a part in Esther’s later mission: to see the king.

The Lord knows where you are, plus what you can and cannot do. If all you can do is pray, that’s enough for Him. Take comfort in that and keep praying!

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV).