ESTHER: TOUGH-MINDED YET TENDER-HEARTED
“Tough-minded yet tender-hearted” is a dual characteristic that could most likely be ascribed to your mother as well as mine.
My Mother, affectionately called Mama by her children, was a descendant of Methodist missionaries who came to North Carolina during the 18th Century to bring the gospel and social justice to Indians in the Carolinas and North Georgia.
A great-grand-daughter of John Mashburn, a beloved Methodist Minister in Forsyth County, Mama was brought up in the tradition of strict rules and religious observances associated with the Wesley’s of England from whence her ancestors came to America.
Mama was a storehouse of old-time sayings and proverbs which she relied on heavily in bringing us up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Of all that she passed on to me, one “preacher saying” in particular comes to mind - in light of our current study of Esther: “To everything there is a season . . . and a time to every purpose under the sun.”
If you were to take the time to do a review of your life, as I often encourage you to do, you would no doubt remember countless times throughout those years when you were faced with difficulties and were unsure of what to do or how to go about the resolution of whatever challenge you faced.
Often during life’s journey there are few if any clear-cut choices, so we find ourselves hesitating or hoping the problem will go away, especially when security is at stake, and our comfort level is threatened. It is common at our age and stage in life to fear making the wrong decision.
The fact of the matter is what we really wish for, and pray for, is a guarantee of a certain outcome before we choose. Have you, like me, for example, ever prayed for a “sign” from heaven? Yes, it’s only natural to want a confirmation from the Lord - that what we are about to do is the right thing.
Mama advised me that there would be times in my life when my only help would come from the Lord. As usual, Mama was right. “My help cometh from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.” After all these years of my life, the Lord still is “my refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.”
To my Mother, and you to your Mother, we owe a debt of gratitude for the wisdom and upbringing that set us in the direction of coming to the end of life on this earth having fulfilled God’s Will for our lives.
Mordecai’s admonition to Esther was like a Christian Mother’s advice to her children: There is a time to stay silent but there is also a time to speak up and act - in as persuasive a manner as possible - for the good of family, friends, country. After all,
“Who knows but that you have been positioned for a time such as this!”
The time had come for emotions to subside and for prayers to be answered as Esther finished three days of fasting and got up off her knees to get ready for a do or die intervention in a bad situation. She was as ready as she would ever be to do the right thing, saying, “If I perish, I perish.”
At the end of our last session we asked:
Is the Lord about to use the persuasive power of an humble Jewish maiden, who once found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time but wound up in the right place at the right time, to change the course of Jewish history for the good of all people who would trust in the Lord?
We pick up the story on the third day at the conclusion of the three days set aside for fasting and praying – Esther 5:1-14 . . .
Isn’t it just like the lady of the house – one in charge of dining arrangements, one who tends to think things through - to “set the table” for what she is about to do next?
A Banquet for the King! No wonder we grew up hearing that old expression, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!”
The time had come to act. However, woman’s intuition prompted Esther to take her time - be patient, be cautious, get it right.
Too much was hanging in the balance to rush; lives were at stake, including her own. Esther knew that she was walking a tight rope, that only a power greater than herself could help at this point. Cautiously and Patiently she made her move.
“If it pleases the king . . .” See how humility acquired at an early age comes into play at the most critical of times in her life? In whose sight would Esther not have found favor? If the queen of my life came to me and said, “If it pleases you, my lord”, you betcha I’d say “Hurry! Whatever you wish!”
Are you as struck by Esther’s subtlety as I am? She even touched the tip of his scepter – a sign of respect, honor, submission! Would you agree that she had Xerxes “wrapped around her little finger”? You have never played that game, have you?
Esther had the king getting involved in what the counseling profession calls a mutual partnership – “the two shall become one”! Mutual love, honor, respect, reciprocity. “Up to half of my kingdom!” Unheard of in a male-dominated society!
Half of the kingdom was not what Esther wanted. Her goal was to save her people from a Jew hater’s devious plot to get rid of Mordecai and all other Jews.
Esther’s strategy of inviting the devil to dinner was a stroke of genius! Who else but a woman of inner strength and courage would do such a thing? Her plan had to have been of God the Father of His chosen people – the primary outcome of intensive prayer care that transmitted to Esther a divine infusion of courage.
Pentecostal Power was at work in this woman of humility which allowed her to put up with Haman’s rage that overshadowed his joy of being invited to a banquet with the king and queen . . . boasting as if he was now more important than the king himself . . . self-pronounced dissatisfaction with his invitation to the banquet (“Still, none of this satisfies me since I see ‘that despised Jew’ everywhere I turn!”
You know, Mama told me that there would be times when the best course of action would be to ignore one’s critics. And, in my way of thinking, it occurred to me that if you give some enemies enough slack, they just might hang themselves.
On the other hand, we must be careful that we do not allow our enemy to distract us and thereby take our minds off our ultimate objective. The devil likes to try our patience and discourage us to the extent that we give up. Not Esther!
The Queen was very much aware of all that was going on behind the scenes to distract her from God’s mission of saving her Jewish people.
Esther’s timing was perfect because she had been positioned and prepared “for such a time as this” by the Lord God of Israel whose timing is always perfect!
Never ignore God’s timing! Keep your heart and mind in the right place – focused on God’s Will, in tune with God’s purpose, in touch with God’s plan – and He will make your next move clear to you.
Haman was short-sighted. He only thought of what he had to gain by going to the banquet – prestige, prominence, power. He laughed as he told his friends: “I am the only one invited”.
But, you know, another of Mama’s sayings comes to mind: “He who laughs last, laughs best!” Evil doers may think they have won – momentarily – but in the long run they are in for a rude awakening.
The end for the one (Mordecai) that evildoers were plotting to destroy was scheduled by the building of gallows. Meantime, God scheduled the end for the evildoers. Stay tuned. Amen.
