The book of Esther contains one of the most intriguing stories in the Bible. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the ending is a surprise resulting in the reversal of fortunes. The story begins simply enough with a king holding a banquet. King Xerxes of Persia has just spent six months parading his wealth before the entire kingdom (it took that long), and now he is throwing a feast for all the men in the capital city for seven days. His queen, Vashti, was giving a banquet for the women at the same time. After seven days of drinking, the king orders the queen to come and parade herself before his drunken guests. Jewish tradition says that he ordered her to come and appear before the men wearing only her crown. For whatever reason, she refused, but that kind of behavior was not tolerated by a king who was used to always having his way, so he deposed the queen — and some say that she was executed. At this point, a young Jewish girl enters the story. The king is looking for a new queen, and a beauty contest is held all over the kingdom — sort of an ancient game of “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire.” Esther is selected, and her only surviving relative comes to the gate of the palace every day in order to find out how she is doing. Mordecai is her uncle who gives reverence only to God, but Haman, one of the king’s chief officers, is used to having people bow down to him. He is enraged that Mordecai will not bow. As a means of getting revenge, Haman decides to kill not only Mordecai, but everyone of his race as well — the Jews. The story becomes tense because Esther is also a Jew and her uncle Mordecai calls on her to save their people. She is reluctant to approach the king, because anyone who comes to the king without his prior invitation is killed on the spot — unless he holds out his golden scepter. No one crossed the king and got away with it. But she does approach the king, and he responds by holding out the golden scepter. She invites the king to a special dinner where she will present her real request. Meanwhile, Haman is busy erecting a large pole on which he plans to impale Mordecai. But he is interrupted from his work with an invitation from Queen Esther to attend a banquet where he will be the honored guest. At the dinner, Queen Esther reveals to the king Haman’s plan to annihilate her people. The king is furious, and Haman is impaled on the very pole that he had prepared for Mordecai. Haman had cast dice, called Pur, to decide what day to kill the Jews, and it was on that very day that the Jews were saved from their enemies. The Jewish people continue to celebrate the feast of Purim to this very day.
The book of Esther is peculiar in the Bible because it never mentions God. It never mentions prayer. There are no prophets. There are no references to worship or the temple. It is almost as if it was deliberate. In fact, I believe it is. We have to remember that the Jews are in exile. They are separated from Jerusalem, the temple and its sacraments of worship. It is a time of separation of all that is holy to them. It is almost as if it would be sacrilegious to even mention God in this pagan kingdom. And yet, everywhere in the book are the signs of God at work and the display of his power. The providence of the Almighty is given credit for the deliverance of the Jewish people even though he is never mentioned. Even though there is no recorded prayer, there is much fasting which implies prayer. It does not speak of Mordecai worshiping God, but his worship of the one true God is certainly evident in the fact that he will not bow down to anyone — except God. And, indeed, the whole point of the book is that the small and beleaguered people of God are set over against the most powerful dynasty of its time — and God’s people are victorious. It is God against the most powerful king on earth — and God wins. God takes the plans of evil and brings those plans crashing down on the heads of those who devised that evil. God takes the most hopeless situation and uses it to prove his power. The beauty of this book is that it never mentions God, but speaks about him more clearly and powerfully than if his name were in every verse.
We have the privilege of knowing the end of the story and how everything works out, but if you were living out that story it would not be nearly so appealing. The events would be terrifying and depressing. It would look like everything was lost and hopeless. For Esther it was particularly difficult. She is trapped. She realizes that she is morally obligated to help her people, but she also knows that if she attempts anything it might cost her life. She could keep quiet about her nationality and the plight of her people, and continue to live a life of privilege and ease, or she could do the right thing and lose everything. Her uncle was applying pressure on her to do the right thing, and her own conscience was applying equal pressure. But fear applied a special pressure of its own.
What do you do when you feel trapped like that? What did Esther do? The first thing that the story of Esther tells us is that if you are going to avoid feeling trapped: You must take risks. Esther said to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king” (Esther 4:11). In Esther’s case, she risked losing her privileged position, her possessions, her status and even her life.
Perhaps you are feeling trapped right now. You are experiencing pressures on different sides and you don’t know what to do. You think you know the right thing to do, but it involves risk and you are afraid. You might lose something if you do what you think is right. Someone will think less of you and you might lose respect or even a friend. You might lose out financially if you do the right thing. You might lose your job or some other position of respect. You know what the right thing is, but you are afraid to do it. The message of Esther is that if your life is to mean something, you must take risks.
You may be aware that from time to time, lobsters have to leave their shells. It is very dangerous, but it is a necessary part of their growth process. While they are growing, they need their shells to protect their soft bodies from being torn apart by sharp rocks and eaten by other fish. But as they grow, they have to abandon their old shells. If they do not risk leavening their old shell, it would soon mean death for them. The risky part for the lobster is the brief period of time between when the old shell is discarded and the new one is formed. The lobster is very vulnerable during that period. The ocean currents push them into the coral. Hungry fish become predators. Sometimes a lobster dies before a new shell is formed, but if the lobster does not leave the old shell death is certain. Risk is a necessary part of survival. Doing God’s will means that we follow him, we change, we risk leaving our comfortable shells in order to grow and obey God.
But this is the way of the people of God. Abraham risked leaving his homeland and going to a strange new place where God was calling him. Moses risked defying Pharaoh in order to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. Joshua risked warfare in order to lead the people into the promised land. David risked fighting Goliath. The prophets risked speaking the truth of God even though it meant they might die for it. Jesus risked everything in order to make it possible for you to be forgiven.
If you are going to live for God it will always involve risk. Like Esther, you will have to overcome fear. It is hard to do the right thing when it is going to cost you. It is hard to do the right thing when no one would be the wiser if you just kept quiet. It is hard to do the right thing when other people will misunderstand. But sometimes you just have to take a risk and do the right thing in spite of the cost.
But the reason that we can take that kind of risk is because of the second thing you need to understand if you are going to avoid feeling trapped: You must realize your life has a divine destiny. Mordecai realized the significance of Esther’s selection as queen before she did. He said to her, “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Esther had assumed that her selection as queen was the luck of the draw, or the result of her talent and beauty. It had not occurred to her that God might have had a purpose in it. But Mordecai saw the hand of God in the events of her life and encouraged her to fulfill her destiny.
You need to understand that the events of your life are not just the luck of the draw — whether you perceive it as good luck or bad luck. Your life is not merely the result of your own hard work or talent. God has given you certain talents, abilities and gifts in order to place you in circumstances where you will be able to serve him in specific ways. Your life — every life — has a divine destiny; a divine appointment. God has something for you to accomplish. God wants to use your life in his plan. There is a purpose for your life. You will have to risk something in order to fulfill that purpose, but it is there — waiting for you. In order to fulfill your divine appointment you must be willing to take a risk.
You can almost see Esther with her mouth open trying to figure out what she is going to do in this alarming situation. Will she fulfill her destiny, or will she do the easy thing and avoid it? Will she stay in her protective shell, or will she leave it in order to grow — even though she will be extremely vulnerable.
I remember reading the book entitled Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed, by Philip Haille. The subtitle is: The Story of the Village of Le Chambon and How Goodness Happened There. Haille wrote of the little village of Le Chambon in France, a town whose people, unlike others in France, hid Jews from the Nazis. The Vichy government of France was collaborating with Hitler and was willing to hand over those who did not cooperate. After the war, Haille traveled to Le Chambon to discover what sort of courageous, ethical heroes would risk their very lives to accomplish such extraordinary good. But when he interviewed people in the village he was overwhelmed by how ordinary they were. They did not seem like heroes. They were not especially intelligent or outstanding in any way. But what Haille did find was a group of people who, Sunday after Sunday, were at their little church, where they listened to Pastor Trochme. As the war went on, they became people who just knew what to do and did it. When the Nazi’s came to town and it was time for them to have courage, they simply did the right thing and fulfilled their destiny. One old woman faked a heart attack when the Nazis came to search her house, and by doing so saved the Jews hiding there. She later said, “Pastor always taught us that there comes a time in every life when a person is asked to do something for Jesus. When our time came, we knew what to do.” They understood their destiny and they did what was necessary to fulfill it. They heard the words of Scripture echo to them down through the ages: “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Your life is not an accident. You are here by divine appointment, with a divine destiny and purpose. God said to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). What was true for Jeremiah is true for you. God knew you before you were born. He formed you in the womb, and he has given you a divine appointment. Your life has a destiny.
The third thing that the story of Esther tells us is that if you are going to avoid feeling trapped: You must have a sense of the providence of God. Christians who have positive mental attitudes realize that they are not the victims of the evil of this world — they are the victors! They are victors because they have a God who orders the events of this world and can turn evil around in order to bring about his purposes. Think about it. The worst thing that has ever taken place in this world was the crucifixion of Christ. To all appearances the schemes of the devil had worked. The devil killed the Son of God and even used Christ’s own disciples to betray him. The followers of Jesus were all in hiding. But God used the crucifixion of Christ to atone for the sins of the world. Through the death of Christ your sins and mine were paid for on the cross. And then... God raised Christ from the dead to assure us of the reality of eternal life. Because of the death of Christ the world saw that death was not the end. Eternity was opened to us and we had no more reason to fear the grave. God showed that he was in control and guiding the history of the world to accomplish and fulfill his divine will.
The hymn God Moves in a Mysterious Way has been a source of real inspiration and comfort to many of God’s people since William Cowper wrote it back in the 18th century. But very few people know about the unusual circumstances that led to its composition. William Cowper was a Christian, but he was suffering from depression. His heart was filled with despair. One foggy night he called for a horsedrawn carriage and told the driver to take him to the London Bridge on the Thames River. He was planning to end his life. But after two hours of driving through the dense fog, Cowper’s coachman reluctantly confessed that he was lost. Cowper was angry at the delay and decided to leave the carriage and find London Bridge on his own. But after walking only a short distance, he discovered that he was at his own doorstep! The carriage had been going in circles. Immediately Cowper recognized the providence of God. The Spirit of God began to speak to his heart and he realized that the way out of his problem was by trusting God, not jumping in the river. He saw that God’s hand had saved him from self-destruction, and now he trusted that God could save him from the other problems he faced. As gratitude welled up in his heart, he sat down and wrote those great words: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. O fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break in blessings on your head.” Cowper had learned from experience that God was indeed in control of the events of his life — even when things looked darkest.
In the economy of God coincidences are never coincidences. God’s divine purposes fill all the incidents of our lives. The sovereignty of God is at work in the world. However, this does not mean that God will do it all for you and you don’t have to do anything. No, you must play out your role and live out your destiny. God will not do it all for you, but neither can you do it all by yourself. You must lean completely on him. You must have faith. You must trust him and then do what he is calling you to do. God has already devised a plan for the destruction of evil in the world and the establishment of his kingdom, but you are a part of that plan. God has already devised a plan for a way out of what you are facing, but you have to have courage and faith and live out that plan.
Esther was willing to take a risk. She understood that her life had a divine destiny. And she had a sense of the providence of God. She knew that God was in control and that in the end evil would lose. She understood that the providential plan of God was unstoppable. What a tragedy it would have been if she had not been willing to be a part of God’s plan. She would not have taken a risk, but she would not have known the joy of victory. She would have lived a life of ease and pleasure, but she would not have fulfilled her destiny. She would have avoided danger, but she would have missed seeing the providence of God at work. Mordecai said to her: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place....” (Esther 4:14). She would have looked out for her own safety, but God would have used someone else and she would have missed the hand of God on her life. What is God calling you to do? If you will believe that God’s providence is at work in the world — if you will believe that your life has a destiny — if you will risk whatever is necessary in order to fulfill that destiny — it will change your life. Don’t miss God’s call on your life. Seize the day!
God says to you, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
Rodney J. Buchanan
May 21, 2000
WHEN YOU FEEL TRAPPED
Esther 4:1-14
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
If you are going to avoid feeling trapped:
1. You must take __________________________________ .
2. You must realize ________________________________ ____________________________________________________ .
3. You must have _________________________________ ____________________________________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (May 21, 2000)
1. What makes you feel trapped? What do you do that helps?
2. Review the story of Esther in Esther 4:1-14. What were the events that made Esther feel trapped? What did she do about it?
3. Describe some of the reversals of fate you find in this story.
4. Think of some evil plot in history or current events that has been turned upside down so that it has served those it was intended to harm.
5. Why do we tend to protect ourselves rather than come to the aid of others when danger is involved? How can we overcome this?
6. Why do people think that God does not have a specific plan for their lives? What would you say to such a person?
7. Why do people miss God’s purpose for their lives and fail to live out their destiny?
8. Read Hebrews 11:6. What are you asked to believe here and why is it important?
9. Read Psalm 139:1-18. What does this say about you and God?
10. Read Jeremiah 29:11-13. What is God’s attitude toward you? What should your response be?
11. Read Romans 8:28. What confidence does this give you in life?
