This is one of the most recognized passages in all of scripture, and it is probably the one phrase that the book of Esther is known for.
In this phrase is all the emotion, disappointment and tragedy that we should have felt in this book up until now. We can almost hear Mordecai saying, “This isn’t what anyone would have chosen for you, Esther, but it looks like the Lord may have been behind this all along, just like He was in Joseph’s life.”
There must have been a clear parallel between Esther and Joseph in Mordecai’s mind, and it was truly for “such a time as this” that God had allowed all these things to happen, just like in Joseph’s life.
This statement seemed to jolt Esther awake to the reality that if she did something, she may die, but that if she didn’t, she would probably die anyway. It seems like the allusion to Joseph was well received by Esther, and she set her mind that she was going to go see the king, but she was still scared.
She enlisted Mordecai to join her in three additional days of fasting and prayer; not for the edict, but that the Lord would give her favor with the king. Mordecai and all the Jews of Susa did just that, they prayed and fasted for three days seeking the Lord to give their girl in the palace a special place of favor to make one of the biggest requests of their lives to a foreign despot.
They really needed a miracle.
What would you have asked Mordecai to do if you were going to see the king in a similar situation?
Esther is simultaneously a victory and a tragedy. In some ways, If you look at it through a modern lens, it should be called the Victory of Mordecai and the Tragedy of Esther. Esther loses her parents and then is taken into the harem of a despotic king to be used as he wishes. Mordecai ends up, like Daniel, a very high official and ruler in his expatriated land.
This will be a great study of Esther as we look at the emotions, the world and the meanings of one of the most cherished, and often misunderstood books of the Bible.
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