Esther 4

“Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: ‘All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.’ So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: ‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’” Esther 4:10-14 (NKJV)

Have you ever started to tell somebody about a problem you’re having, only to have that person interrupt you by saying, “You think you’ve got problems; you should hear what I have to put up with!” Then the person goes on to explain in detail some minor issues they are facing.  If so, you can relate to Mordekhai’s situation in today’s passage.

Mordekhai relays to Esther that his problem is a life-threatening one, not only for himself but also for the entire Jewish population in Medo-Persia, and that Esther has the responsibility to do something about it.  Esther immediately reacts by saying, in effect, “You think you’ve got problems….” Interestingly, she does not express any concern for Mordekhai’s or her fellow Jews’ plight; instead, she worries because she might personally have to risk incurring the wrath of government authority and that such an act would put her own life in jeopardy.  To top it off, she mentions that her marriage has not been going well lately…30 days since she had last been in the king’s presence.  Oy vey!  Perhaps, the beauty treatments and luxurious lifestyle were starting to go to Esther’s head.

In this verbal exchange, relationships are being determined.  Would Esther perceive the conversation to be between queen & subject or uncle & niece?  In the greater sense, the whole debate was a commentary on the existential condition of the Jewish community in exile.  Had the Jews assimilated and simply considered themselves “Medo-Persians,” or did they still hold on to the prophecy of Jeremiah that they would someday be given the opportunity to return to the Promised Land?  Esther personified that existential condition.  Assimilation is still a significant issue for the Jewish Community, and the question of “what does it mean to be Jewish” is the main issue.  

It is also a major question for the Christian community.  Just as the Jewish exiles were commanded to be “among but not of” a foreign people, all believers are to live with the hope of Heaven, not seeking our identities in this World.  Like Esther, we must all choose to love the Lord and stand with His people, no matter the personal cost.