by R. Douglass Mahaffey
When Esther was chosen out of all the land to be queen to King Xerxes, she had no idea what influence her crown and her faith in God would have on the survival of her people, the Jews.
Hayman, the royal advisor to King Xerxes, had a life-long grudge toward the Jews and usually took his frustrations out on the king's guard, Mordecai, who was a Jew, and incidentally, Esther's uncle.
Mordecai was in the right place at the right time one day in the palace when he uncovered a plot against King Xerxes' life. He exposed the plot and ultimately saved the king's life. Hayman was furious, as the king ordered him to throw Mordecai a parade and proclaim to the people of Persia that Mordecai was a man that found favor with the king.
The next day, Hayman devised a plan against Mordecai and the Jews. He went to King Xerxes, who trusted Hayman with his life, and told him that the Jews were secretly conspiring an uprising against the rulers of the land to overthrow it and needed to be punished. Hayman's grudge was against Mordecai alone because he refused to bow to the king and vowed only to bow before God, and God alone.
King Xerxes told Hayman to go about his plan and even gave Hayman his ring to seal the decree. So, it was set. In 30 days from that day, all the Jews in the land, men, women and children were to be killed.
Word got back to Mordecai as to what the king had ordered, and he went to his neice, Queen Esther, and pledge for her to go before the king to expose Hayman for his evil plot. The rule that was set before all the land was that anyone who dared appear before the king uninvited would be put to death, unless he held out his sceptor to welcome them.
Esther reluctantly agreed to appear before him, knowing then that this was why God put her in position as queen; to deliver the Jews from the evil plot of Hayman.
Of course, God was with her when she went to see the king. King Xerxes held out his sceptor and welcomed her. Because of her beauty, she found favor in his eyes. Esther came before the king, bowed and made her request known to him.
Being a reserved and honorable woman before God, she meant to expose Hayman in private, so to not bring any embarrassment to the king. She invited them both to a banquet, which she had prepared for them that night.
At the banquet, she told King Xerxes and Hayman that someone was plotting to destroy her and her people. The king pledged death to whomever it was, no matter who it was. Hayman pled for Esther to tell him who it was. Esther pointed at Hayman.
Hayman was perplexed and said that he would never bring harm to a queen that King Xerxes loved, such as her. She told him that it was him who called for the death of the Jews. That included her uncle Mordecai, who had saved the king's life before, as well as her; for they were both Jews.
King Xerxes was furious that Hayman had plotted to kill his queen and the very guard who had saved his life. He ordered Hayman's immediate execution. King Xerxes appointed Mordecai as his royal advisor, the position that Hayman had abused to push his own agenda against the Jews.
Esther was one of the greatest heroines of the Bible because she knew what she stood for. Esther believed in letting God fight for her as she submitted to his will. She walked in spirit and in truth as she represented her people to the glory of the God, who had delivered them from destruction time and time again.
With a little faith and the willingness to serve God and walk in spirit and truth, He'll do the same for you.
R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.
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