Today’s Reading: Esther 1:1-2:20, Psalm 114

Some of the Jewish families had grown and flourished while in exile. For many, it was the only life they knew. Their great-grandparents would have remembered life in Jerusalem, but they themselves were born and raised in the Persian culture. Over the last 100 years of exile and beyond, they had been given the freedom to own businesses and hold government positions. They had blended into the culture and it was easier to stay in the known than to journey back to the unknown as most of the Jewish families had done.

EASIER TO STAY IN THE KNOWN THAN TO JOURNEY BACK TO THE UNKNOWN

God is calling me to sit in this part of the story for a moment. How often do we choose what is familiar and comfortable over what God is calling us to next? Are we using God’s blessings as an excuse to stay rooted where we are, rather than remaining open to where God wants us to be? Is it easier to stay in the known than to allow God to turn the page and begin a new chapter of our lives?

The book of Esther tells us of one family’s story of staying in Persia rather than returning to their homeland. God took this decision to stay and chose to use them in a mighty way in the lives of all the other Jewish families in Persia. Their faith was preserved in a godless country, and God used that faith to save His people once again.

Xerxes the Great was the fifth king to reign in Persia. Like the other kings, he was known for his pride and impulsiveness. In the third year of his reign, King Xerxes prepared a banquet for all of his military officers, as well as the royal families. This party lasted six months as the guests took time to plan their upcoming battles and military strategies, while being wined and dined in the luxury of the palace.

At the end of this strategy session, the king threw a banquet that lasted seven days. All of the men in the fortress of Susa were invited to the beautifully decorated palace courtyard and given an abundance of the finest wine available. This boosted the king’s ego as the men celebrated the generosity of their leader with no limits placed on how much wine they drank.

At the same time, all the women in the royal palace were invited to a banquet thrown by Queen Vashti. The king’s attendants came to get the queen and bring her to the king’s banquet, for he wanted all the nobles and officials to gaze upon her beauty, but she refused to come. Some say that it was against Persian culture for a respectable woman to attend an all-male party such as this one; some say the king wanted her to come in with only her crown upon her head so that his guests could see the beauty of her body.

Refusing the king probably seemed like the right thing to do but it had its consequences. In his anger, King Xerxes ordered a written decree that the queen be banished from his presence forever. Her disrespect had embarrassed the king, and the king’s advisors wanted to make an example of her so that other women would not follow her example and refuse their husbands.

The king later realized the permanence of this decision he had made out of anger and in a state of drunkenness. To correct the situation, a search was made across the empire to find beautiful young women to be brought into the king’s harem in order to find a replacement for the queen. These young women would go through a year of beauty treatments, spend one night with the king and then be taken to live among the harem of wives in the palace. If the king remembered his night with her, she was invited back into his presence.

Esther was one of the young women chosen to come to the palace. Scripture does not tell us how she felt about this life that was chosen for her, but it is easy to imagine that she would have grieved the loss of her own plans and been saddened by the separation from her family. God was watching over Esther and she found favor with the eunuch in charge of her care. He treated her kindly, ordered a special menu for her, and assigned seven maids to her care, giving her the best place in the harem. She was not where she wanted to be but she was not alone as God watched over her. She was unaware of God’s plans to use her for the preservation of His people.

TRUSTING GOD IN THE UNKNOWN WHEN WE HAVE NO WAY TO GET BACK TO THE KNOWN

Perhaps you are not where you want to be, not where you planned to be. Perhaps decisions have been made for you that were out of your control. My prayer for you is that your faith will continue to grow as you trust that God has a larger plan at work. I pray that you are able to see the evidence that He is using your position to strategically use you in the lives of those around you. I pray that you will experience a peace that only God can give, and that He will give you favor with those you come in contact with today. May you recognize that God can take any situation and use it to provide for His people.

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob.
He turned the rock into a pool of water;
yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock. — Psalm 114:7-8