The following is a commentary on how three figures in the
book of Esther put self-interest aside to help others and stand for what they believed.
Queen Vashti: truthfully, this was a part of the story that I
didn’t even remember. After seven days of feasting and an open-bar, Xerxes
summons his wife, Vashti, to be paraded in front of his guests to show-off her beauty.
Vashti refused the summons. I admire her for that, as she had to have known
that there would be consequences. It could be written off as foolish pride, but
I choose to think that she chose to make a statement about her value being
above a display to be leered-at by droves of men steeped in seven days’ worth
of brine. And, indeed, her husband was
pressured to punish her for her unseemly insolence, and she was stripped as her
position as queen. See Esther 1: 10-19
Mordecai: this one is easy. Mordecai raised a faithful and
humble niece. He had the faith and integrity to defy a royal staffer’s request
for obeisance. He knew that it would be unthinkable to disregard the first
commandment, and put anything/one before God. See Esther 3:1-6.
Esther: Esther risked it all. She knew that going before the
emperor unbidden could be punishable by death. She also knew that she was the
only hope her people had, facing extinction via her husband’s edict. She was
ready for that eventuality, if it happened. She put her trust in the Lord, and because
of her courage, the Jews were saved. See Esther 4:11-16
I would love to have the faith, the integrity, and the
courage of these people. I can do this, slowly, if I pray sincerely for how to
go about it, and then am willing to do the work that it will take. I think the key
word is “strive.” I need to be striving toward these things, and my efforts
will be blessed with progress.
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