A Series on Women in the Bible
(Use
the link below to read the verses.)
[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]
During spring
break of my sophomore year of college, my high school girlfriend, and fiancé,
broke up with me. When I returned to school, which by the way, there were ten
guys for every girl; my prospects were slim to none. I felt hopeless and depressed
to the point where I almost flunked out of school.
The following
summer, my degree program required a summer term of field work. There was a guy
in the program who invited me to church with him where, low and behold, there
were pretty girls everywhere. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
One night, my
friend shared with me about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. For such
a time as this, Ken Baker, had literally changed my life forever.
The book of Esther
tells us the story about how her cousin Mordecai raised her as his only
daughter because both of her parents had died. Mordecai and Esther were exiled
to Persia.
During a festive
banquet for many high officials, King Xerxes was humiliated by Queen Vashti. As a
result, he deposed her, and sponsored a beauty contest to choose the next
queen.
Scripture tells us
that Esther “had a lovely figure and was
beautiful”. Because of this, she was forced to participate in the contest. After
a yearlong of beauty treatments, she was taken to the king’s bed. Following
this, he made her his queen.
The situation became desperate when Haman, who was the most powerful man in the king’s service, manipulated King Xerxes to decree that all Jews be killed.
According to my NIV study Bible, these
events “threatened the continuity of God’s purposes in redemptive history. The
future existence of God’s chosen people, and ultimately the appearance of the
Messiah, were jeopardized by Haman’s edict to destroy the Jews.”
Mordecai sent this
message to enlist Esther’s help.
13 “Don’t
think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all
other Jews are killed. 14 If you keep quiet at a
time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other
place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made
queen for just such a time as this?” NLT
Making a bad
situation worse, Esther had never disclosed to King Xerxes that she was a Jew. Plus,
by law, anyone who went into the king’s presence without an invitation, was
subject to death.
For such a time as
this, Mordecai told her. The Lord had placed her in just the right place, at
just the right time. Esther risked her life, and faithfully submitted to the
Lord, changing the lives of a whole nation. My friend, Ken Baker, faithfully
followed the Lord, and changed my life.
Where has the Lord
placed you, for such a time as this?
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