By Marv Rosenthal
Almost Midnight
The place was Shushan, the capital of Persia. The time, about 480 B.C. The atmosphere, critical.
Under the influence of Haman (a powerful government official), a decree was sent from King Ahasuerus to kill all the Jewish people in the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. In essence, the decree was sounding the death knell of the Chosen People (Esther 4:7).
The light over the people of promise was about to flicker and fade – it was almost midnight.
But …
- It was almost midnight when Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, built a boat, lived through the flood, and was blessed by God to repopulate the earth (Genesis 9:1).
- It was almost midnight when God appeared to Moses and said, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt … So I am come down to deliver them …” (Exodus 3:7-8).
- It was almost midnight when Elijah appeared at the head of the Mount Carmel mountain range to confront and defeat the 450 idolatrous prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:22-38).
In “midnight moments” of history, God has always had His men and women present. In the days of King Ahasuerus of Persia, God’s divine instrument was a beautiful Jewess. Her name was Esther (or Hadassah in Hebrew) which means “star.” And she, by her combined faith and courage, like a star, lit up the darkness of that hour.
The Confrontation
Mordecai, Esther’s cousin who raised her, realizing the Jewish people were under a death sentence, asked Queen Esther to reveal her Jewish heritage to the king and intercede for her people. Esther responded with these words:
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 (Esther 4:11).
Mordecai’s answer to Esther can be summarized with three comments:
1. “Don’t think you can escape the king’s decree just because you are the queen living in the palace.”
2. “If you won’t intercede for our people, then deliverance shall come from another source.”
3. “It may have been that you were brought to the kingdom FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS” (Esther 4:13-14).
Esther’s heroic response was this: “I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16b).
The Perfect Timing
Queen Esther entered the inner court of the king; the atmosphere must have been so tense it could be cut with a knife. How would the king respond? That was the life-and-death question for the queen, and her entire nation.
The golden scepter was extended, she was warmly received, and through her intercession the Jewish people were delivered. However, it was not only deliverance for the Jewish people, for through those people, in time, “the seed of the woman” – who would crush the serpent’s head and make redemption possible for all people – would come into the world.
Likewise, I deeply believe that it is “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS” that God has raised up godly men and women. Things are moving rapidly and tumultuously toward the events that lead unerringly toward Christ’s coming and the end of the age. Time is rapidly running out.
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS we must not be deceived into thinking that we can accomplish divine objectives through human planning and methodology – it is “‘… Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS we must not be swayed from our central purpose and rationale for existence – that of leading men and women to the harbor of life and safety through faith in Christ alone. Sadly, too many who call themselves Christians have embraced lesser things, while souls are dying because of a sin problem and moving into a Christless eternity.
FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS we must have a vision to do great exploits for God – “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:18). Having put on deep-sea diving gear, we dare not spend our time and energy pulling stoppers out of bathtubs. This world is coming unglued and we must be about the Father’s business. This requires evangelizing and making disciples.
A Few More Thoughts about Esther
The careful reader of the Book of Esther will see, beneath the historical events, a beautiful and, I believe, intentional presentation of the Gospel.
Haman, the archenemy of Esther and the Jewish people, is called the adversary (Esther 7:6). Satan is also called the adversary (1 Peter 5:8). A decree is sent out specifying that on a certain day all the Jews in the Persian Empire – young and old, men and women – were to die (Esther 3:13). The New Testament declares, “it is appointed for men to die once” (Hebrews 9:27).
Queen Esther, acting as an intercessor, went into the presence of King Ahasuerus, while he was in the inner chamber, to intercede for her people. This occurred on the third day after her verbal commitment to do so (Esther 5:1); the third day frequently typifies death and resurrection.
The king extending his scepter toward Esther indicated favor and acceptance (Esther 5:2). This closely parallels the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ on the third day, which indicated God’s acceptance of Christ’s priestly sacrifice on our behalf (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Queen Esther’s intercessory work for her people was immediately confronted with a problem. Rulers from the earlier Babylonian Empire were absolute monarchs – they could do whatever they wished without accountability to anyone. Not so the Persians. Persian law could not be reversed (Esther 8:8). Therefore, the decree Ahasuerus was tricked into sending to kill all the Jewish people on a certain day could not be changed.
However, the first decree did not forbid him from sending a second decree – one which would permit the Jews to defend themselves (Esther 8:9-14). Although the first decree could not be rescinded, a second could be sent to overcome the first.
The Gospel teaches that a first decree had been sent out for humanity, saying, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). That decree has never been negated or rescinded. But, a second decree has been sent out, saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
If the Jewish people living in the Persian Empire did not believe the first decree that called for their death, they would not have appropriated the salvation made available by the second decree.
Today, only if men and women realize they are sinners, under the judgment of a holy God – the first decree – will they ever, by faith, appropriate the redeeming work of Christ on Calvary – the second decree.
Marv Rosenthal, founder and President of Zion’s Hope, was an acclaimed international Bible teacher for more almost 6 decades.
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