There was absolutely nothing right about the entire situation. A chauvinistic absolute monarch who expected his every whim to be instantly satisfied. A nation-wide roundup of all the beautiful unmarried girls to become part of the king’s harem, only one of which would become the next queen. And powerful people enraged because God’s people refuse to bow down in worship to the authority of the state.

What to do? We modern Americans would probably plan some sort of action, some kind of resistance movement. Or we might try to engage in some passive form of protest, trying to sway the authorities to see things our way. But remember, God’s people had been conquered, and were completely powerless to resist the Persian authorities. In a world in which one word from an emperor could condemn an entire ethnic group to death (Esther 3:11), it was important to tread lightly.

But the most important thing in today’s passage isn’t really what Ahasuerus or Haman, Mordecai or Esther did or intended to do. No, the good news is that in the midst of all the ignorance and violence, all the cruelty and injustice, God was nevertheless working His purpose out. God was making sure that one of His faithful people would be in a position to influence the course of history, and thus to facilitate the salvation of His people. As Mordecai said to Esther, “Who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)?

And we can trust in the same good news today. For the same God Who could use the lust of a pagan king to thwart His people’s enemies is the same God Who could use the injustice of the cross to defeat the powers of sin and death. And He is still in charge of all the events of history, working to reveal His glory and grace to a world every bit as wicked as the one Esther faced. So, no matter what happens, no matter who sits in the seats of human power, we can trust in the Lord to bring relief and deliverance to His people – in His way, and in His time.

Esther 4:11-14 (NASB)

11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.”
12 And they related Esther’s words to Mordecai.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.
14 “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”