Obedience

Obedience
I’ve been studying in the book of Esther this week and have come across some interesting situations. The book of Esther begins as Queen Vashti is summoned to appear before King Xerxes to be displayed before his guests at a banquet for her beauty. He has been strutting his stuff for his friends and allies for 6 months and he calls his queen on the last day of a seven day feast. The scriptures go into great detail about the splendor of the palace and how beautifully it has been decorated for this six month long gathering on officials. Well, Queen Vashti does the unthinkable; she refuses to go to the king. The consequence of her action is the loss of her office as queen.
That is the first obedience situation we see in this book, there are more to follow. And it got me thinking about obedience and what it means. Although we don’t know all the details of this situation, it would appear that Vashti chose to be disobedient over being used as an object by her King. We choose to be obedient or to be disobedient. Either consequences or blessings will come from our decisions.
The next situation involves Esther, a young Jewish orphan who has been taken in by a cousin and raised as his own daughter. In the effort to replace Vashti, she is chosen along with many other young women to be presented to the King after 12 months of beauty treatments at the palace. These treatments include six months with oil of myrrh and six months with cosmetics, special food and seven maids to attend her every need. At the end of the year she will be sent into the king for the night and the next morning to join the harem of concubines for the rest of her life. But, once the King sees Esther, he is so taken with her that he makes her his Queen. Mordecai, the cousin who raised her as his daughter has forbidden her to reveal her nationality or family background, so Xerxes doesn’t know that his Queen is Jewish.
One of the King’s officials, Hamar, is offended by Mordecai’s behavior and as a result, hatches a plot to annialate all Jewish people. Mordecai is understandably upset and tries to enlist Esther’s help. Initially Esther refuses to help, but when Mordecai explains that God’s will shall prevail she reconsiders. He convinces her with these words:
Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:13
Esther’s obedience to Mordecai’s pleas stops the plot to destroy the Jewish people. I think we can all identify with her hesitation to help her people. But when Mordecai tells her that she may well be part of God’s plan to save his people she can’t refuse, even though she doesn’t understand how she will help stop Hamar’s plan. After much prayer and fasting Esther was obedient and God used her in a way she couldn’t have conceived.
Is there a situation in your life where someone is asking for your help, yet you are hesitant to get involved? We should all be encouraged by Esther’s example and step out in obedience. And who knows but that you may have been put here for such a time as this?