We are continuing our series on the book of Esther “For Such a Time as This.”
This story is one that continually inspires me to be a woman of prayer and to trust in God’s power even when w feel powerless.
In our last episode, we talked about becoming a star. Queen Vashti has been removed and the King is about to begin his own reality series by gathering all the most beautiful women of his entire kingdom and choosing his favorite to receive the final rose!
Before the King chooses the new Star of his kingdom, let’s ask ourselves: When do the stars come out? They are always there, but when can we see them? It is only against the deepest darkness of night a star shine s visibility.
Esther was not born into wealth and fame. She was, however, born into a family with a member named Mordecai. The two have survived a period of destruction and death back in their native land.
Let’s look at the backdrop to Esther’s story: Esther 2: 5-7
Mordecai was taken as a captive during the siege on Jerusalem many years before. Israel had sinned and forsook the law of God to worship other idols. God warned His people continually. (You can read some of those warnings throughout the books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah) Finally, God allows the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem to be overthrown, King Nebuchadnezzar. Most of the Jewish people are slain by the sword, disease, and starvation. A few surrender themselves to the Babylonian King, and a few are captured and carried away during three separate deportations. The first deportation involved the elite. Daniel, incidentally, was taken captive during this first deportation. This took place 100 years before King Ahasuerus’s queen-hunt.
The second deportation was, what we may call, the “middle class” and the third deportation was the poorest and most common of all.
It is unknown which siege was the one during which Mordecai and Esther were taken. Many speculate the second, perhaps because they seem like good old-fashioned, hard-working, middle-class folk and they are too young to be part of the first. I wonder… because I think even the second siege would make Mordecai very very old. Perhaps, they were among the most “poor” and common of the land, taken in the final siege.
God loves to choose the poor, needy, and forgotten ones and then empower them to do great things for His kingdom. That brings glory to His name.
James 2:5 says “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?”
In fact, God chose for His own son to be so impoverished he was born in a manger, with a poor Jewish couple as his parents. He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise!
To further grasp the time period during which the book of Esther unfolds, Daniel, who likely served in Babylon while Mordecai was raising Hadassah, is now enjoying his reward in heaven. King Cyrus has issued a decree allowing the Jews to return and rebuild. A small, brave group has returned to build the temple and the wall back in the homeland. For some reason, Mordecai has stayed behind with his cousin. Perhaps, it is for her he stays.
And the Messiah is yet 500 years away from his birth in a manger.
It is here in Esther chapter two our leading lady has entered the stage, But as we see, this star has emerged from a dark place. The book of Esther is really about two stars.
One was carried away captive into a foreign land.
One was orphaned as a young girl
These two found each other and created a unique family unit.
My husband and I recently watched a few episodes of the Star Wars cable series “The Mandalorian.” You can find it on Disney+. I find myself thinking of the Mandalorian as I read these verses.
The Mandalorian is portrayed as a man whose mother and father were killed during some intergalactic battle. And he rescues a very odd-looking, but interesting and extremely cute baby Yoda. He does not know why, but suddenly he is feeling the need to protect this little creature. It is clear his own loss and pain connect with this helpless being, desiring to rescue and protect him in a fatherly way. Yet, as it turns out, the little one becomes his protector!
It is no secret that our father is also moved by our tragedies. Psalm 103 verse 13 says “like as a father pities his children so the Lord pities them that fear him, for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust.”
I do not know what tragedies or difficulties you have experienced or may be experiencing even right now. But I know that you have some because we live in a fallen planet in a fallen world full of, disease, sadness, and death. And here is what I also know. I know that the father sees you. And he sees your pain, even better than you see it. He looks on you with great compassion. His desire is that you will be whole and healed once again.
The greatest tragedy in my life I brought on myself. Much like Israel brought this exile and pain on their own nation as they first compromised, and later abandoned, their heritage as God’s chosen people. This is why I wrote a book called “I am Israel.” I see myself in Israel’s historical pages. I was called, chosen, and then I fell and was exiled. It’s humiliating to even mention. For a long time, my world seemed incredibly dark. I was estranged from my own children and the church my husband and I planted with many tears and prayers.
I have nothing to boast about, except God saw the raggedy disaster of myself and had great pity on me. Not because I deserved it. Simply because that is who He is.
I was just reading Isaiah 49 and marveling at the grace of God. Let me share it with you: and as I do I want you to think of your own tragedies and difficulties. I want you to picture this man Mordecai and Esther, and how they were once lost exiled in alone. Let’s look at Isaiah 49 verse 19 “
Though you were ruined and made desolate
and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20
The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’
21
Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
but these—where have they come from?’
So here, Isaiah has a picture of Israel, after its time of captivity looking back and realizing that out of darkness and aloneness, while in exile in captivity, God was still with them! They were few in number, but God brought them children! He restored and renewed them and made them great once again.
I doubt Mordecai saw himself on the pages of history as he navigated the difficult years of raising this little cousin who also had lost everything. He took her in, as a good man would, and raised her as his own. That could not have been easy. Can you imagine? He’s a single father. (At least he seems to be based on the text) He works all day and comes home to dishes and laundry. He learns to braid hair and play make-believe. He has to get babysitters and rely on his social community as he struggles to put food on the table and get her to her dance lessons and birthday parties. He tells her stories at night and tucks her in, falling onto his bed exhausted. Yet it’s worth it to see her beautiful smile and hear her adorable giggle.
Mordecai was taken captive as a youngster, but now he is no longer alone. God brought him a light. And a purpose. Her name is Hadassah. And guess what? Hadassah means Star. She is the light in his dark world. He now has a purpose and a reason to keep fighting to survive and thrive in this foreign land.
Many of you are familiar with the verse in Jeremiah 29:11that says
” For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Did you know that Jeremiah was used by God to speak these words to Mordecai? Yes, Jeremiah was specifically speaking to those Jews who were in captivity in Babylon! He tells them he has a plan for their life at a time when death and destruction are all around them!
There were times in my own exile I wondered if the emptiness would ever be filled again. Many jews, including Mordecai, may have wondered the same thing. They mourned and grieved for homes and for humans they would never see again. Psalm 137 tells us they were tormented by their captives, and could not even play their songs because of the sorrow.
“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.There on the poplars
we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?”
But now, Mordecai sees his cousin growing into a beautiful and gracious young woman. He raised her well. He likely assumes she will find a good man to marry and he will live out his days in Babylon holding little grand-babes on his lap. Despite the losses, God has been good! God fulfilled the promises proclaimed through Jeremiah!
Just when he is ready to take his harp down from the willow and play a new song… Out of nowhere, officers come riding up and without fanfare claim Mordecai’s Hadassah as their own. With a quick embrace and one last look at her flawless face, Mordecai watches as Esther disappears in the cloud of dust the kings horsemen kick up as they gallop off.
Mordecai is alone again.
It’s in the dark times we wonder where God is.
In the silence of a dusty road, painfully empty. The sound of a neighbors weeping haunts Mordecai’s mind.
He does not know his Hadassah was handpicked by God For such a time as this. He doesn’t know she will be used where she is to save the entire nation.
In the darkness. Nothing makes sense.
When life makes no sense,
don’t focus on what you can’t understand Only what you do.
Lay back in the father’s arms and trust Him. No matter the pain. No matter the losses.
God brought Mordecai this far.
Surely, he will be with him now.
God said “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.” He loves you.
THAT you DO know.
God still has a plan. A marvelous wonderful plan!
Things may seem grim in your life. If not now, there will certainly come a time when you feel like God has forsaken you on a dusty road in a faraway land.
This is the time, my friend, for your light to rise in the darkness.
Cry if you must. But cry to God.
There, when the tears are spent, in the silence He will speak and you will know… the best is yet to come.
God we cry to you
We mourn the losses
We repent over the hurt we caused others
And we hand to you what we cannot understand. We leave the unanswered questions in your safe keeping until the time we see your face and all will be revealed.
Meanwhile, we make a choice to trust the One who sent His only son, born a poor son of a carpenter, born in obscurity, when Rome ruled the world with an iron fist. Into that dark time the morning star was rising.
In our own dark times, Oh Lord, You will rise. Each night is followed by a glorious sunrise. Thank you that we can trust your word. That you will never leave us. You will never forsake us! You hold us in the Palm of your hand. Every hair on our head is numbered.
We love you
We trust you!
Amen We are continuing our series on the book of Esther “For Such a Time as This.”
This story is one that continually inspires me to be a woman of prayer and to trust in God’s power even when w feel powerless.
In our last episode, we talked about becoming a star. Queen Vashti has been removed and the King is about to begin his own reality series by gathering all the most beautiful women of his entire kingdom and choosing his favorite to receive the final rose!
Before the King chooses the new Star of his kingdom, let’s ask ourselves: When do the stars come out? They are always there, but when can we see them? It is only against the deepest darkness of night a star shine s visibility.
Esther was not born into wealth and fame. She was, however, born into a family with a member named Mordecai. The two have survived a period of destruction and death back in their native land.
Let’s look at the backdrop to Esther’s story: Esther 2: 5-7
Mordecai was taken as a captive during the siege on Jerusalem many years before. Israel had sinned and forsook the law of God to worship other idols. God warned His people continually. (You can read some of those warnings throughout the books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah) Finally, God allows the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem to be overthrown, King Nebuchadnezzar. Most of the Jewish people are slain by the sword, disease, and starvation. A few surrender themselves to the Babylonian King, and a few are captured and carried away during three separate deportations. The first deportation involved the elite. Daniel, incidentally, was taken captive during this first deportation. This took place 100 years before King Ahasuerus’s queen-hunt.
The second deportation was, what we may call, the “middle class” and the third deportation was the poorest and most common of all.
It is unknown which siege was the one during which Mordecai and Esther were taken. Many speculate the second, perhaps because they seem like good old-fashioned, hard-working, middle-class folk and they are too young to be part of the first. I wonder… because I think even the second siege would make Mordecai very very old. Perhaps, they were among the most “poor” and common of the land, taken in the final siege.
God loves to choose the poor, needy, and forgotten ones and then empower them to do great things for His kingdom. That brings glory to His name.
James 2:5 says “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?”
In fact, God chose for His own son to be so impoverished he was born in a manger, with a poor Jewish couple as his parents. He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise!
To further grasp the time period during which the book of Esther unfolds, Daniel, who likely served in Babylon while Mordecai was raising Hadassah, is now enjoying his reward in heaven. King Cyrus has issued a decree allowing the Jews to return and rebuild. A small, brave group has returned to build the temple and the wall back in the homeland. For some reason, Mordecai has stayed behind with his cousin. Perhaps, it is for her he stays.
And the Messiah is yet 500 years away from his birth in a manger.
It is here in Esther chapter two our leading lady has entered the stage, But as we see, this star has emerged from a dark place. The book of Esther is really about two stars.
One was carried away captive into a foreign land.
One was orphaned as a young girl
These two found each other and created a unique family unit.
My husband and I recently watched a few episodes of the Star Wars cable series “The Mandalorian.” You can find it on Disney+. I find myself thinking of the Mandalorian as I read these verses.
The Mandalorian is portrayed as a man whose mother and father were killed during some intergalactic battle. And he rescues a very odd-looking, but interesting and extremely cute baby Yoda. He does not know why, but suddenly he is feeling the need to protect this little creature. It is clear his own loss and pain connect with this helpless being, desiring to rescue and protect him in a fatherly way. Yet, as it turns out, the little one becomes his protector!
It is no secret that our father is also moved by our tragedies. Psalm 103 verse 13 says “like as a father pities his children so the Lord pities them that fear him, for he knows our frame he remembers that we are dust.”
I do not know what tragedies or difficulties you have experienced or may be experiencing even right now. But I know that you have some because we live in a fallen planet in a fallen world full of, disease, sadness, and death. And here is what I also know. I know that the father sees you. And he sees your pain, even better than you see it. He looks on you with great compassion. His desire is that you will be whole and healed once again.
The greatest tragedy in my life I brought on myself. Much like Israel brought this exile and pain on their own nation as they first compromised, and later abandoned, their heritage as God’s chosen people. This is why I wrote a book called “I am Israel.” I see myself in Israel’s historical pages. I was called, chosen, and then I fell and was exiled. It’s humiliating to even mention. For a long time, my world seemed incredibly dark. I was estranged from my own children and the church my husband and I planted with many tears and prayers.
I have nothing to boast about, except God saw the raggedy disaster of myself and had great pity on me. Not because I deserved it. Simply because that is who He is.
I was just reading Isaiah 49 and marveling at the grace of God. Let me share it with you: and as I do I want you to think of your own tragedies and difficulties. I want you to picture this man Mordecai and Esther, and how they were once lost exiled in alone. Let’s look at Isaiah 49 verse 19 “
Though you were ruined and made desolate
and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
20
The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’
21
Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.
Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
but these—where have they come from?’
So here, Isaiah has a picture of Israel, after its time of captivity looking back and realizing that out of darkness and aloneness, while in exile in captivity, God was still with them! They were few in number, but God brought them children! He restored and renewed them and made them great once again.
I doubt Mordecai saw himself on the pages of history as he navigated the difficult years of raising this little cousin who also had lost everything. He took her in, as a good man would, and raised her as his own. That could not have been easy. Can you imagine? He’s a single father. (At least he seems to be based on the text) He works all day and comes home to dishes and laundry. He learns to braid hair and play make-believe. He has to get babysitters and rely on his social community as he struggles to put food on the table and get her to her dance lessons and birthday parties. He tells her stories at night and tucks her in, falling onto his bed exhausted. Yet it’s worth it to see her beautiful smile and hear her adorable giggle.
Mordecai was taken captive as a youngster, but now he is no longer alone. God brought him a light. And a purpose. Her name is Hadassah. And guess what? Hadassah means Star. She is the light in his dark world. He now has a purpose and a reason to keep fighting to survive and thrive in this foreign land.
Many of you are familiar with the verse in Jeremiah 29:11that says
” For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Did you know that Jeremiah was used by God to speak these words to Mordecai? Yes, Jeremiah was specifically speaking to those Jews who were in captivity in Babylon! He tells them he has a plan for their life at a time when death and destruction are all around them!
There were times in my own exile I wondered if the emptiness would ever be filled again. Many jews, including Mordecai, may have wondered the same thing. They mourned and grieved for homes and for humans they would never see again. Psalm 137 tells us they were tormented by their captives, and could not even play their songs because of the sorrow.
“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.There on the poplars
we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?”
But now, Mordecai sees his cousin growing into a beautiful and gracious young woman. He raised her well. He likely assumes she will find a good man to marry and he will live out his days in Babylon holding little grand-babes on his lap. Despite the losses, God has been good! God fulfilled the promises proclaimed through Jeremiah!
Just when he is ready to take his harp down from the willow and play a new song… Out of nowhere, officers come riding up and without fanfare claim Mordecai’s Hadassah as their own. With a quick embrace and one last look at her flawless face, Mordecai watches as Esther disappears in the cloud of dust the kings horsemen kick up as they gallop off.
Mordecai is alone again.
It’s in the dark times we wonder where God is.
In the silence of a dusty road, painfully empty. The sound of a neighbors weeping haunts Mordecai’s mind.
He does not know his Hadassah was handpicked by God For such a time as this. He doesn’t know she will be used where she is to save the entire nation.
In the darkness. Nothing makes sense.
When life makes no sense,
don’t focus on what you can’t understand Only what you do.
Lay back in the father’s arms and trust Him. No matter the pain. No matter the losses.
God brought Mordecai this far.
Surely, he will be with him now.
God said “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you.” He loves you.
THAT you DO know.
God still has a plan. A marvelous wonderful plan!
Things may seem grim in your life. If not now, there will certainly come a time when you feel like God has forsaken you on a dusty road in a faraway land.
This is the time, my friend, for your light to rise in the darkness.
Cry if you must. But cry to God.
There, when the tears are spent, in the silence He will speak and you will know… the best is yet to come.
God we cry to you
We mourn the losses
We repent over the hurt we caused others
And we hand to you what we cannot understand. We leave the unanswered questions in your safe keeping until the time we see your face and all will be revealed.
Meanwhile, we make a choice to trust the One who sent His only son, born a poor son of a carpenter, born in obscurity, when Rome ruled the world with an iron fist. Into that dark time the morning star was rising.
In our own dark times, Oh Lord, You will rise. Each night is followed by a glorious sunrise. Thank you that we can trust your word. That you will never leave us. You will never forsake us! You hold us in the Palm of your hand. Every hair on our head is numbered.
We love you
We trust you!
Amen 
