An Army Of Esther’s

LESSONS FROM QUEEN ESTHER:

Recently I saw a post from a Charismatic Christian Leader saying he sensed God was calling n Esther generation.  He then described it as being people who rest at the kings feet and enjoy the presence of God.  I love sitting in God’s presence but I thought it was strange to call it an “Esther Generation.”  Esther is an amazing story but it’s more about standing up for injustice.  She was a young orphaned immigrant woman living in a violent, powerful, wealthy empire far away From her home.  
She was forced, along with most young women to come as a potential new Queen when Queen Vashti was banished for refusing to parade her body in front of a party of men, including her husband who had been drinking for days.  

It was a dark beauty pageant of sorts.  Esther and many other young women recievd beauty treatments for months.  Then, night after night they would each take theory turn being essentially raped by the king until he found the woman he liked the most.  Esther becomes queen.    Yay! 

Then through a series of events she ends up putting her life on the line to save her people from certain anihilation.  

Her story is about being courageous in the face of death by telling the truth to a very evil and powerful authority.   So you can see the problem with using the story of Esther to describe “resting in the throne room presence of God.”

But then I saw this tweet thread from Diana Butler Bass on Sunday:
   *******************************
      Well, it is #SundayMorning and                the lectionary readings again preach themselves. For those of you who don't know what a lectionary is, it is an assigned 3 yr cycle of readings for churches -- prepped long ago.
The text for this week is the story of Esther.
About a woman -- in this case, the Queen -- who stands up against male authorities and insists on justice. 
(Yeah, you can't make these things up.)
The king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”
Esther has pleased the King.  He finds her "credible."  🙂
She doesn't ask for riches or her own personal comfort.  Instead: "Then Queen Esther answered, 'If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me-- that is my petition-- and the lives of my people-- that is my request.'"
The villain of the story, Haman, seeks vengeance on the Jews (he was angry that Esther's cousin would not bow the knee to him) and has convinced the King to sell him the Jews as slaves and then kill them.
The King and Esther weren't like say, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.  They didn't hang out together on a daily basis. Theirs was a political, arranged, and distant marriage. The King didn't even know Esther was a Jew. And, it appears, he was kinda angry at her.
So she has to wait to be summoned by him -- to appear before him -- and testify on the part of the people.

 ***********************************
What’s interesting to note is that According to Esther’s own Jewish law, the Talmud,  women’s testimonies were not considered credible.  Which makes the story of Esther more extraordinary because God used this foreign, orphaned woman’s testimony to save the Jewish people.  

Esther’s cultural history devalued the testimony of women.  The current cutural context she found herself in obviously didn’t value women either.  She knew that telling her story to the authority would more than likely result in her destruction but she testified anyway.

"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

- Queen Esther
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Back to DBB’s twitter sermon:  
Thus begins a long series of complicated political events. But, eventually, Esther finds herself in favor again. Esther reveals that she is a Jew -- and that she, along with the rest of the Jews -- will be killed!  She tells her story, the story she's kept secret.”
The King is outraged! “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” 
Esther said, “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!”
Haman is terrified. Because now Esther now holds the power of his life in her hands.

So what does Haman do?

He throws her down on a bed and attempts to rape her.  

(I'm not kidding. This is the story. You can read it in Esther 7)

The King catches Haman in the act. The king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?”

The King, furious, with Haman, the arrogant minister who sought to destroy the Jews when ONE Jew refused him what he wanted, sent Haman to be hanged.

So the decree against the Jews was removed. The day became one of thanksgiving -- a feast and giving gifts to the poor.  

And Esther is remembered forever as the woman who faced down injustice, who spoke truth to power, who told her story and saved her people.

This is the Word of God for the People of God. Amen.

Karl Barth once said: “Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.”

Let’s just say today’s interpretation couldn’t be more timely or relevant.  

When a woman is summoned to tell her story, and does so not for personal gain but for the sake of the people, believe her.

***********************************
“Once he was selected, and it seemed like he was popular and it was a sure vote, I was calculating daily the risk/benefit for me, of coming forward, and wondering if I would just be jumping in front of a train that was just headed to where it was headed anyway, and that I would just be personally annhilated.  “
-Dr. Blasey Ford

So, there’s your Esther army.  May God fill us with more courage to shine the light on the darkness in this world.  

 “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”
Ephesians 5:11-14


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