Mordecai remained true to God, and God provided a potential way of escape. Four years prior to the royal decree of genocide, God promoted a pawn to a queen on the chessboard of the Persian court – maybe Esther could avert the catastrophe. And God gave to Esther two qualities to maximize her chances.
First, God gave Esther humility. You could expect that after spending four years as the de facto second wealthiest and most powerful person on earth, and THE most beautiful woman, Esther might have developed an attitude. But Instagram did not yet exist, so that is not the case. Esther listened, as Mordecai reminded her that her queenship might have been arranged by God specifically for this moment. And instead of reacting like a superhero - “I got this!” - she asked for a three day city-wide fast, in the hopes of convincing God to help her.
Second, God gave Esther courage. After four years, the honeymoon between King Ahasuerus and Esther was over. Ahasuerus was busy with his concubines, and Esther had not been summoned for thirty days – how would he react to her appeal? And that was if she could get his attention. To bother the king in his inner court risked a death sentence. And Esther was given the courage to take that risk.
In granting humility and courage to Esther in the Old Testament, God foreshadows the even greater display of humility and courage in the New Testament. God's son Jesus was humble enough to empty himself of his equality with God, and be incarnated as a lowly human being in a cattle shed. And God's son Jesus was courageous enough to not only risk a death sentence, but willingly submit to a death sentence on the cross, to avert the catastrophe of the consequences of OUR sinfulness. Humanity will NOT suffer a species-ocide at God's hand, because through Jesus Christ, God has reconciled us to himself, and adopted us as his children.
What catastrophes in OUR lives can humility and courage minimize or avert? Almost all of them! How do you break an addiction? With the humility to place all of your decisions in God's hands instead of your own, and the courage to endure whatever is necessary. How do you repair a marriage? With the humility to accept blame and ask for forgiveness, and the courage to forgive. How do you grow a shrinking church? With the humility to stop doing things that are comfortable but not effective, and the courage to try things that are new. How do you face a terminal diagnosis in your family? With the humility to lean into God's comfort with a sense of trust, and the courage to look forward to the life of resurrection ahead. Of all the ways that God could make us more Christ-like, none would be more important or beneficial that to strengthen our humility and courage.
Gracious God, please do this, for our sake, and the sake of your kingdom. Help us better reflect your Son's character in the world around us, in Jesus' name....