If I Perish

“Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’"—Esther 4:15-16

The pride of man manifests itself in countless self-exalting ways, but pride is squashed when confronted by the immutable force of God’s sovereignty. The story of Esther is one of God’s sovereignty and providence up against the schemes of man. It is a story of courage and faith of one standing against the tide of opposition, ready to face whatever situation the future held. The story is named after its heroine, Esther, the orphaned Jewish peasant girl who is exalted to be the queen of a pagan nation. Her exaltation was not because of her wit and demeanor, but because of God’s sovereignty in the affairs of man.

Esther was orphaned at a young age, raised by her uncle Mordecai, became the winner of a beauty contest, and then was chosen to be the king’s wife. Her meteoric rise to royalty never would have occurred if it had not been for the behavior of her predecessor, the king’s beautiful first wife, Vashti, who had been removed from her position because of her unwillingness to come when her husband beckoned her to be paraded before his party guests.

As the story of Esther unfolds, we are introduced to two other characters—Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, and Haman the Agagite. After Esther’s coronation as Queen consort, her uncle discovers an assassination plot on her husband’s life. He tells Esther, who then tells the king, an investigation is held and the charges proven true, with both men who had planned the assassination being executed. Mordecai’s act is then recorded for posterity in the king’s “book of chronicles.”

The second character we meet is Haman the Agagite, a quick-rising court official vaulted to a position of great prestige within the Persian government. He is highly esteemed by the king and his officials, but not by Mordecai, Esther’s uncle and guardian. As the king’s officials bowed in homage to Haman, Mordecai stayed erect and refused to bow or pay homage. This serious social slight insulted Haman to the point where he became obsessed with having Mordecai and his people, the Jews, killed. Haman came before the King and presented his plan for ethnic cleansing of the Persian kingdom—the Jews had to be removed because they didn’t obey the king’s laws. The king was being disrespected and disregarded, Haman argued, and the only way to handle the situation was to have the Jews executed. The king agreed and gave Haman permission to do whatever needed to be done. Haman sent letters to all of the cities in the kingdom, calling for a day of mass extermination of all Jews. The decree sent the Jews in the kingdom into a great panic. All over the kingdom Jews were humbling themselves and offering up prayers and petitions to God, and among them was Mordecai.

Upon hearing of her uncle’s donning of sackcloth and of his deep mourning, Esther learned about Haman’s plot. Mordecai commanded that she intercede to her husband the king, but his request placed her in a very difficult situation. If she were to do what Mordecai asked, then she would be going into the presence of the king without being summoned. To do so was to invite destruction. It was against Persian law to come into the king’s presence without being summoned, with the only possible means of mercy being the king extending his scepter to the offending party. She asked Mordecai to hold a fast on her behalf for three days and then she would go into the presence of the king, though it was against the law. Her courage can be seen in her resolution to do what needed to be done despite what the future held. She said, “If I perish, I perish.”

Esther’s act of courage resulted in the salvation of her people, the vindication and promotion of her uncle, and the execution of Haman. She is an example of a believer sovereignly placed in a position of influence to save lives, but it was her willingness to step out in faith and entrust herself to Almighty God that should embolden us. She casts herself into the hands of God, ready to accept whatever the outcome may be, even if it cost her her life. What about us? Is our faith so strong that we are willing to accept whatever God may have for us despite the result? Do we see God’s providential hand placing us in a position of influence to share Christ with those who have never heard the message of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ? To paraphrase Mordecai, as he persuaded Esther to take courageous action: “Who knows but that you were put here in this specific place for just such a time as this?” I pray that each one of us may have new eyes to see what God has for us and how He has sovereignly placed us in our sphere of influence so that we might bring Him glory. May God use us to do great and courageous things for His name as we continually submit to His will, ready to say, like Esther, “If I perish, I perish.” Amen.