Queen Esther helps to save the king

Imagine reading The “Persian Herald” Newspaper a day after king Xerxes set the royal crown on the head of Esther! If such a newspaper had existed, the headline would probably be “A Beauty Queen from Susa has finally won the heart of the king” or “Persia’s newest Queen is a Beautiful Young woman from Susa.” On the side, the local newspapers would have catchy headlines such as, “Rude Vashti finally gets a replacement”, “A new STAR (Esther) has risen”, “Our king has a new Beauty Queen”, “The Palace has a Star!” among many others. Thankfully,  there were no printing presses and media stations to peddle these interesting headlines. King Xerxes, the real party man, gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials and he proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality (Esther 2:18). The joy among the Jewish people who knew Esther’s family background would have been massive. However, the new Queen had a big secret. Her family background and nationality was unknown to the king and the other members of the ruling team. Esther was told by Mordecai to keep her background and nationality a secret. Even as queen, Esther continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up (Esther 2:20).

But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. (Esther 2:22)

One day, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate when Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes (Esther 2:21). Mordecai found out about this evil plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai (Esther 2:22). The king’s life was in danger. Bigthana and Teresh were guards and could have easily assassinated the king if Mordecai had not found out. When Esther was told, she didn’t sit on the case. She quickly reported this to the king. The king did not sit on the case either. He quickly issued an investigation into the report and it was found to be true. Bigthana and Teresh were impaled on poles for that. This incident was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king (Esther 2:23). If Mordecai had not found out the plot, the case would have been different. All the people in the story contributed to averting the crime against the king. 

Although Mordecai was not honoured for this heroic act immediately, he was still honoured at the right time. What made his honouring unique was the fact that he was paraded through the town by the very man who wanted nothing else than the death of Mordecai (see Esther 5:13-14). Saving the king wasn’t the only big thing Esther did. In fact, Esther was destined to save a whole people group in the Persian kingdom. But, the king might have delighted in the fact that his new Queen had saved him from assassins. If Mordecai had no Esther in the Palace, it would have been difficult to get quick access to the king. Maybe the assassins would have tried to stop the king from investigating the issue. However, Esther trusted Mordecai enough to know that the report was urgent. 

The story of Esther and Mordecai’s help in saving the king is a reminder that we should know that within our bigger task or call in life, are minor tasks that must be done for us to be able to get to the big goal. If the death threat on the king had not been aborted, who knows what would have happened and the impact that would have had on everyone.  Be always on the lookout for ways you can help improve your family, church, community, work and the people around you. Be your neighbour’s keeper. Be on guard and don’t take the lives of others for granted. Don’t be quick to say that “it is their problem not mine” but rather say, “how best can I help you get out of this problem.” Sometimes our blessings are tied to particular people and as long as they have issues, we would be in queue for our breakthrough. However, when they overcome their own challenges, then they can attend to the needs of others. 

The unnamed woman who destroyed Abimelek: Silent warriors

One of the people who set their minds to do evil and brutally accomplished it in the Bible is Abimelek. He was cruel, heartless, evil, brute, wicked and lacked empathy and common instincts. The story of Abimelek is recorded in Judges 9. He was the son of Gideon, a judge who was used by God to save the people of Israel at some point. After his successful campaign over the Midianites, the Israelites wanted to make Gideon a king but he refused: “The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” (Judges 8:22‭-‬23). Gideon made a golden ephod which he placed in Ophrah, his town and all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family” (Judges 8:27). Gideon had seventy sons of his own, from his many wives and his concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek meaning “my father is king.” Abimelek conspired with his relatives in Shechem and killed sixty-nine of his brothers. Only Jotham, the youngest, escaped. As if this was not enough, Abimelek and the people of Shechem became enemies after three years (instigated by God because of their evil). With cruelty, wickedness and evil Abimelek dealt with the Shechemites until one woman silenced him.

Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull. (Judges 9:52‭-‬53)

The poignant smell of Abimelek’s evil against his own brothers rose to God and Heaven responded. The Schechemites were wrong to sponsor the murder of the sons of Gideon. We could blame Gideon for raising an idol and naming his son Abimelek (my father is king) but it does not take the fact that Gideon obeyed God and through him, the Midianite were defeated. Abimelek was running wild with no one to tame him. He destroyed cities, burnt fields, destroyed homes and killed people without remorse. He was power drunk, and his aim was to clear his path of any seemingly enemy no matter what it takes. There are miniature Abimeleks in the world now. They are brute, evil and without any sense of love. Their vision is to steal, kill and destroy just like their master the devil (John 10:10). Their swords are sharp and their arrows are full of poisonous snares. May God deliver us from such people. Abimelek was unstoppable and whole cities fled from his presence. He cared less for anyone other than himself. In one of his campaigns, to annihilate the people of Thebez by setting them on fire inside their city tower, another warrior intercepted him. He didn’t know what was in store for him. “Abimelek went to the tower and attacked it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.” (Judges 9:52‭-‬53)

The wicked Abimelek was badly wounded by an unnamed woman, a warrior with no history,  a silent but determined warrior. She did not miss the target. In his frustration, Abimelek hurriedly called to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can’t say, ‘A woman killed him.’ ” So his servant ran him through, and he died. When the Israelites saw that Abimelek was dead, they went home.” (Judges 9:54‭-‬55). The bloody campaigns of Abimelek was stopped by a woman. The Bible does not even give the name of this woman. She was obviously harmless and afraid for her life while she hid in the tower. But, at a moment, she realized that she could either perish with the rest of the city or she could kill Abimelek and rescue the city. She chose the latter and she saved her city. She was probably celebrated in the city and her legacy have been documented as a reminder of how one woman stopped a ravaging serial killer. Abimelek’s tantrums were calmed and peace was restored once again. The warrior had just a millstone.

The unnamed woman who ended the evil reign of Abimelek, son of Gideon reminds us that no one is too insignificant for battle. Moses had an ordinary staff, and God used it for extraordinary purposes. The unnamed woman had a millstone and it cracked the skull of the villain. You have the Godhead and you still see yourself as the least? Be empowered, be ready, hold your sword, and as you fearlessly prepare with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11), strategically position yourself to drop some spiritual ballistic missiles on your enemies. We are too equipped to lose this battle. We are made for more!

My strength and my shield

As a child, I encountered several bullies at school. There were times, the fear of going to school was so great. I was scared of meeting those girls who used to maltreat me. They were in my class and the thought of spending hours with them each day made my life miserable. I loved school and academically I was good but fear of my bullies made going to school a very hard decision. After several complaints, and my parents and great-grandmother visiting the school, the bullying stopped. The Lord used my parents and my great-grandmother to shield me from the bullies. Years later, the girls, now women, still remember the caution they received from the school to stay away from me. I am not afraid of them anymore and any time I visit my native country, I am always excited to see them and so are they! My experience reminds me that there are times that our best strength could accomplish nothing. We need to rely on another for sustenance. 

One of the many reasons every child needs a guardian is for safety. We live in an adult-world and all over the world, children are at risk of bullies, pedophiles, abusers, etc. Every step a child keeps away from their guardians (including parents, foster parents, teachers etc.) is a step closer to the wrong person. Our response to protecting the children has been stricter laws and legislation across countries to ensure that the children are safe. But, who ensures the safety of adults? Who takes care of the children when they are outside the purview of parents and guardians? Who watches over all people even in the most unlikely places? How do we navigate the ever increasing hostile world? We all know that our governments are doing an amazing job at security and safety. Different measures have been put in place including security systems to ensure that all is safe. However, the government agencies are not omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.  Their knowledge is limited to their jurisdiction and where they have coverage. So what do we do?

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalms 28:7)

It is important to obey local laws and regulations about security and safety. Most importantly, we need to trust the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God for sustenance. We need to draw our strength from Him. We need to acknowledge Him as our shield. King David in the Bible had been a warrior throughout his life and was aware of the need for strength and a good shield for security and safety. He noted in Psalms 28:7 that: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Similarly in Psalms 121, the Psalmist considered how the Lord keeps and watches over His own. Our best efforts cannot save us from our oppressors. We need God’s strength and shield to wade the blows and the arrows of the enemies. His strength is our strength and His shield is our shield. The Lord is our keeper! Rejoice in the Lord and sing for praise for He is our strength and shield. Trust in the Lord!

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalms 121:1‭-‬8)