Esther's Burden Was Too Great

King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows. Now write another decree in the king's name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king's signet ring—for no document written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked." Esther 8: 7-8

Today’s Reading: Esther 9-10; Acts 7: 1-21

So Esther came up during the time of Xerxes. You might remember him for this ridiculous depiction in the movie 300.

Yeah that guy.

Anyways… Xerxes previous queen disobeyed him so he had her banished. So obviously it was time to find a new queen. Esther’s guardian, Mordecai, volunteered her for the job thinking that she had a chance since she was one of the baddest virgins in the land.

In the end she proved to be the baddest and was named queen.

Some time after that a dastardly fellow named Haman took a disliking to Mordecai and used it as an excuse to try to exterminate all of the Jewish people. No one in the royal palace knew that Esther was Jewish. So coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, she was in the right position at the right time to save her people.

She steps up and has Haman killed and saves Israel. The end. Happily Ever after right?

Wrong…

Did anyone else catch the problematic terribleness of her life?

She was essentially whored out as a virgin to be used at the disposal of the king in the off chance that he’d take a liking to her. And it was in this position as queen/slave that she was fortunate enough to be the savior of Israel.

Women sure have come a long way.

Maybe it’s that I am a man of the 21st century but good grief… I don’t see much happy in this story.

Esther takes one for the team and Israel is saved from destruction… great for everyone else sure… but geez… what about her modesty? What about her desires? What about her heart? What about her prospects of love and honor?

I guess all of that didn’t matter during the time of Xerxes.

Having said all of that… she sure was gangsta with the power that she did have. Nothing but all the props in the world should be given to her.

Living a life of sacrifice ain’t easy. 

Cold Blooded!

As soon as the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman's house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king."
      The king said, "Hang him on it!" So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided. – Esther 7: 8-10

Today’s Reading: Esther 6-8; Acts 6

Talk about what did the five fingers say to the face… good gracious.

Haman concocted this elaborate plan to have Mordecai killed. He even built a 75 foot tall gallows to hang him from. How arrogant was that? He was so sure that his deceitful plan would succeed that he built the instrument of his own destruction.

Have you ever known someone who became so mad at another person that they devoted entirely too much energy to bringing that person down?

We always gotta remember an important spiritual truth. Haters never prosper.

Retribution, justice, revenge… these are all things that are not your job. Plus, given the extremely subjective nature of our existence, we are not equipped to mete them out righteously.

So sit back and chill. Folks who do dirt are preparing their own disastrous beds that they will surely lie in.

If they deserve to fall, they will fall.

But if you stick your leg out to make them stumble, surely, it will be crushed under the weight of your deceit before it causes them to fall.

Wanna test that? Go for it? As for me… I’ll mind my own business and keep chasing these dreams. 

If Not You, Then Someone Else Will

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14

Today’s Reading: Esther 3-5; Acts 5: 22-42

Ok... we will get to my issues with the story of Esther tomorrow but the statement above by Mordecai is really interesting.

He says that God will use someone to save His people. If Esther stepped up it would be her. If she didn’t then it would be someone else. And if she delayed perhaps her family wouldn’t last until the next person in line stood up.

When I read this it made me think about each and every one of us. We each have a purpose. Some of us are writers, producers, teachers, garbage men, nannies and cooks. But in whatever role we have in life we have an opportunity to make the world a better place.

The question is what will you do? Will you step up and seize your opportunity to live your dream by fulfilling your purpose?

If you don’t then someone will.

There are no new ideas. We are all pulling from the same source. I’m sure there are several times where you have thought about doing something, maybe for years, and all of the sudden you looked up and someone else did it.

And they may have done it worse than you did! But it still got done because the purpose of life is bigger than all of us.

Just because we choose not to do something doesn’t mean that it won’t get done. We aren’t that powerful.

So to all of my fellow dreamers… do you have a project or task or goal that you want to accomplish? Are you mad because there are folks with inferior skills doing what you want to do? Well… maybe that’s a sign that it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and step to the plate.

Stop hating and make it happen.

Cause while you’re sitting there, the world keeps on turning. Don’t let someone wack take what’s yours.