Such a Time as This

This day on the Jewish calendar, the 13th of Adar, is marked as the Fast of Esther, commemorating the three-day fast of Queen Esther and the Jews of Shushan more than 400 years before Christ. This fast was to deliver the people of God in the extensive Persian Empire at that time from total annihilation at the hands of the wicked vizier Haman. The Fast of Esther concludes with the Feast of Purim, celebrated from the evening of the 13th of Adar to the 14th of Adar.

The Holy Bible dedicates an entire book to record these events of 2500 years ago: the Book of Esther.¹ As the Word of God is not bound by time but is indeed living and relevant throughout all times and ages, the significance of this event in history is tremendous, not just for Jews but for the Church and for the world, remembering that it took place in what is now modern-day Iran!

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Esther

She returned to the Almighty and was built up. She soaked in the myrrh and perfumes day after day, month after month.² Even year after year³—for the soaking for this orphan of Israel began long before the palace. She soaked in His blood and aroma, she soaked in His redemption—the strong, spiced juice of the winepress which He trods for her sake—until His blood became her own, infused into every pore. Thus she was able to forget her relative’s house and all that was once precious in her eyes. This wasn’t enough for the heart thirsting to love Him. She left even the palace gold, casting it in the dust as she robed herself in sackcloth—what royalty!

And Queen Esther, seized with the agony of death, fled to the Lord for refuge. And removing her royal garments, she put on the garments of distress and mourning. Instead of the magnificent perfumes, she covered her head with ashes and dirt. She humbled her body exceedingly. She set aside everything of her worldly joy, and her hair was unkempt. She implored the Lord God of Israel,

“Save us by Your hand, and help me who am alone and have no one but You, O Lord… You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station which is upon my head on the days when I appear in public, as if it were a menstrual rag, and I do not wear it on the days I am alone.”

(Additions to Esther 10:1–3, 15, 16⁴)

He became for her: gold—as she offered herself to die that He may have His delight (‘If I perish, I perish!’ ⁵). Yes her life, her blood, was too small a price to fulfill her desire to offer Him drink—that is, to offer Him redeemed Israel as His portion and delight. He became for her precious silver as He graciously redeemed her life from the king’s slaughter. ‘His left hand is under my head, And His right hand embraces me.’ ⁶ ‘I am a wall, And my breasts like towers; Then I became in His eyes As one who found peace.’ ⁷ Yes I lift up my face to my God, I make my prayer to Him, and He hears me.

The King

And as he looked up, resplendent in his glory, at the very edge of anger, the queen collapsed, her complexion paled, and she slumped against the head of the maid who went before her. But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness. And full of great concern, he leapt from his throne and held her in his arms until she recovered. He comforted her with calming words and said to her, “Esther, what is it? I am your brother. Be of good cheer! You are not going to die because of this usual ordinance. Come near!” And lifting his golden scepter, he laid it upon her neck, and he embraced her and said, “Speak to me.” (Additions to Esther 11:7–10)

Such a Time as This

Hence I pay Him what I have vowed,⁸ to honor Him beyond measure, to declare Him on the mountaintops, to kiss Him in every end of the earth—that He may be loved by all, found by all, honored by all. ‘The virgins, her companions who follow her shall be brought to You.’ ⁹ Yes, I will declare God, my light and my salvation, in the darkest places and He will illumine me as a star,¹⁰ and all will be brought to Him.

And many of the Gentiles were circumcised and lived in the Jewish way, because of fear of the Jews. (Additions to Esther 17:17)

And Mordecai said, “These things were from my God. For I recall the dream which I had concerning these things, and not one detail of them has failed. There was a small spring that became a river; there was light and the sun and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen.” (Additions to Esther 20:4–6)

Drink, yes, drink O nations of my spiced wine, my blood spilt for my King. Drink, O Gentiles, for it will cover your shame and carry your guilt. Cross-bound, death-bound, resurrection-bound. ‘Arise, O Lord and judge the earth, for You shall inherit all the nations.’ (Psalm 82:8)

And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther‬ ‭4:13-16‬)

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” my heart asks me. Yet it is not to wonder whether it be so, but rather to shake me. Oh how my spirit has churned within me for days, weeks. The heart of the message is the same with every inner churning. And what of my state? What of my state?! I’m up and down, oscillating constantly from one extreme to the other, even within the same day. At times I feel ready for these ‘beginnings of sorrows’ (Mark 13:8), and at others I feel so far from this. Nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, earthquakes, famines, and troubles. These are only the beginnings of sorrows! And we will be delivered up to councils and beaten in the synagogues—yes even in the holy places! We will be brought before rulers and kings to be a testimony to them for the Lord. (Mark 13:8, 9) ‘All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, When they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, For great is the glory of the LORD.’ ‭‭(Psalm‬ ‭138:4-5‬). Yes, the gospel must first be preached to all nations—this is the responsibility of no one other than the children of the Kingdom. We will be hated by all for His name’s sake. But here is the hope: he who endures to the end shall be saved. (Mark 13)

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?!” Yes, we know we have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this! We were created for such a time as this. Surely the Pantocrator had in His eternal mind when He was forming us in the womb that we would be in such a time as this.

1. It’s recommended that the reader first read the Book of Esther in the Holy Bible, which is relatively short, to understand this post in full. ↩︎
2. Esther 2:12 ↩︎
3. In a spiritual sense, she was soaking in the aroma of God for years before soaking in the myrrh of beauty treatments in the palace. ↩︎
4. For references from Additions to Esther, refer to the Additions to Esther from the American Bible Society. ↩︎
5. Esther 4:16 ↩︎
6. Song of Songs 2:6 ↩︎
7. Song of Songs 8:10 ↩︎
8. Jonah 2:9 ↩︎
9. Psalm 45:14 ↩︎
10. The name Esther is derived from the Persian word stāra, meaning star. In Hebrew it is related to the root word for hidden. ↩︎