Esther shows us that God calls his people to risk their lives for His sake and for the sake of his people.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is January 27, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called For Such a Time as This. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Our readings for today are Genesis 28, Matthew 27, and Esther 4.
Please open your Bibles to Esther 4.
In 2011, I took a risk. I moved my family from Virginia to Kentucky to go to seminary. That may not sound like much of a risk. It is just two states away. The culture and climate are very similar. They even speak the same language. What was so risky about that? It was risky because I have a family. At the time, a wife and two kids. And we were right in the middle of adopting two more. It was especially risky because I didn’t know what I would do for a job. We moved right after Thanksgiving and I had enough money to make it to the beginning of February. It wasn’t the first or the last risk I took and, in the scope of Christian history, it wasn’t even that big a risk.
In today’s Scripture for Students, we’re going to see how Esther took a risk. It was a much bigger risk than my cross country move, because it could have cost Esther her life, and the lives of all her people.
A quick catch up here: if you’ve been following along with the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan, you know that things have gone from tense to tenser. In chapter 3, the king’s chief advisor, Haman, devised a plot to kill the Jewish people because of his hatred for Mordecai, who was Esther’s cousin and guardian before she become queen in Vashti’s place. Haman tricks king Ahasuerus into signing into a law a national day of massacre: a single day when it will be legal for anyone in the kingdom to attack the Jewish people. In the beginning of chapter 4, Mordecai finds out about the wicked plot and tells Esther what is going to happen. Where we pick up, Esther is not sure what, if anything, she can do. Mordecai directs her to take a risk.
Please follow along with me as I read Esther 4:10–17,
10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say,
11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said.
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai,
16 “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.”
17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
So Esther took a risk that could potentially take her life. There are at least four things that we can learn about taking risks from Esther’s risk in this chapter.
First, Esther took a risk that went against the culture of her day. We learn from Esther that going against your culture can be dangerous, even deadly, but is often necessary. In the ancient world, kings were considered all-powerful; sometimes people even thought they were gods. And so, people weren’t allowed to just walk up to them, even the queen. You could only get near the king if he approved, and in the court of king Ahasuerus, you took a risk by going into his court uninvited or unbidden. If he extended his scepter to you, you were good to go, but if not, it meant the death penalty. You can be sure that death would come quickly.
So Esther knows that the only way her people—the Jewish people—can survive Haman’s wicked plot is if she goes right to the top: to the king himself. But that’s a risk that could cost Esther life.
We may not ever have to risk our lives by stepping into a king’s presence, but faithful Christians are always called to run the risk of going against the culture. That’s what the apostle Paul means in Romans 12:2 when he says, “do not be conformed to this pattern of this world.” Where is God calling you to live the risk of going against the culture?
Second, Esther took a risk based on good counsel. When we picked up our reading in verse 10, Esther doesn’t seem quite sure what to do. She tells her cousin Mordecai about the rule with the scepter and explains she hasn’t been summoned to the king’s presence in a month. Who knows when she will be invited again; by then it could be too late. But Mordecai’s counsel gives Esther clarity and courage. Verse 14 is famous: “And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther needed counsel to know what to do and to have the accountability to go do it. Some people don’t have the courage to take risks without the support of good advice from others. And some people make bad decisions to take foolhardy risks because they didn’t ask a wise, mature, older Christian for counsel. Young people: get in the habit now of asking your parents for advice on small, daily decisions so that when the time comes to make a big, risky decision, you already know what it feels like to get counsel and have learned the humility to listen and act accordingly.
Third, Esther took a risk, and resolved to do it. Once Esther sees clearly what she is called to do, she goes for it. She asks Mordecai and the other Jews to pray and fast for her. I admire this about Esther. Decision-making is often hard and risky decision-making is even harder. Once you’ve made a decision to take a risk, there are many excuses we can make to wiggle out of it. James 5:12 says, “…let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” When the time comes to make a risky decision, pray hard, get good counsel, make the best decision you can, and then be all in.
Finally, Esther took a risk, fully prepared for the consequences. The end of verse 16 is so inspiring. Esther makes a very risky decision. It could cost her life, but it is for the sake of saving the lives of all her people. So she utters these courageous words, “I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” I very much doubt that any of us will have to make a decision that might cost us our lives any time soon. But we are going to be called to make decisions and some of those decisions will be risky. Even though it might not cost you your life, you might be called to die to yourself.
In fact, I know you will. The time is coming when God will call you to set aside your desires, your preferences, or your comfort, for the sake of serving Him or serving his people. When that time comes, remember Esther and like Esther, don’t be afraid to take risks that go against the culture, that need good counsel, that require resolve, and that might even involve difficult consequences. When you do that for the Lord, I promise you that you will be glad you did. Let’s keep reading and over the next couple days, we’ll see how it worked out for Esther and for all God’s people.
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This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!