Esther Speaks Up

Esther was queen when a terrible order threatened to destroy the Jews. Mordecai told her what had happened and asked her to appeal to the king for her people. Going to the king without being summoned was dangerous. Esther knew she could be put to death unless the king held out his golden sceptre.

Esther asked Mordecai to gather the Jews in Susa and fast for her for three days. She and her attendants would fast too. Then she put on her royal clothes and entered the court. The king held out his golden sceptre, and Esther approached him.

Esther invited the king and Haman to a banquet. There she asked them to return for another banquet the next day. At that second meal, Esther asked the king to spare her life and the lives of her people. She identified Haman as the enemy behind the plan to destroy them.

The king was furious. Haman was put to death on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. The king gave Mordecai the royal signet ring that Haman had held. But the earlier order against the Jews still stood. Esther came before the king again, weeping and pleading for her people.

The king could not revoke a decree sealed with his ring. He allowed Esther and Mordecai to write another order in the Jews’ behalf. Mordecai sent letters throughout the provinces, giving the Jews permission to gather and defend their lives against anyone who attacked them on the appointed day.

Couriers hurried out with the new decree. Mordecai left the king wearing royal clothes, and Susa rejoiced. In the provinces, the Jews received the news with gladness, feasting and celebration. Esther’s appeals had helped her people face the danger with a new hope.