Women with a Story to Tell. Esther.10. A Protest against Injustice.

Esther is standing in the outer courts waiting for Ahasuerus (Xerxes), King of Persia, to notice her. If he is not in a good mood, it could go badly for Esther. If he reaches out his scepter, then she is recognized and welcomed into his presence. Her heart races, emotions swirl inside her as she tries to look composed yet in urgent need. How did she get here?

 A racist government official has convinced the king to let him issue a decree (thus keeping the king’s name out of it) that at a future date all the people in the empire can kill their neighboring Jews and seize their property. The official has offered a substantial bribe which he will deposit with the king’s treasurer (to keep the king’s hands clean). The two agreed on the plan, and then sat down and had a drink to celebrate their administrative work.Think of that, the king and his family own a bank where people wishing a government favor can deposit money. That would be illegal in any country, wouldn’t it? 

 Meanwhile, when word about the decree gets out, the capital city, Susa, falls into turmoil. To their credit, people did not want to rise up against their neighbors. Perhaps they see that if this program is carried out against the Jews, it could later be carried out against them because all of them are immigrants, political refugees, and displaced people.  

 Still, the next day, people in high offices had not heard the news. Of course not; they think that they are safe. When Mordecai arrived at the gate dressed in sackcloth and covered with ashes, Esther did not see him. Instead, she was informed by servants that her adopted father was at the city gate dressed in shabby clothes. Her response? She sent out proper clothes for him to dress in. Her first response is that of an insider who does not identify with the lower classes of society.  

 To her credit, when the eunuch came back with the news that Mordecai refused the clothing, Esther had the good sense to stop and listen. She asks, ‘What is the problem?’ When she gets the news and the request by Mordecai to do something about it, she considers the risks. She soon concludes that she must do something. 

 So, she ordered Mordecai to organize the Jews in Susa in a way that the whole city would know something was wrong. They protested by walking around with sackcloth on wailing as they went. Now what happened behind closed doors has now become public.

 Esther now takes her life in her hands to go see the king when the king has not sent for her. Even if she gets in, this will be a tricky business. The king has made a deal with one of his top advisors, Haman.

 As Bill Mefford has pointed out, there are a number of lessons here for Christian communities to involve themselves in protest and social change. As all the prophets demonstrate, the people of God cannot be quiet and do nothing when injustice runs rampant in society. 

 God sent Jeremiah to the Jerusalem garbage dump to demonstrate what was about to happen. The crowd of priests who followed him were appalled to see Jeremiah throw a wine decanter pot to the ground where it broke into smithereens. That was what was going to happen to the country of Judah (Jeremiah 19: 1-11).

 God instructed Isaiah to walk around barefoot and naked for three years as a prophecy against Egypt and Ethiopia. The king and people of Israel had placed their hopes in these two countries to protect them against Assyria, but Isaiah showed that they would be fragile allies; they would have to walk like Isaiah in shame to their own exile (Isaiah 20: 2-6).    

 God instructed Hosea to do an embarrassing thing. He was told to marry a prostitute named Gomer in order to dramatize the fact that Israel had become an unfaithful wife to God (Hosea 1:2-9). All of these are performative prophecies.

 Now Esther has commanded all the Jews to put on sackcloth and walk through the streets wailing to demonstrate that they are mourning a death, though that day has not yet arrived. Esther stands before the king at the climax of this protest and, to her relief, the king motions her to come in.

 ”As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won his favor, and he held out to her the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. The king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be given you.” Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet that I have prepared for the king.” Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” (Esther 5: 2-6). 

 Esther has thought this thing through; she’s smart. She doesn’t just blurt out her accusation, she sets the scene to illustrate the evil involved. More performative prophecy, a form of advocacy for those without a voice in the government. 

 Should Christians do this? The early believers shared their goods rather than hoard them and all could see the kind of community they created. A husband and wife who pretended to do the same to get the glory without having to share were struck down by God for hypocrisy, “and great fear seized the whole church and all who heard these things” (Acts 4: 32–5:11). 

 When Paul and Silas were unjustly flogged and put into prison for preaching to the people of Lydia (in Turkey), they were praying and singing in prison in the middle of the night. The text says that, “the prisoners were listening to them.” Just after midnight, an earthquake shook the city, and the prison doors fell off their hinges. Not one prisoner escaped. Paul and Silas were sitting there singing when the jailer arrived, ready to commit suicide if he had failed in his duty. The jailer and all his family became Christians, but Paul wasn’t done yet.

 In the morning, the magistrate sent word to set them free, but Paul refused to go without a confrontation with authority. Paul said, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us in prison; and now they are going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves!” (Acts 16: 37-40). Paul would not let illegal acts by government officials pass without correcting it. The magistrate and other officials came, apologized, and released them. Injustice confronted as it should be.