Women with a Story to Tell. Esther.9. Esther becomes a Star.
When I started this sub-series on Esther, I told you that her given name was Hadassah “myrtle.” This family of trees gives us several essential oils Notice that Isaiah 41: 19 implies that God will plant useful trees in the wilderness, “the cedar, the myrtle, and the olive” (See also Isaiah 55: 13).
As she rises in the Persian hierarchy, her name is changed to ‘Esther’ which is a form of Ishtar, a Mesopotamian goddess recognized by several cultures. Since Persian is an Indo-European language, as is English, we might recognize her name’s relationship to our word ‘star’, the related adjective ‘stellar’, and the name ‘Stella’. (Note: ‘star’’ in Italian is ‘stella’, Spanish ‘estrella’, German ‘stern’, Swedish ‘stjärna’.) Her new name is appropriate since Hadassah becomes a star in this story.
“Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him (Esther 4: 15-17).
Esther is more than a star; she is becoming a leader and a defender of the Jewish diaspora community. Did you miss the verb in that last line? I did, until Bill Mefford pointed it out to me (Bill Mefford, The Fig Tree Revolution: Unleashing Local Churches into the Mission of Justice, 2017, page 5).
Esther has already given orders to the eunuch, Hatach (Esther 4:5, 9). Now she gives order to Mordecai and all the Jews in Susa. She is moving out from being subservient to men and charting a path of her own. This is very courageous of her in that patriarchal and misogynistic culture.
Her behavior is also a challenge to some in our culture today who would restrict women to the home and reduce their political and voting rights to zero (See the Christ Church Movement of ‘Christian Reconstructionists’). These ‘conservative’ Christians claim to back up their ideology with the Bible, but they are wrong. They are conserving nothing except warmed-over sexist conspiracy theories and the faint hope of returning to the repressive practices of the past. After all, it is just over 100 years since the 20th Amendment to the Constitution recognized women’s right to vote. Some people would like to turn back the clock.
Esther, the star, will have none of it. Following valiant leaders before her time, like the judge Deborah and the warrior Jael, she will stand for justice when men are reluctant or unable to do so.
Esther tells Mordecai to organize all the Jews in Susa to hold a fast for three days in support of Esther; “and Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.”
“On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance” (Esther 5:1).
The pieces have all been put in place and it is Esther who has arranged them. Now her fate hangs on the mood of a mercurial king. Esther has Mordecai and all the Jews in Susa on her side. They have been fasting, and fasting is the social practice that makes room for prayer.
Still, we know that servants of God are not immune to suffering. In fact, suffering is sometimes a way of working out God’s will. That is one of the teachings of Jesus that is difficult to accept. Yet, it depends on Isaiah’s prophecy of God’s suffering servant (Isaiah 52 and 53).
Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego told the king: ”If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up” (Daniel 3: 17-18).
In the early Christian era, one well-known martyr was Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch in Syria. Tradition says that, along with Polycarp, he had been a disciple of John the Apostle. During the persecutions of Emperor Trajan, Ignatius was arrested for calling the gods of Rome demons, thus implying that Trajan was reigning with the support of these demons.
In an unusual move, Ignatius was not killed locally but was sent to Rome to be part of the ‘games’ at the Coliseum. At every port, Ignatius met with local Christians, and he was able to write seven letters to churches along the way of which we have copies (some doubt their authenticity).
The Christians in Rome wanted to make a plea for Ignatius’ release. Ignatius’ asked them not to. He said, by the report of eyewitnesses, “Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. If any man has Him within himself, let him understand what I desire….If you (will) remain silent and leave me alone, I am a word of God. But if you save my flesh, then I shall be a mere cry” https://earlychurchhistory.org/martyrs/martyrdom-of-ignatius-of-antioch/
So, Ignatius met death by lions in the arena.
Esther’s life is also on the line. What will King Ahaseurus do when he sees Esther standing in the outer court?
Whether by death or by life, let our witness be clear. God loves us, God forgives us, God saves us, God invites us to form godly communities to serve one another until we return to him in heaven.