Long Shots: Esther

Long Shots: When the Least Likely Lead the Way

Wrapping up the series by examining individuals in scripture whom God used despite their imperfections or lack of pedigree.

Current Events and Faith

Feeling unsettled by news alerts and finding peace in the planned songs, specifically:

  • "Let praise be a weapon that silences the enemy."
  • "We sing your name in the dark, and it changes everything."
  • "We'll see you break down every wall. We'll watch giants fall."
  • "Fear cannot survive when we praise you."

Prayer is offered for those feeling conflicted and fearful due to war and unrest, asking for God's peace and trust in His control.

Jalen Hurts: An Illustrative Story

  • Freshman Year at Alabama: Starting quarterback, national spotlight.
  • 2018 National Championship: Benched at halftime, replaced by Tua Tagovailoa.
  • Subsequent Years: Stays at Alabama, transfers to Oklahoma, becomes a Heisman Trophy finalist, and enters the NFL draft.
  • NFL Draft: Not a top pick, analysts doubt his potential.
  • Philadelphia Eagles: Becomes the starting quarterback and leads the team to Super Bowl LVII but loses.
  • 2025 Super Bowl: Wins the Super Bowl and is named MVP with 200+ passing yards, 70 rushing yards, and three touchdowns.

This story highlights the theme of staying faithful until opportunity arises.

Esther: An Underestimated Woman

Esther's story reflects that of being underestimated and overlooked but ultimately used by God.

  • Not royalty or powerful.
  • A young Jewish girl living in exile, raised by her cousin.
  • Her story is found in the book of Esther, which reads like a Netflix drama with power struggles, wild parties, secret identities, and genocide plots.
  • One decision changes her life and the fate of a nation.

Chess Pieces as Characters

  • King Xerxes: Powerful but passive and indecisive.
  • Queen Esther: Understated but pivotal; poised to make a significant difference.
  • Faithful Knight Mordecai: Logical, strategic, and unpredictable.
  • Bishop Haman: Dangerous, smooth, scheming, and moves diagonally.
King Xerxes' Extravagant Party
  • Rules over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.
  • Throws a 180-day party followed by a seven-day encore with unlimited drinking.
  • Requests Queen Vashti to display her beauty, but she refuses and is banished.
The Search for a New Queen
  • A search throughout the empire for beautiful young virgins.
  • Twelve months of beauty treatments are prescribed for the selected women.
Esther's Background
  • Esther, also known as Hadassah, is an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai.
  • She is Jewish but hides this fact.
  • She is chosen to be queen and wins the king's favor, replacing Vashti.
Esther's Unchosen Position
  • Esther didn't choose to be queen.
  • Just because one feels powerless doesn't mean God is absent.
  • On God's board, Esther is a queen positioned to use her power.
Mordecai's Role
  • Mordecai is Esther's cousin and a father figure to her.
  • He is the knight, moving unexpectedly and breaking patterns.
  • He guards the gate to the palace and uncovers an assassination plot against King Xerxes.
  • Mordecai informs Esther, who tells the king, saving the king's life, but Mordecai receives no immediate reward.
Doing the Right Thing
  • The importance of staying faithful even without immediate recognition.
  • God sees and acknowledges those who do what is right.
Haman's Promotion and Rage
  • King Xerxes promotes Haman, son of Hamadah, to the highest position, requiring everyone to bow before him.
  • Mordecai refuses to bow.
  • Haman's rage leads him to seek the destruction of all Jews in the empire.
Haman's Plot
  • Haman approaches King Xerxes, slanders the Jews, and offers a bribe of 10,00010,000 large sacks of silver.
  • The king agrees and issues a decree to kill all Jewish men, women, and children in one day.
Esther's Silence and Potential Role
  • Esther remains silent, and the king is unaware she is Jewish.
  • The question is posed: What are you doing with the position God has given you?
  • Silence is its own form of disobedience.
Mordecai's Challenge to Esther
  • Mordecai sends a copy of the edict to Esther, urging her to speak to the king.
  • Esther hesitates, fearing death for approaching the king uninvited.
  • Mordecai's response: "Don't think for a moment that because you're in the palace that you will escape when all other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?"
Esther's Courage and Decision
  • Esther decides to act and asks Mordecai and all Jews in Susa to fast for her for three days.
  • She prepares to approach the king, risking her life.
Esther's Gambit
  • Esther puts on her royal robes and enters the inner court.
  • The king welcomes her and holds out his golden scepter.
  • Esther invites the king and Haman to a banquet, deferring her request.
  • At the banquet, the king offers her half the kingdom, but she requests another banquet for the following day.
Haman's Pride and Downfall
  • Haman is proud but enraged by Mordecai's continued refusal to bow.
  • Haman's wife and friends suggest building a 75-foot pole to impale Mordecai.
The King's Sleepless Night
  • The king cannot sleep and orders the book of records to be read to him.
  • He discovers that Mordecai was never rewarded for saving his life.
Haman's Humiliation
  • The king asks Haman how to honor a man who pleases him.
  • Haman, thinking the king refers to him, suggests elaborate honors.
  • The king orders Haman to bestow those honors on Mordecai.
  • Haman is humiliated and dejected.
Haman's Execution
  • At the second banquet, Esther reveals to the king that she is Jewish and that Haman has plotted to kill her and her people.
  • The king is furious and leaves the room.
  • Haman begs Esther for his life and falls on her couch.
  • The king returns, misunderstands Haman's actions, and orders him to be impaled on the pole he had prepared for Mordecai.

God's Unseen Presence

  • God's name is not mentioned in the book of Esther.
  • There are no divine interventions, but God's presence is evident throughout the story.
  • Esther's actions, though not miraculous, saved a nation.

Availability and Obedience

  • The question is not where is God but what is God waiting on from you?
  • It's not about qualifications but availability.
  • Long shots can change entire stories when they say yes.

Call to Action

  • Consider what conversations you've been avoiding and what steps you've been scared to take.
  • Remember that God knows you intimately and can use you for His purposes.
  • Be available and willing to move when God calls.