A Queen and a Feast

Recently Purim was celebrated by the Jews. The book
of Esther is a short read but packed with action. A
movie was made called, One Night with the King,
which closely ties in with the narrative as given in
scripture. It is a worthwhile film.

God took a poor Jewish maiden and set it up so she
became the Queen of King Ahasuerus, who reigned
from Ethiopia to India, a total of 127 provinces.
Little did she know that there would be a plot to kill
all of the Jews in the 127 provinces and that she
would stand between her people and the king as their
only hope. She, her maidens and the Jews of Susa
fasted and prayed for three days because to go before
the King without a summons was certain death. God
gave her favor with the king and she invited him and
the vile Haman, the Agite, to a feast. The end of the
story has Haman hanging from a rope and the Jews
being given permission to kill their enemies.

Each year the Jews celebrate purim by reading the story
of Esther and thanking God for their deliverance, their
redemption at the gracious hand of God. What an
encouragement to remember how God intervenes for
His people.

Reader, there are still two more women who were used
by God and whose story is remembered. I did not start
out to feature women, but they play such a key role in
the springtime events, and in the redemption of the
whole world. Esther was the Queen of a great province,
but we are the Bride of Christ, the King of Kings, who
puts all things, including death, under His feet.