Queen Esther - Brave for God's People

King Xerxes ruled over the vast Persian Empire from his magnificent palace. One day, the king decided to find a new queen. He sent his servants throughout the kingdom to gather all the beautiful young women so he could choose one to be his queen. Esther was taken to the palace along with many other young women.

Even though Esther was in a scary situation, far from home and uncertain about her future, she had a gentle and kind spirit that everyone loved. The man in charge of all the young women liked Esther best of all! He gave her special beauty treatments and the best place to stay. But Esther kept one very important secret - she didn't tell anyone she was Jewish. Her cousin Mordecai had warned her not to reveal her nationality yet.

When it was Esther's turn to meet the king, she didn't ask for fancy jewelry or expensive clothes. She only took what was suggested to her. Her humble heart and natural beauty impressed everyone. And when King Xerxes saw Esther, he fell in love with her! He chose her to be his queen and placed the royal crown on her head. There was a great celebration throughout the kingdom!

Even though Esther was now the queen, Mordecai still watched over her. Every day he would walk near the palace gates to find out how she was doing. One day, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, he overheard two guards plotting to kill King Xerxes! Mordecai quickly sent a message to Queen Esther, and she told the king, giving credit to Mordecai. The plot was investigated, the bad guards were punished, and Mordecai's good deed was written down in the official records of the kingdom.

Not long after this, the king promoted a man named Haman to be his highest official. The king commanded that everyone should bow down to Haman. But Mordecai refused to bow! Mordecai would only bow to God, not to any man. This made Haman furiously angry! When Haman learned that Mordecai was Jewish, his anger turned into a terrible hatred. He decided he wouldn't just punish Mordecai - he would destroy all the Jewish people throughout the entire kingdom!

Haman went to King Xerxes with an evil plan. "There is a certain group of people scattered throughout your kingdom," Haman said slyly, not mentioning they were Jews. "Their customs are different from everyone else's, and they don't obey the king's laws. It's not good for the king to tolerate them. Let's make a law to destroy them!" Haman even offered to pay money into the king's treasury. The king, not knowing he was talking about Esther's people, agreed! He gave Haman his signet ring to seal the official decree.

Haman sent letters to every part of the kingdom, ordering that on a certain day, all Jewish people - young and old, women and children - should be killed! When the Jewish people heard this terrible news, they cried and mourned and fasted. Mordecai tore his clothes and put on rough sackcloth and ashes, crying loudly in the streets.

When Queen Esther heard that Mordecai was in distress, she sent clothes to him, but he wouldn't accept them. She sent her servant to find out what was wrong. Mordecai told the servant everything and sent a copy of the death decree to Esther. "You must go to the king and beg for mercy for your people!" Mordecai urged.

But Esther sent back a frightening message: "Everyone knows that anyone who approaches the king without being summoned will be put to death - unless the king holds out his gold scepter to spare that person's life. And the king hasn't called for me in thirty days!" Even though Esther was the queen, she couldn't just walk into the king's presence. She could be killed!

Mordecai sent back these powerful words: "Don't think that just because you're in the palace you'll escape when all the other Jews are killed. If you keep quiet at this time, help will come from somewhere else, but you and your family will die. And who knows? Maybe you became queen for such a time as this!" Mordecai was telling Esther that God had put her in this position to save her people!

Esther made a brave decision. She sent this message to Mordecai: "Gather all the Jews in Susa and fast for me. Don't eat or drink for three days and nights. My servants and I will fast too. And then I will go to the king, even though it's against the law. And if I die, I die!" Esther was willing to give up her life to save her people!

For three days, Esther and all the Jewish people prayed and fasted, asking God to help them. Then, on the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, right where the king could see her. Her heart must have been pounding! Would the king be angry? Would he have her killed?

King Xerxes was sitting on his throne when he saw Queen Esther standing in the court. His face broke into a smile! He was pleased to see her! He held out his gold scepter to her - the sign that she could live! Esther walked forward and touched the tip of the scepter. "What is it, Queen Esther?" the king asked kindly. "What is your request? I'll give you anything, even up to half my kingdom!"

Esther took a deep breath. "If it pleases the king," she said, "would you and Haman come today to a special dinner I've prepared for you?" The king agreed happily. At the dinner, the king asked Esther again what she wanted. But Esther wasn't ready yet. "Come to another dinner tomorrow," she said, "and then I will tell you."

Haman left the palace feeling very proud. The queen had invited only him and the king to two special dinners! But when he saw Mordecai at the gate still refusing to bow to him, his pride turned to rage. His wife and friends suggested, "Build a tall pole and ask the king's permission to hang Mordecai on it tomorrow. Then you can enjoy the queen's dinner!" Haman loved this idea and had the pole built right away.

That night, King Xerxes couldn't sleep. He asked for the record book of his reign to be read to him. As it was being read, the king heard about how Mordecai had saved his life by exposing the guards' plot. "What reward did Mordecai receive for this?" the king asked. "Nothing," his servants answered. Just then, Haman arrived at the palace to ask permission to hang Mordecai.

"Haman!" the king called. "What should be done for a man the king wants to honor?" Haman thought the king must be talking about him! So he suggested a grand parade with royal robes and a crown. "Excellent!" said the king. "Go at once and do this for Mordecai the Jew!" Haman was horrified, but he had to obey. He had to lead Mordecai through the city, announcing his honor!

That evening, at Esther's second dinner, the king asked again, "What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be given to you!" Finally, Esther spoke with courage: "If I have found favor with you, O king, please spare my life and the lives of my people! For we have been sold to be destroyed and killed!"

The king was shocked! "Who would dare to do such a thing?" he demanded. Esther pointed at Haman and said, "The enemy is this wicked Haman!" Haman turned pale with fear. The king was so angry he went out to the garden to think. When he came back, he ordered that Haman should be hung on the very pole Haman had prepared for Mordecai!

But the Jews were still in danger because the king's decree couldn't be changed. So the king gave Mordecai his signet ring and allowed him to write a new decree. Mordecai wrote orders allowing the Jews to defend themselves. On the day that was supposed to be their destruction, the Jews were able to protect themselves instead! There was great joy and celebrating among God's people! They had been saved!

Esther's bravery saved an entire nation! Even today, Jewish people celebrate the festival of Purim to remember how Queen Esther risked her life to save them. Esther's story teaches us that God places us exactly where we need to be, at exactly the right time, to accomplish His purposes. When we face scary situations, we can be brave like Esther and trust that God will use us to do great things! Sometimes being brave means taking risks to help others, even when we're afraid. Esther could have stayed silent and tried to save only herself, but instead she chose courage and compassion. God can use anyone - even someone who feels small or powerless - to do mighty things when they trust in Him!

Big idea: God is always with us and loves us very much!