Persian exile, Jewish queen
Esther
An orphan girl became queen of an empire, then risked her life to save her people.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? — Esther 4:14
King Ahasuerus put away his queen and sent officers through the provinces to gather beautiful young women for the palace. One of them was Hadassah, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, and she was made queen under the name Esther. Mordecai told her to keep her people and her kindred hidden. Then Haman, lifted to the highest seat in the kingdom, took offense that Mordecai would not bow to him and got the king to sign a decree that every Jew in the empire be killed on a single day. Mordecai sent word to Esther that she was not safe just because she lived in the palace, and asked whether she had come to the kingdom for such a time as this. She fasted three days, walked into the inner court uninvited knowing the law allowed the king to have her killed for it, and the king held out the golden sceptre. She exposed Haman at her own banquet table, and he was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai.
Why It Matters
God can put you somewhere ordinary and use it for something you never saw coming. The place you are standing right now may be exactly where He needs you.
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