Hathach
went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed
him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal
provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner
court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death.
The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him
and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the
king.”
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. (Esther 4:9-17
Imagine, one of your employees scurrying in to tell you, “That guy, Mordecai? He’s out there in sack cloth!” You send out clothing and a request to know what’s wrong, and in the game of telephone, you’re informed that the king has issued an edict ordering the slaughter of all Jews and the confiscation of their property. You are told that you have to do something.
Here’s the problem. Yes, you’re the queen, but your husband hasn’t called for you in 30 days. We already know that if you don’t show up when you are called, you lose your happy home, but the law states that if you do show up when you haven’t been called, you lose your life. Sometimes it seems as if everyone looks down on Esther because “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Come on, Esther, woman up!
We’re told “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.”[1] But we stand in Esther’s shoes today. We are not invited to appear, to speak, to give an opinion. Our opinion is no more necessary to society than the opinion of a woman in ancient Persia. It doesn’t matter that she was the queen. It doesn’t matter who we are, “religion has no place in the public square, or in the courts. By default, if your cause is religious, you are either declared guilty or thrown out and pilloried on The View and on those other great opinion programs known as the news. The only way we survive is if someone holds out a scepter, and what’s the chance of that.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing is at least partly true, but it’s not like the thing necessary for the defeat of evil is that good men show up, raise their hand, speak up… The thing necessary for the defeat of evil is often a long, hard battle in which no one is spared. It is often years spent being abused (whether while free or in jail) and the death or destruction of your life, your family and everything else you hold dear.
But…who knows but that you have come to [your] position for such a time as this?
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions. (Esther 4:9-17
Imagine, one of your employees scurrying in to tell you, “That guy, Mordecai? He’s out there in sack cloth!” You send out clothing and a request to know what’s wrong, and in the game of telephone, you’re informed that the king has issued an edict ordering the slaughter of all Jews and the confiscation of their property. You are told that you have to do something.
Here’s the problem. Yes, you’re the queen, but your husband hasn’t called for you in 30 days. We already know that if you don’t show up when you are called, you lose your happy home, but the law states that if you do show up when you haven’t been called, you lose your life. Sometimes it seems as if everyone looks down on Esther because “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Come on, Esther, woman up!
We’re told “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.”[1] But we stand in Esther’s shoes today. We are not invited to appear, to speak, to give an opinion. Our opinion is no more necessary to society than the opinion of a woman in ancient Persia. It doesn’t matter that she was the queen. It doesn’t matter who we are, “religion has no place in the public square, or in the courts. By default, if your cause is religious, you are either declared guilty or thrown out and pilloried on The View and on those other great opinion programs known as the news. The only way we survive is if someone holds out a scepter, and what’s the chance of that.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing is at least partly true, but it’s not like the thing necessary for the defeat of evil is that good men show up, raise their hand, speak up… The thing necessary for the defeat of evil is often a long, hard battle in which no one is spared. It is often years spent being abused (whether while free or in jail) and the death or destruction of your life, your family and everything else you hold dear.
But…who knows but that you have come to [your] position for such a time as this?
[1]
Attributed to a number of writers and speakers including Edmund Burke, John
Stuart Mills, and Charles F. Aked.
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