We are introduced to Esther in the book of Esther. Haddassah (also called Esther) was being cared for by her cousin Mordecai when her parents died. After the king had banished his queen, Vashti, he ordered that all virgin girls be taken to his palace. From them, a new queen would be chosen. After 12 months of beauty treatments, Esther was brought before the king and he was attracted to her, and he made her queen.
Little did the king know, but his new queen was a Jew. A man named Haman was elevated to a high seat of honor with the king. All men bowed down before Haman…all men, that is, but Mordecai. When Mordecai wouldn’t bow before him, he set forth a plan to kill all of Mordecai’s people. (Jews) The king set forth a decree that on a certain day of the year, all Jews were to be killed and to plunder all their goods. This pleased Haman to no end. Esther found out about the decree and was deeply troubled. Esther asked Mordecai to get all the Jews together to pray and fast for her, for she had a plan.
The next day, Esther put on her best robes and went to the king. No one was to enter the king’s presence with out being asked for by him, but he was so pleased to see her, that he allowed her to enter. She invited him and Haman to a banquet she would prepare in their honor. At the banquet, she pleaded for her life. As Esther exposed Haman’s plot to kill all the Jews, her included, the king was enraged. The king had Haman killed. Esther had saved her people.
To learn more about Esther, you can find her in the Old Testament book of Esther.
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Christian Nymphos 
LOVE Esther! One of my favorites!
The end of verse 14 rings to me everytime….. Who knows why you are in *this* position right *now*? Plenty of times we may have the knowledge and ability to do something about a situation that is in front of us, and we are frightened. Also Mordecai’s faith in the preservation of the Jews even if Esther didn’t act on their behalf.
Esther Chapter 4:
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 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. 14 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 your royal position for such a time as this?”
Absolutely love Tommy Tenney’s book “Hadassah: One night with the King”. It’s a great historical fiction of Esther’s story. They’ve made a movie of it too, but I haven’t seen it yet to know how good it is.
Thanks for this series on women of the Bible. I love Esther too. It’s hard for me to get beyond the ancient view of women that is shown in this book – that they are basically property, with very little control over their own lives. But, it encourages me to see God use a woman to work out His purposes, despite her position in that society.
This book shows me that God is going to accomplish the things that He plans to accomplish (4:14), regardless of what we do. But, He gives us opportunities to be a part of the things He is going to do, and we need to seize those opportunities, even if we are afraid. Esther showed that she was human, but when “push came to shove” she did the courageous thing (4:15-16), the thing that would help to accomplish what God wanted to do. I am afraid of a lot of things, and often fail to step out in faith. So this book encourages and inspires me.
The movie is pretty good ……. my ladies Bible study group watched it as part of our Beth Moore study on the book of Esther.
The queen before her, Vashti, also gets points in my book. While it was scandalous for that time to refuse an order from the king, it was the right decision. Had she appeared for the king to just show her off while he (and probably the rest of the guests) were drunk, well, it probably would have been a regretful evening.
I find most Christians haven’t read carefully the story. I was shocked when I realized what the king actually set up. It isn’t exactly something we freely discuss, but it’s certainly there in the Word of God. The king’s contest for the queen’s position was basically a sex contest. See Esther 2:12-14. “In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned…”
Things have certainly changed nowadays! 😀
I was really intrigued by Esther’s story when i first read it, thanks for your view on her life!!