Esther's Courage
“Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house” (v. 1).
The Jewish people were on the verge of extinction. The royal seal was affixed to the dreadful death document. Mordecai had rightly declared that Esther had no guarantee of her life just because she was queen. The countdown of destiny was underway. Esther weighed her options — death by Haman’s plot or death because of disrespecting royal protocol. Perhaps there was another: a slim chance she could be spared by right of her position and favor. However, she was aware that if that happened, it would have been a hollow victory. Who could enjoy life without her remaining family after the genocide of her people? The situation being serious, she called for a fast. Then she acted.
She restrained herself from a blurting and bawling plea. She had already planned a banquet. Thus her petition came in the form of an invitation. (The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.) She was going to condition her advocacy with good table provisions. Further, her invitation included her strongest enemy, and of course, we know that at the banquet came another similar invitation. All was a part of divine strategy. (Lonnie R. Witt)
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the impetus to confront evil.