Are you familiar with the story about Queen Esther? It goes like this: There was this king in ancient Iran who was angry with his Queen. Apparently, she didn’t show up in front of the drunken party he was throwing when he called her to the banquet hall. So, the royal advisors suggested he throw her off the throne for her disobedience. Which he did. She’d had the nerve to tell the king “no”, and, hey, other women might hear about it and follow suit with the men in their lives. Right? It had indeed been a humiliating event for the King to say the least. So, off she went.
In time, the King grew very sad, and his personal staff grew worried. It was time to find a new lady for the lonely monarch. So, they came up with a plan. It was decided that a nationwide beauty pageant-type-search would be put underway. And it was so. In a short amount of time, all of the lovely virgins from regions around were brought to the harem and prepared for their “audition”. Which translates as: you get one night with the king. Get the picture?
When it was all said and done, it was one exceptional creature that finally won the King’s heart. Her name was Esther. But there was a secret situation. Unfortunately for our new heroine, she was Jewish. Now, that’s not a problem in itself, except that a particularly powerful person, who had the King’s ear at that time, hated members of the Jewish race and he wanted to spread that hate. It wasn’t looking good for Esther or her people. It wasn’t long before this evil man, Haman, figured out a way to get rid of “those Jews”. But the plot was foiled, and the Hebrew people were, in the end, saved. And they all lived happily ever after. Hooray! In the end, it was the bravery of our lovely new Queen Esther who put her life on the line when it came down to the wire.
In case you didn’t know, this very story is remembered and celebrated as a holiday to this day by the Jewish people. It’s called Purim and it happens this week!
There will be food and festivities for two days. And well, as you may know, if it has anything to do with food…I am so there.
Just my thoughts.
Stephanie
PS: They did a great movie on this story. It’s called One Night with the King.
Check it out!