Who is this “Esther” Person?

I realized from some of the comments last time that most of you aren’t familiar with the story of Esther. Let me briefly explain it for you.

Basically, a Jewish orphan girl gets chosen by the king to be his wife, because his old wife wouldn’t obey him. Chauvinism at its worst, really. Anyway, the Jewish chick has to change her name and obey the king and pretend not to be Jewish, but she does have some power.

See, the king is going to kill off all her people because his top advisor had a grudge against a Jew. This is where Esther’s story gets tough. She has to have the guts to go to the king and ask for him to save her people. If the king wants, he can order her to be killed for coming to him without a summons. But, if he listens, her people would be saved. (Like I said, women didn’t have much power, but every little bit counts.)

The first time Esther tries to tell the king, she doesn’t get killed, but she doesn’t accomplish her mission, either. She ends up inviting the king and his evil advisor to dinner. The same thing happens the next time she tries. Finally, on her third try (how cliché is that? but it’s still a good story), Esther tells her story to the king and he saves the Jewish people. Happily ever after, etc.

Of course, this seems like a great story of a female leader in the ancient world. But the point of the story isn’t that Esther was a leader—the point is that she wasn't. Esther wasn’t born to be a leader. But when she came into a position of leadership, she used it when it became necessary. She did what she could, when she could, and accomplished a lot of good in the lives of her people. That’s the way to lead, women!