When God Goes Undercover

The Book of Esther is an odd one in our Bible. Ten full chapters. I just read it straight through. Not one mention of God. The only clearly religious content is Esther’s prayer and fasting. It reads like a documentary or maybe a spy story.   It’s like God has gone underground, not seen and not heard.

Esther, a young Jewish woman, lived in exile as part of the recognized minority in the Persian Empire.  She had been raised by her cousin Mordecai after losing her parents. When Queen Vashti was dismissed for refusing the king’s command, a search began for a new queen. Esther was drafted into the King's harem and selected as his new queen. No one knew she was Jewish.  Esther kept to herself, not revealing who she really was. A powerful official in the Persian court named Haman became angry when her cousin, Mordecai would not bow before him. In his pride and rage he convinced King Ahasuerus to issue an edict: all the Jews are to be killed. Men, women, children. Wiped out.  The king consented.

Mordecai went to Esther begging her to speak to the king and try to save her people. She resists at first. The fear is real.

Think of who Esther is- a Jew, an orphan, then a woman in a harem whom the king plucked out because of her beauty.  This is a woman who during much of her life had no agency, no autonomy, no authority. She became Queen, but then she stayed in the shadows, not likely knowing how to use her newfound power.    She kept in the background for a reason.

And then Mordecai speaks words that change everything:

“Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape… Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)

It was risky. Esther’s people are in danger. To approach the king uninvited could mean death. But Mordecai’s words echoed in Esther’s heart: “Who knows? Perhaps you have come to this royal position for such a time as this.”

So Esther prayed. She fasted.

Esther instructed Mordecai 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” Esther “risks her voice before she knows the outcome, or  how it will end. That’s what makes it brave.”²

Esther  found her courage. “She recognized her moment when it came around.  Even more amazing, she seized it.  Stepping out of obscurity into the spotlight, with no guarantees.” (Florence) This faith. Not certainty, but willingness and  courage.

After days of fasting , Esther put on her royal robes, went before the king, and was welcomed. She revealed her identity and exposed Haman’s plot. “We have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.” (Esther 7:4 The king listened. Justice was done. Haman was executed instead of Mordecai, and the Jews gained the right to defend themselves.

Though God’s name is not spoken, his presence is obvious, the Spirit is moved Esther to speak, to stand up for what she believed in.

In that moment, Esther becomes more than a queen. She becomes God’s instrument -the reason they survive. God was there for her and her people.

Anna Carter Florence writes

“Esther is a story that reads backward… We realize she was in exactly the right place, with exactly the voice that was needed.”¹  That’s how it works with callings, isn’t it? We rarely see them in real time. We say yes—or we say nothing—and only later do we understand what was really at stake.  We were in the right place at the right time.

But, no matter – the message is this : God can be present, even when God is not visible. God can save through the courage of ordinary people who step up, speak out, and risk their place.  And surprisingly in such a patriarchal society, the Old Testament tells the stories of many women, Rahab, Abigail, and others, who did just that.

People, there may come a time when someone looks at you—quiet, uncertain, unsure—and says what Mordecai said to Esther:

Who knows? Perhaps you have come to this place for such a time as this.”

It may be a conversation no one else wants to have.

A choice no one else will make.

A truth no one else is willing to say.

You may look foolish standing up when no one else does.
You may feel like you don’t know enough, or aren’t strong enough, or aren’t the right one for the job.

But maybe, like Esther, your voice is the one God is waiting for.

Florence reminds us: it’s only later that we recognize what was holy. What was brave. What was necessary.

You may never see a burning bush or dream God is calling you.

But you might just get a moment.

A voice that says: “Now. It’s time. Speak.”

—if you feel that quiet push in your spirit—trust that God is already present.

Who knows?

Perhaps you were born for such a time as this. Amen.