Esther is one of the best examples of God using women in His Perfect Plan. She was a Jew living in Susa, the capital city of Persia, and was looked down on with suspicion due to her race. She was raised by her uncle, Mordecai, who treated her like his own daughter. Due to her great beauty, she was selected by King Ahasuerus’ advisors to be a candidate to become his next wife. His first wife was sent away due to disobedience to the king. Ahasuerus was enchanted with Esther and took her to be his wife.
Mordecai was able to advise her when she became queen. Mordecai eventually caught word of a plot by a high-ranking official named Haman to have all the Jews killed due to an intense hatred of Mordecai. Ahasuerus passed the decree, unwitting as to what he was doing. Mordecai went to Esther and begged her to speak to the king of this to change his mind. She went before the king without an appointment, which could have lead to her death, and revealed to him that she was a Jew.
This revelation, combined with his love for her, caused him to make a counter decree to allow the Jews to arm and defend themselves against being massacred. Many Jews were army veterans and thus defended themselves quite ably. Esther was regarded as a hero to the Jewish people. She reigned as queen for over a decade. Her son, Darius II would later rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. It is unknown how she died.
Name: Esther
Family: Ahasuerus (Husband), Mordecai (Uncle/Surrogate Father)
Nicknames: Hadasseh
- Original Jewish name meaning Myrtle
Personality:
- Courageous
- Respectful
- Beautiful
- Intelligent
- Good character
Accomplishments/Major Events:
- Was a Jew in a country (Persia) which viewed them with suspicion
- Because she was beautiful, she caught the attention of the advisors to the king
- She was entered into a competition of sorts with many other girls to see who would marry the king and thus become queen of Persia
- Drew the attention of Ahasuerus, the king, and married him
- Went to the king to prevent the genocide of the Jewish people despite the possibility of her being killed for doing so
- Succeeded in saving the Jewish people and got the advisor responsible punished
- The Jewish people were allowed to defend themselves from being massacred, they were good fighters to say the least
- Esther’s only son was Darius II, who would later go on to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem
Death:
- It is not known when Esther died