For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14 KJV)

Before we examine this verse in chapter 4, it is always good to look at the context of the passage and the book it is written in. The book of Esther is a beautiful and true story of the Jews that lived in the provinces of Persia. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin who inhabited the region of Jerusalem and the surrounding area were partially taken captive because of their disobedience by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. and again in fuller measure in 598 B.C. and finally the temple and palaces were consumed, and the walls of the city were leveled to the ground in 586 B.C.. The Jews remained in bondage to the Babylonians until King Cyrus, by command of Darius of Medio-Persia, overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. (See Daniel 5:31). This was the beginning of the Persian Empire.

The book of Esther takes place with King Ahasuerus as king of the Persian Empire. This man was also called Xerxes I. He was the fourth ruler of the Persian Empire. By the time of the events of Esther, many Jews had already returned to Jerusalem from captivity, but many still remained in Persia. In chapter 1 of Esther we see Ahasuerus throwing a great feast and wanting to show off his wife, Vashti, to his nobles, he bid her to present herself. She refused to come and Ahasuerus decided to banish her from the kingdom. He then made search for her replacement. Esther was one of the women in the first recorded beauty pageant. King Ahasuerus was pleased with her and chose her to be queen of Persia. Esther, whose Jewish name was Hadassah, was a Jewess who was raised by her cousin Mordechai. Mordechai was a servant of the King, but refused to bow to Haman, the chief assistant to Ahasuerus. This infuriated Haman and he decided to exterminate the Jews when he found out Mordecai was a Jew. Haman got Ahasuerus to sign an edict that all the Jews in his kingdom would be destroyed. This would include Mordecai and even Esther herself. Mordecai sent word to Esther imploring her to speak to the king in behalf of the Jews to save them. Esther replied back that she could not approach the king uninvited because it was written in the laws that if any came uninvited to the king they were to be put to death immediately. The only exception to this was if the king raised his royal scepter to allow an individual to approach him. Mordecai sent word back to Esther about her hesitancy to approach the king.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Mordecai was a man of faith. You see his faith here when he tells Esther that if she decides to keep her mouth shut, then deliverance for the Jews will come from somewhere and someone else, but she and her father's house would be destroyed. Mordecai saw the providence of God in Esther being chosen to be queen of Persia and having direct access to the ear of King Ahasuerus even though she was a Jew! The phrase "thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this" has been translated by many scholars as "you have attained unto royalty for such a time as this". In context of this book, this phrase is Mordecai's faith being shared with Esther that God had placed her in the place of royalty for the purpose of keeping the Jews alive from the enemy’s plot to destroy them.

We see this same thing happening to Joseph. Even though his brothers meant him harm in selling Joseph as a slave, God meant it for good to keep many alive. (See Gen. 50:20). These two stories from the Old Testament--Esther and Joseph--teach us that God sees into the future and has plans to protect his people who put their trust in Him. No matter how bad the circumstances, God is able work in those circumstances for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8.28)

Esther was also a person of faith. After praying and fasting, she stepped out in faith to approach the king. The king lifted his scepter to Esther and she invited him to a banquet she had already prepared. After a few days of banquets with the king, Esther pleaded for the Jews and disclosed Haman’s plot. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai and although the edict could not be reversed, King Ahasuerus sent word to the Jews in every province to arm themselves for the day of attack and also gave them permission to defend themselves. The Jews prevailed on that day and the Feast of Purim was established to remember this great victory.

In applying this verse to our lives, I believe God has lifted us out of the obscurity of this world to be royalty in Jesus Christ. We have the ear of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We are able to intercede for those who are lost and are about to perish and see them saved. Each of us has come unto the kingdom for such a time and purpose as this.

Rick McFarland bio
Director/Singles Director
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Grace Church