It's Time

“For such a time as this”

We have all heard the quotation. Maybe we have recited it ourselves. We have seen it on plaques and notecards. We have heard it in inspirational messages.

“For such a time as this”

This is your time. This is your hour. Who knows but that you were born for such a time as this? This is your moment.

But how did you get here? How did it happen? What was the spark? What came before this moment in time? How did we get to this place? Or perhaps we should ask who made it happen? Who opened the door to this moment?

Do we ask those questions? Or do we think things just happen by chance? Are all the grand moments in time just a lucky accident?

I don’t think so.

I believe that quite a lot of important things happen behind the scenes. Like all the preparation that goes into a lovely holiday meal or celebration. Weeks of preparation go into most important events. Weeks, months, even years.

“For such a time as this”

Those words were spoken to Queen Esther in the Bible. She was a young Queen. She had been chosen to “replace” the former Queen Vashti who had fallen out of favor with the King.

She was a young Jewish woman and an official in the court (unaware that the new Queen was Jewish) had designed a plan to slaughter all Jewish people. Her cousin informed her of the plan and the danger to all Jewish people and petitioned her to approach the King and plead for the lives of her people.

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

However, there was a small problem. In that kingdom, no one was allowed to approach the King in his chamber uninvited. Esther had not been summoned to the King’s presence in over a month. If she approached the King uninvited she would be put to death, unless he extended his “golden scepter” to spare her life.  Esther was in a position to address the King, but only at his invitation or at the risk of her life.

What should she do? As the queen she would probably be safe from destruction herself. If she revealed her heritage she may risk her own life and perish with her people. Or, she may perish simply by “breaking the rules” and approaching the king uninvited.

What should she do?

“For such a time as this…..”

Her cousin warns her “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

“For such a time as this……..”

What to do? What to do?

Esther decides to fast and pray for three days and nights along with her maids, her cousin, and all the Jews of the land. Then, she says, she will approach the king, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16)

So Esther fasted and prayed. Her cousin and the people fasted and prayed. And Esther approached the King. And the King extended his scepter! Through a process of circumstance, the King heard Esther’s requests, responded to her petitions, and her people were saved. Esther became the means of salvation and deliverance to the Jewish people. It is a tale of courage and strength and bravery. Esther was a true heroine. She really was “in the right place at the right time” and she did the right thing. She risked her life to save her people.

“For such a time as this……”

But how did she get there? How did she step in to the right place and the right time? As in most heroic tales, there is often a “story behind the story” Someone sets the stage for a true hero to walk into the spotlight. Who set the stage for Esther?

There is someone in the shadows. Someone else paid a price to open the door for Esther to walk through. Someone else set the stage for “such a time as this”

There was another queen. Her name was Vashti. We meet her only briefly in the first Chapter. But she too, is a heroine.

We don’t know that much about her. She was the Queen to Xerxes during the third year of his reign when he threw a lavish six month “show and tell” party for all of the surrounding nobles to celebrate the vastness of his wealth and the splendor of his kingdom. He celebrated and exulted in the greatness of his realm. He finished off this season of celebration (and self-exultation) with a week-long, elaborate, drunken bash. Towards the end of the party, he summoned his queen  Vashti (who was hosting her own party for all the noble wives) to come and display herself for the pleasure of his all-male guests.

And she said “No”

And that is all we know. We don’t know if this was a common occurrence. We don’t know if she had done this before and suddenly decided to refuse. All we really know is that at this time, at this place, she decided not to be an object to be oogled.

She said “No”

She didn’t complain or picket or start a campaign. She didn’t cajole and petition or plead or beg.

She just said “No”

And the King was enraged.

And his advisors were afraid.

Because she said “No”

What if more women said “No”? What if their wives said “No”? What would become of the kingdom if women said “No”?

Let me be very clear. The Bible tells stories. And the Bible gives commentary during the stories. The Bible never says that Vashti was wrong. Never. It only says that the King was enraged, and the nobles were threatened and fearful and they said that Vashti was wrong. But the Bible, the words of the story never say that she was wrong.

The Bible just says “When attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come” She said “No” She refused to enter the King’s presence to be oogled at by his guests.

We know nothing of her history or her motives. We only know that

She said “No”

And all hell broke loose. The King’s advisors suggested that the Queen be banished from the King’s presence forever. The other nobles and princes were pleased with this idea. And so she was. Forever.

And that is all we know.

She made a choice. She took a stand. And she lost everything in a way. She lost her position and her husband and any further record of her life.

Because she said “No”

It is not easy to say “No” to people in power. There is often a price to pay to say “no” to a domineering personality.

But I have to wonder, did Vashti sleep better that night? Did she live in regret for what she lost or did she live in confidence for what she had gained. I think she gained her self-respect in that moment. And I believe that she set the stage for another young woman down the road.

Because she said “No”

“No, she would not obey the decree”

“No, she would not appear before the King”

“No, she would not do what was asked”

She said “No”

And she paved the way for a woman to come after her to also say “No”

The story goes on to tell us that “Later, when the anger of the King subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her”

What did he remember? Did he miss her? Did he wish he had not been so rash? Did he regret the loss of her presence?

I think he did, for the story continues to say “Then the Kings personal attendants proposed, ‘Let a search be made…..for a new queen’” The attendants saw there was a problem, they saw the King remembering (and regretting?) his actions and so they proposed a solution…..find a new queen. So they did. Through a lengthy process, Esther was found and we follow the story of her selection and coronation until she comes to the crossroads to decide what to do

“For such a time as this…….”

Her people are in peril. Only she can save them. But to do so, she must break the rules, disobey the command and enter the King’s presence. Do you notice a similarity there? Vashti broke the rules and refused to approach the King and was banished. Now Esther breaks the rules, appears before the King uninvited and risks death.

Do you think the King paused for a moment and considered his choices? How dare she defy the decrees of the kingdom? How dare she enter his presence uninvited? But then again, he had already lost one queen who did not “come when she was called” Did he want to lose the next one was comes when she wasn’t called? Same King. Same rules.

Will he lose another queen? Or will he extend the golden scepter?

He extends the scepter and Esther walks into “such a time as this” and saves her people from annihilation.

What of Vashti?

We do not know. All we know is that she said “No.” She says “No” and her story ends. But she paves the way for her successor. Heroines rarely walk alone. Someone has gone before them down a lonely path. Someone sets the stage

“For such a time as this……”

Someone always sacrifices their life and their story and suffers loss in order to pave the way for their daughters to have a different story, a story of courage and victory.

Vashti is the heroine in the shadows. But she is there. And without her Esther’s story may have been very different. Esther and all her people may have perished with one glance of rejection from the King. But Vashti’s refusal had given him pause. Perhaps he was not quite so arrogant. Perhaps he harbored a measure of regret. We do not know. All we know is in a very similar situation, the King made a different choice. And Esther and all of her people were saved and flourished.

“For such a time as this”

There are Vashti’s now. There are women living in situations where they need to say “No” now. There are Vashti’s in our time. There are wives and mothers and sisters and granddaughters who need to stand up and say “No” Maybe it is scary. Maybe they risk losing their families, their homes, or their positions. Maybe they need to say “No, I will not be silent” or simply “No, I will not do that, not anymore”

They may be scared. They probably have a lot to lose. But they may not realize what they have to gain. They can stop the cycle. They can change history.  They can say “No” and set the stage for freedom and deliverance for all those who may follow in their wake.

There are women who need to say “No” to their husbands or fathers or to their brothers or grandfathers or stepfathers. “No I will not. Not anymore.” “Not here, not in this home, or not with me” They may be scared, but they need to refuse and they need to do so publicly so that others can see and hear and know and take courage from their actions. “For such a time as this.” Because this world does not change just because someone was at the right place at the right time. It often takes someone else to pay the price to create the opportunity. Someone has to open the door. Someone has to say “No.” Even if they think it will matter to no one else in the world, there are women out there who need to “break the rules” and not allow themselves to be demeaned, abused and used. Or they need to not allow their children to be abused. They may be scared and frightened of the future. They need to know that their “No” will mean freedom and deliverance for not only themselves, but for others. Even if it costs them their position and homes, they must say “No” to what is wrong and brave the King’s wrath and rage in order to change history and destiny. The Vashti’s of today need to be someone else’s hero.