Stand In Love

The second feast was over. The food had been delicious. The company had been delightful. In fact, the whole affair would have seemed splendid and joyful to anyone looking on from the sidelines. However, King Ahasuerus knew better.

First of all, Queen Esther kept giving Haman funny looks. It was a cross of pure anger and fear, crammed into a box of reserved, forced dignity. She was cordial and social, but something was clearly going on there. What was that about? 

Second, it was the way she looked at him. Thankfully, it was different then the way she was looking at Haman, but he wouldn't say this look was better. Her expression looked...wounded. Scared for sure, but hurting. And all he knew for certain was that he was responsible for that look.

Ever since he had held out his scepter to her, things had changed. He knew it, could feel it. He had changed. Esther had become more important to him than anything else. He would do anything to heal her hurt and put a smile on her face.

"What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled." This was the third time he had asked this question. It was his offering of love. His attempt at drawing her into the open. His way of saying, "You can trust me."

Esther's eyes sparked with holy fire against her bronze face. The dark color of her hair combined with the sapphire blue of her robes gave her a truly stunning affect. But her expression said it all: She was going to trust him.

"If I have found favor in your sight, oh king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king."

What in all the world? How could this have happened? "Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?"

"A foe and enemy!" Esther held his gaze and nodded to Haman. "This wicked Haman!" Esther was done being cordial now. She could no longer hide her disdain for Haman.

Haman? How?-The Jewish nation! Haman had convinced him that they were troublesome, treasonous people. Truthfully, the Jewish people had never given them any problems. He never would have approved of Haman's plan if he had know they were Esther's people!

A brutal, furious growl escaped his lips, and Haman looked terrified before him and his queen.

And so he should.

Based on Esther 7:1-6

I've always wondered why Esther had the king and Haman come to those two dinners before she told the king what her deal was. Did God tell her to do that? Was she trying to get the king away from his advisers? Was she trying to butter him up? I've always assumed she was scared, but I think there was more to it then that. I think anguish played into this decision.

I wonder at what point did it pop into Esther's head, "My husband just signed off on the murder of my whole family without batting an eye." While Esther's origins were kept secret, the knowledge that he had agreed to this plan under any circumstance must have been heartbreaking. Maybe even a part of her felt betrayed. It was difficult enough going before a temperamental king, but going before a temperamental king when she was hurting, scared, vulnerable, and perhaps a little bit angry, that would have been difficult. I think the dinners were more then biding her time and trying to figure out what and how to say it; I think Esther was trying to answer this question, "Do I trust this man whose let me down in the past?" And more importantly, "Do I trust God enough to trust this man?"

While Esther was trying to remain standing, the king was still standing with his olive branch extended. King Ahasuerus was standing in love for Esther.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:10

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

King Ahasuerus was trying to build Esther up. He was being kind and compassionate. He was trying to encourage her and her faith in him. He was being devoted. He was honoring her and her wishes first. This scary, fireball of a king was putting Esther first.

Hang onto your hats, but do we act like King Ahasuerus?

Do we, as followers of Christ, stand in love for others? Despite our failures. Despite how we may have wronged them. Our hearts should always be to build others up in God, to love on them, and put them first. Don't let past mistakes weigh you down and affect your loving responses for the present. If King Ahasuerus can switch gears and do it, then so can we!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believers in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

There is One Who stood in love for all of us. He encourages us. Builds us up nice and strong. He is kind and compassionate. He put our lives before His own. He died for us-despite our many, many failures and all the ways we have betrayed Him. Do we, as His followers, stand in His love for others?