Esther (Greek) 4:28-47: a reflection

28All Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes. 29And queen Esther took refuge in the Lord, being taken as it were in the agony of death. 30Having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning. Instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung. She greatly humbled her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with her tangled hair. 31She implored the Lord God of Israel, and said, “O my Lord, you alone are our king. Help me. I am destitute, and have no helper but you, 32for my danger is near at hand. 33I have heard from my birth in the tribe of my kindred that you, Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have done for them all that you have said. 34And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, 35because we honored their gods. You are righteous, O Lord. 36But now they have not been content with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols 37to abolish the decree of your mouth, and utterly to destroy your inheritance, and to stop the mouth of those who praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar, 38and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and that a mortal king should be admired forever. 39O Lord, don’t surrender your sceptre to those who don’t exist, and don’t let them laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us. 40Remember us, O Lord! Manifest yourself in the time of our affliction. Encourage me, O King of gods, and ruler of all dominion! 41Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him who fights against us, to the utter destruction of those who agree with him. 42But deliver us by your hand, and help me who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord. 43You know all things, and know that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of every stranger. 44You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendor. I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I don’t wear it in the days of my tranquility. 45Your handmaid has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honored the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. 46Neither has your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraham. 47O god, who has power over all, listen to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of those who devise mischief. Deliver me from my fear.]

Before Esther risks her life to plead for her people, she turns wholly to God in prayer, casting herself on him as her only help. She takes off her royal robes, puts on garments of mourning, and prays: O my Lord, you alone are our king. Help me. I am destitute, and have no helper but you. Deliver me who am alone and have no one but you. In her extremity, facing death, Esther does not rely on her position or her own resources; she casts herself wholly on God, confessing that she has no helper but him. Stripped of every other help, she turns to God alone, her only refuge in the desperate hour.

Notice how Esther cast herself wholly on God: I have no helper but you. In her desperate need, she did not rely on her royal position, her influence, her own cleverness; she turned to God alone, confessing that she was destitute of every other help, that she had no one but him. She stripped off her royal robes, humbled herself, and cast herself entirely on God as her only refuge. Her prayer was the prayer of one who had come to the end of every other resource and found that God alone remained: I am alone, and have no one but you. In her extremity, God was not one help among many but her only help, and to him she turned wholly. She cast herself entirely on God, having no other.

That is worth taking to heart, for in our desperate need we can cast ourselves wholly on God, our only help. When we come to extremity, to a desperate need beyond our own resources, we can be tempted to rely on our own cleverness, our position, whatever help we can find; but Esther cast herself wholly on God, confessing she had no helper but him. There are times when we come to the end of every other resource and find that God alone remains, our only help. In your desperate need, do not scramble to rely on your own resources; cast yourself wholly on God, as Esther prayed she had no helper but him. Cast yourself wholly on God in your desperate need, confessing that he is your only help, as Esther stripped off her royal robes and prayed, I am destitute and have no helper but you; for there are times when we come to the end of every other resource and find God alone remaining, our only refuge, and it is well to cast ourselves wholly on him rather than scrambling after other helps that fail.

Lord, before Esther risks her life to plead for her people, she turns wholly to you in prayer, casting herself on you as her only help. She takes off her royal robes, puts on garments of mourning, and prays: O my Lord, you alone are our king; help me; I am destitute, and have no helper but you; deliver me who am alone and have no one but you. In her extremity, facing death, Esther does not rely on her position or her own resources; she casts herself wholly on you, confessing that she has no helper but you. Show me how Esther cast herself wholly on you: I have no helper but you. In her desperate need, she did not rely on her royal position, her influence, her own cleverness; she turned to you alone, confessing that she was destitute of every other help. She stripped off her royal robes, humbled herself, and cast herself entirely on you as her only refuge. Her prayer was the prayer of one who had come to the end of every other resource and found that you alone remained. In her extremity, you were not one help among many but her only help. Take that to my heart, for in my desperate need I can cast myself wholly on you, my only help. When I come to extremity, to a desperate need beyond my own resources, I can be tempted to rely on my own cleverness, my position, whatever help I can find; but Esther cast herself wholly on you. There are times when I come to the end of every other resource and find that you alone remain. In my desperate need, keep me from scrambling to rely on my own resources; help me cast myself wholly on you, Lord, as Esther prayed she had no helper but you.