Who Was Queen Esther Of Persia & What Is Purim?
Queen Esther and her courage is an inspiration to us all.
Bestbe Models via @pexels What's life like as a beautiful woman? The story of beauty and its power can be found in the celebration of Purim and Queen Esther.
Who is Queen Esther?
Esther was from Persia. She was a beautiful Jewish woman who became a heroine for saving the Jews from extinction — the reason why Purim is celebrated each year.
Movies that have portrayed the story of Esther include Esther, starring Louise Lombard and F. Murray Abraham made in 1999. Also, The Book of Esther, starring Jen Lilley made in 2013.
Another popular depiction is a Liken the Scriptures film, Esther and the King, starring Summer Naomi Smart and Dallyn Vail Bayles made in 2006.
What is Purim?
Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrated each year on the 14th during the Hebrew month, Adar. Purim takes place over the course of two days starting at dusk and then ends at dusk on the second day.
How did Esther become Queen?
Esther was a young woman who lived with her Uncle Mordecai, in Shushan, and as a result of her alluring beauty, she became Queen and married King Ahasuerus.
The story of Purim begins with another beautiful woman, Vashti. She was King Ahasuerus' first wife, but because of her pride and refusal to come to see him when he asked for her, he divorced her and searched for another Queen.
He commanded that the most beautiful women of the nation be brought to him in order to choose the next Queen. Esther was chosen, not only because of her rare outer beauty, but she was beautiful on the inside, too.
What the King didn't know at that time was the fact that Esther was a Jew and her position to the King.
Her beauty provided her unique influence over the nation because there was a man who hated the Jews and wanted them all to be put to death.
How is Queen Esther associated with Purim?
Shortly after Esther was declared as Queen of Shushan, her uncle Mordecai discovers the plot to kill every Jew when he overheard two of the king’s servants plotting against him. Mordecai let Esther know in order to save the king’s life.
Haman took credit for this act of service and King Ahasuerus rewarded him by making him Top Prince among all the princes in the kingdom. Part of the reward with the title of Top Prince was that everyone had to bow down to Haman out of respect.
Mordecai, being a Jew and someone who only praises God did not bow down to Haman. Haman took great offense at Mordecai’s decision and was worried that if every Jew acted that way then there would be too many people not following the laws and disrespecting his title.
So, he convinced the king to make a decree that all Jews had to be killed because they would just continue to further disobey the laws of the kingdom because of their religious beliefs.
The king was unaware that his own Queen Esther is a Jew and would, therefore, be a victim to this law as well, so he agreed and let Haman make the declaration.
Mordecai found out about the new law and was extremely sad and worried, so he decided to ask Esther to go before the king to plead for mercy on behalf of the Jews in order to save their lives.
At the time, it was against the law to go before the king without being summoned, or else they’d be killed unless the king decided to show mercy.
Queen Esther's character provides a glimpse into her inner beauty that far surpasses her outer looks.
1. Queen Esther was a woman of faith.
Esther had faith and trust in the Lord and decided to fast, going without food and water for three days, and pray in order to have God by her side and help her in her time of need.
2. Queen Esther was a woman of bravery.
She went before the king and because of her faith and God’s help, the king spared her life and agreed to hear her out.
Esther told King Ahasuerus about how Haman’s decree would be affecting her as well as her people because she is a Jew. The king decided to have Haman hung for his betrayal to the Queen and her people.
3. Queen Esther put herself at risk to save others.
Queen Esther risked so much in order to save the people of Israel. She had so much faith in the Lord and his will and knew that if it was right, she would be spared, and her people would be saved.
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Hayley Small is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationship topics.