Studies In Intercession from the Book of Esther

"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

Our last study showed ancient Persia (modern Iran) was the center of an empire that came between Babylon and Greece in point of time. From this we concluded that the intercessor needs to know the bible and prophecy, because every empire has its own demon and angel power or principality, and the prophecy may address this. We also saw that fasting and prayer are essential in intercession. Finally we saw that God uses individuals to fulfill His greater kingdom plans, as evidenced by Cyrus (Esther's offspring) playing a significant part in Israel's return.

The book of Esther is aimed at inspiring folk to "pray through" for revival. One single person can be key to breakthrough, so no individual should discount the role God has given them to play in His kingdom plans.

In this study, we see a further development in the theme of intercession. There are many parallels between the physical world that Queen Esther came to live in and the ultimate design God has for each of us.

Persia

Esther 1:1 says "It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus." Inheriting the country from his father Darius, this king reigned 20 years from BC 485 to 465. He had 127 provinces in his empire and conquered Egypt, though he failed to take Greece and was assassinated in 465 BC. His son Artaxerxes succeeded him. He had great ambition to extend his empire, as evidenced by Daniel 7:5 "And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and eat your fill of flesh!'" (NIV)

Artaxerxes probably called this gathering to prepare for his expedition against Greece, which led to disaster. Looking at the events of this gathering, we should ask ourselves this question, "Is our planning part of God's plan?"

Palace At Shushan

In this palace, before he pushed northwards and westwards into Greece as Daniel predicted, they gathered in 480 BC. Daniel 8:3
"I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later."

The King entertained relays of governors and the palace was 150 miles North of the Persian Gulf and is visible today. The pomp and display was intended to impress his followers. He operated in pride, which God opposes.

The effective intercessor must remember that their prayer and intercession must be based on humility (not pride and pompous display). And we must not be presumptions in intercession, assuming it will be trivial or easy. Luke 11:21 tells us that we must first bind our enemies before we claim the victory. In other words, we must battle before we win that battle.

Esther 1:4 indicates that he displayed his vast wealth for a full 180 days. He was showing off his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. In other words, he had fallen prey to pride. And pride before battle is not always a good sign! In fact, Proverbs 16:18 warns us that "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

This feast lasted seven days in the palace and longer among the common people in the city. Heroditus tells us that he planned to bridge the Hellespont and then march through Europe to fire Athens.

Preparation

Esther 1:6 contains a reference to the "court of the gardens". It says, "The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones."

They reclined on tables and beds of silver and gold with awnings of fine linen and purple. The pavement, of black alabaster and marble, added more color to the scene.

Similarly intercession must be in the throne room of Heaven, where Christ now appears for us. "For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." (Hebrews 9:24)

Pleasure

Again we see details of the abundance of material goods designed to an atmosphere of luxury and hedonistic pleasure. For instance, Esther 1:7 describes " Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king's liberality."

In the natural, the setting was one of abundance and luxury here and now. As intercessors we are not to pursue and seek our own physical pleasure above pursuing God's kingdom. But when we do enter into God's kingdom, once we arrive at God's right hand, we experience real pleasure. The psalmist put it this way in Psalms 16:11: "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

In the palace there was no restraint and everyone drank according to his pleasure. There was remission of taxes and a holiday atmosphere to this feast (Esther 2:18). The intercessor needs to know no restraint when coming to God but come boldly, knowing he is accepted in the Beloved, as per Heb 4:16.

The Place Of Men And Women

Queen Vashti had her own feast for the women (v.9) (Vashti may be her actual name or just 'sweetheart' as translated, and appears to have been a great favorite with the King.)

A woman therefore, carries the authority derived from her husband, just as the husband's authority is derived from his submission to God (Eph 5:23). There was an attitude of godly submission to their husbands in many of our Bible examples of women of God. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham, even in the questionable things that he asked, and trusted God would deliver her through intercession from the harem. God vindicated her:

Genesis 12:11-13, 17-18
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, `This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you."

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?"

Sarah was protected from violation and lived on and died some 107 years old. (Gen. 23:1) She experienced further protection from the King of Gerar by the same method, when she again followed her husband and trusted God. God spoke to the heathen in a dream and closed the wombs of the other ladies. (Gen 20:16-18).

Christian ladies should do this and not give way to fear. 1 Peter 3:6 says, "...like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

Now back to Vashti's story. The intoxicated King (v.10) asked to see his wife unveiled to show off her beauty. We need to see this was a break with tradition and there is danger in drink (c.f. Noah Genesis 9:20-27) Habakkuk 2:15 warns, "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk, so that he can gaze on their naked bodies." This is sort of what the king was trying to do to Vashti.

We need to replace the stimulus of drink with the Holy Spirit, as per Ephesians 5:18, which says "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Just an aside: Intercessors, filled with the spirit, may give appearance of being drunken. For instance, Hannah interceding for the birth of a child (1 Sam 1:13) behaved in a manner where Eli thought she was drunk. Samson's mother was forbidden strong drink. (Judges 13:4) As intercessors, we need to be disciplined in prayer and bringing things to birth.

The wise men however, responded against the queen and read the signs of rebellion in women. Memucan saw how every home would be affected by this attitude in Esther 1:16 "Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, 'Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, `King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.'"

Women in the Bible are to be respectful of their husband, as per Titus 2:3. And husbands need to love wives and win them by love as Christ won the Church (Eph 5:22-25, Col 3:18).

Neither the king nor the queen in this story showed the Bible idea, as they were joined together as heirs in power. The king later regretted this outburst, though God brought good out of evil. We need to be careful of anger in marriage that can allow a foothold to the Devil. Make things right before the night is out and start afresh in marriage with the Holy Spirit. Our goal is to be Eph 4:25-27, which says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

PRAYER

"Father, as we learn how to be effective intercessors, we ask you to bring to the forefront of our hearts the desire to be in Your manifest presence, where all earthly pleasures pale in comparison. Please also help us to remember the importance of right relationships in the home and family. We ask for Your grace to bind Christian families together and to not allow the enemy a foothold in this area. We ask You to open our eyes to our own vulnerabilities in this area so that, by Your grace, we can put them right. Amen."