“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b)

When parents go on vacation or do projects around the house, they include their children. When friends meet for lunch or to help others, they include their friends. When God planned a mass rescue of His people, He included His children and friends, the Jews Esther and Mordecai. 

I wonder if God wasn’t mentioned in the story of Esther because the Trinity was not yet understood. (Not that the Trinity is all that well understood now!) The relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit shows us how interrelatedness and inclusion are at the heart of who God is and how He operates in the world. Esther and Mordecai’s story illustrates this.

Scene 1: After brash Xerxes, the king of Susa, banished Queen Vashti for disobeying him and determined to replace her, Mordecai and Esther, the orphaned cousin he had raised, enter the story. 

Scene 2: Xerxes chooses Esther as his new queen. (Whether being Xerxes’ queen was a favorable thing is debatable.) 

Scene 3: Mordecai overheard a conspiracy to assassinate the king. The plot was foiled and the incident, including Mordecai’s reporting of it, was recorded. 

Scene 4: Haman—may we never know anyone like him—takes offense at Mordecai’s refusal to bow to him and plots to kill Mordecai and—why not? —all the Jews. Mordecai learns this and tells Esther to inform the king. Esther explains she could be killed for breaking protocol but asks Mordecai to have the local Jews fast and says she will then go to Xerxes. 

So far it looks like the bad guys—Xerxes, the conspirators, Haman—were calling the shots, leaving Mordecai and Esther to figure out on their own how to respond. 

When the stakes got really high, though, Mordecai must have seen something greater going on, for he asked Esther, “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (4:14b). 

Up until then, the two of them—focused on rapid response—apparently hadn’t considered there could be a reason why they were where they were, doing what they were doing. Mordecai’s question must have caused a hushed pause as they contemplated the wonder of a higher reality. 

That higher reality was the Trinity including them in a high stakes mission. They weren’t all alone in that, nor were they pawns being moved around on a chessboard. They were the people-on-the-ground God had positioned to work with Him to save His people. 

You and I are now God’s people-on-the-ground -- included by Him, partnered with Him, positioned by Him -- for such a time as this very time in which we live. Thus we, too, can make a difference. 

Selah (pause and calmly think of that).