“The tables are turned now”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, September 22, 2022

Esther 7:1-10 (Forward, p. 55) CEV p. 520

For a moment there, Haman thought that he was at the top of the world. He had set in motion legislation which would wipe out totally the entire race of Jews that he hated with a vengeance, he had made plans to allow for the execution of his rival, and now, for the second night in a row, he had been invited to dinner with the king and his queen. How much better could it get? But now he was in for a surprise.

He was in for a surprise because this person, the queen, was none other than Esther, who just ‘happened’ to belong to the Jewish race, the race he wanted to wipe out. And, in a strange twist of fate, the very man he hated, Mordecai, was Esther’s uncle and adopted father. And, as it would turn out, he was also the very person who had saved the king from an assassination plot some time earlier, and never been acknowledged or rewarded for this heroic and noble deed.

So, just when he thought he was ‘set’, here was this Esther ‘squirrelled away’ in the halls of power—about to upend all his carefully laid out, carefully constructed, plotting. But then, this is exactly what God often ‘pulls off’ with tyrants and bullies and evil plotters of any sort. They ‘may’ well prosper, and succeed, in their plans for a while, but this will not last. God will see to it that their plans are thwarted, and justice is done. And so, while we are well advised to try to right wrongs and bring about justice, it isn’t, in the long run, entirely up to us. We don’t have to worry or fret unduly about it, because it is ultimately in the hands of God, and He will see that it comes to pass. All we need to do is trust and wait upon Him. Amen.

Forward notes: “On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you’’ (verse 2a).

“This is the moment of truth in the story of Esther. It has arrived, and Esther now must answer. We’ve watched Esther go from being a beautiful but passive girl to an active, courageous woman with a monumental calling to save her people. It’s time for her to speak up.

“Michael Lindsay, author of Hinge Moments: Making the Most of Life’s Transitions, would call this a hinge moment for Esther. The king is giving Esther what Lindsay describes as ‘the opportunity to open (or close) doors to various pathways of our lives.’ All of us have encountered hinge moments, big and small. Are we going to speak up about an injustice? Are we going to move? Are we going to turn down the job? Are we going to intervene in workplace or playground bullying? Are we going to step up to volunteer in an organization that is working to heal our broken world? Our hinge moments might not be as dramatic as Esther’s experience but we know that God is present in all of them.

Moving Forward: “Are you at a hinge moment? Ask God for help.”