It had been a long 134 years that the Jews had been in captivity, and it would be another fifteen years before they would be released. It all began with the conquest of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 BC, and the carrying off of all the Jews as slaves to Babylon. The Babylonian empire was taken over by the Medes and Persians under the leadership of Cyrus in 538 BC. During his first year as king, Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem, and Zerubbabel was sent to supervise the job. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah that Jerusalem would be laid waste for 70 years. But the job was not completed. Darius became king in 522 BC, and during his reign the building of the temple in Jerusalem resumed and was finally completed with great rejoicing among the Jewish community. However, their joy was short lived. Darius died in 486 BC, and he was succeeded by his son Xerxes. It was during the reign of Xerxes that an episode occurred which threatened the lives of all the Jews in the Persian empire. This is the story of Esther.
It is a familiar story of how a beautiful Jewish girl, through a series of providential events, became the queen of the Persian Empire. As the story goes, a wicked Persian of Amalekite descent engineered a plot to exterminate all the Jews by a governmental decree. When Esther became aware of the plot, she was persuaded by her uncle, Mordecai, to intercede with her husband, the king. However, there was a problem; no one approached the king without an invitation on pain of death, unless he held out his golden scepter as a sign of permission and acceptance. Esther had not seen the king for thirty days, so she was fearful of how she would be received, but she decided to go to the king even though it was against the law. She believed that she had been placed in this unique position by God, and that He expected her to intercede on behalf of His people. Fortunately, Esther's faith was rewarded, and the king held out his golden scepter and offered to grant her request. As a result, she and her people were delivered from destruction.
Today, God's people are in a parallel situation; we are sojourners in a strange and evil land dominated by a satanic power. We groan under the oppression of sin and its results in human misery and disease; we long to be free of the threat of sickness and death. We have been promised deliverance from our captivity. Our only escape is to throw ourselves on the mercy of the heavenly court. God is holding out His golden scepter, so, as did Esther, "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need" (Heb. 4:16). God is offering us forgiveness and acceptance through Jesus, His "Golden Scepter."
