March is recognized as Women’s History Month. According to Wikipedia, the WHM is held to highlight the contributions made by women to events in history and to our modern-day society. This notable month isn’t something new. In fact, the first International Women’s Day (part of the celebrated month) was in 1911. Women and activists and lots of intelligent people realized dedicating one day once a year to honor so many women for their efforts and achievements simply wasn’t enough, so Congress passed a bill in 1987 officially declaring March Women’s History Month. In 1988, then-President Ronald Reagan made the first presidential proclamation of Women’s History Month. 1
Did you know Women’s History Month actually has themes? I had no idea! Past themes include “Nurturing Tradition, Fostering Change,” “Women Pioneering the Future,” and “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.” 2 This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”
While you may immediately think of authors and speakers who share the stories of brave, smart, valiant women, my mind went to three women whose stories are part of the reason we have stories to tell today. I think of three extraordinary women from the Bible: Esther, Ruth, and Rahab. Each of these women played a part in empowering and strengthening the role of women and in helping to bring the efforts of women to the forefront. Their time was significantly different than ours, but their actions set us up for our stories. I thought it would be good to look back at each of these women in celebration of Women’s History Month. We’ll start with Esther.
I have been on an Esther kick lately. I remember hearing her story many years ago, but as I matured as a woman, understanding her choices and bravery affected me differently. I started this year with a Bible study from Daily Grace Co., Esther: Seeing God When He is Silent. Now I’m in Week 3 of a different Esther study from Lynn Cowell and Amy Carroll, Esther: Seeing Our Invisible God in an Uncertain World. I’m sure I’ll follow this one up with Beth Moore’s study, Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman.
I’m a little obsessed with Esther. But I’m not the only one taken by Esther. So if you are unfamiliar with her story, here’s a summary.
Esther’s story begins around 483 BC, not with Esther, but with another woman who took a bold step, Queen Vashti. Vashti was the queen to King Xerxes (some translations call him King Ahasuerus). In that day, queens were truly trophy wives and could barely do more than breathe on their own accord. King Xerxes throws a huge party to showcase his power and wealth, and after a few drinks, he decides to call his queen, Vashti, to the stage. He wanted to show everyone that not only was he rich and powerful, he had the most beautiful woman in all the land. While we don’t know Vashti’s reasoning, when asked to appear before the king, she borrowed a line from Megan Trainor and said, “No.” This didn’t go over with the king very well, and he banished Vashti from his presence and replaced her as queen.
King Xerxes issued a nationwide search for a new queen, ordering many women to be brought into his harem, taken care of by the king’s eunuchs, and given a year of beauty treatments in preparation for meeting the king. Then, one by one, the king had each woman “spend an evening” with him, and then he decided her fate: she was announced as the new queen or became part of his second harem. If this sounds like an ancient version of “The Bachelor,” it was.
This is where Esther entered the picture. Esther was a Jewish woman, orphaned and being raised by her uncle, Mordecai, in a land not native to the Jewish people. Stunningly beautiful, she was part of the large group of women assembled in the king’s harem. However, Esther’s beauty must extend beyond the exterior because she immediately gained the respect and favor of the king’s eunuch, Hegai. Hegai’s care and wisdom prepared Esther to win the king’s approval on her night in the ancient fantasy suite, and she is pronounced King Xerxes’ new queen.
A whole bunch of crazy stuff goes down after Esther becomes queen. Think a plot to assassinate the king and the promotion of a corrupt leader, Haman. This led to Haman, not a Jewish man, becoming extremely upset with Mordecai (Esther’s Jewish uncle) for not bowing down before Haman. So Haman went to King Xerxes (not known for his wisdom) and convinced him to order all the Jews in the land to be put to death. Xerxes saw no issue with this and agreed. What he didn’t know, though, is that his beloved, most beautiful queen, Esther, was also Jewish.
Hijinks ensue, the Jewish people are scared and confused, and Mordecai goes to Esther to request her to act on behalf of her people. Specifically, he asked her to go before King Xerxes and plead for the life of her people. At first, Esther politely declined, reminding Mordecai that anyone who goes before the king without being asked to appear before him is doomed to die. Mordecai did what he had to do: he reminded Esther just because she’s currently living safely in the king’s palace, she’s not exempt from death once the king discovers she is Jewish. And then Mordecai made the famous statement that affirms life’s purpose in so many to this day: “Perhaps you have to come to your royal position for a time such as this” (Esther 4:14b, CSB).
Esther then does the bravest thing – she steps out in faith, knowing she could possibly be put to death and goes before the king. King Xerxes is just so taken with Esther; he not only invited her into his presence but also told her that whatever in the world she could want, it would be given to her. Maybe the knowledge she gained from Hegai helped her form her plan, or maybe, like Maybelline, she was born with it, but Esther planned to host not one but two banquets for the king. AND she invited his best buddy, Haman. At the second banquet, Esther brought her request to the king that the lives of her people be spared. It’s unveiled that Haman devised the evil plot to kill all the Jews. Then, in a twist not even Hollywood could come up with, Haman is impaled on the gallows he had built to kill Mordecai.
There is so much more depth and intrigue and just God working behind the scenes than what I have shared here. I highly recommend reading the book of Esther. It’s about a 45-minute read. I’d use the Message version for a full story-like read. In the meantime, in thinking of Women’s History Month, here’s what I want us to take away.
Esther was placed in her position for a reason. She knew she could do Something More than exist as eye candy for King Xerxes. Esther found her purpose in being made queen, and it wasn’t just to throw lavish parties and be a trophy wife. She grasped the knowledge shared with her from Hegai and likely others in the harem and was strategic in putting it all together to save her people. She knew the risk was great but also that the reward was greater.
Like Esther, each of us is in our positions for a reason. Employee. Sister. Friend. Mom. Caregiver. Neighbor. Partner. Whether these positions we chose or were given to us or placed upon us, there is purpose in our position. We can look at Esther’s Something More story of bravery in women’s history and find strength and courage to be brave in our current stories.
Citations
Women’s History Month. (2023, March 3). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_History_Month (1 and 2)
Book of Esther. (2023, March 2). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther
Book of Esther images from Sweet Publishing https://www.freebibleimages.org/contributors/sweet/