What Does “for Such a Time as This” Mean in Esther?
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Maybe you’ve seen it on a coffee cup or a T-shirt: “Perhaps you were born for such a time as this.” It comes from the Book of Esther in the Bible, spoken by Queen Esther’s cousin, Mordecai.
Mordecai was distraught over the king’s recent order that the provinces were to “destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews — young and old, women and children — on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods” (Esther 3:13). A Jew himself, he begged his cousin Esther, the king’s wife and also a Jew, to go to the king and beg for mercy for her people.
But Esther’s husband the king did not know his wife was a Jew, and she hesitated to bother him, for anyone entering the king’s presence uninvited (even her!) could be put to death.
However, Mordecai urged Esther to face her fears and do so anyway.
As he said to Esther, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).
What does this mean, “for such a time as this?”
As we discover through a full read of Esther, it speaks to stepping up to fulfill the purpose God has for each of us, even if it could cause our earthly death.
What Does "For Such a Time as This" Mean?
The beautiful Queen Esther, orphaned as a child, had been raised by her cousin Mordecai. He was like a father to her. When she came of age, she was among the young women considered by the powerful and impetuous King Xerxes to be his new queen after his former queen, Vashti, angered him. Mordecai ordered Esther not to reveal her nationality to Xerxes. Eventually, Esther was chosen as the king’s new queen.
But when the fate of all Jews in the land was threatened, Mordecai knew Esther might be able to help get the king to change his mind and reverse the edict to kill all Jews.
His words to his adopted daughter spoke courage into her heart, reminding her of the purpose God might well have intended for her life in enabling her, of all the women Xerxes could have chosen, to have risen in esteem and selected as queen.
In the verse, Mordecai was reminding her that God’s people the Jews would triumph with or without her, but perhaps God fully intended for her to risk her position and try to help her people.
For it was a perilous, dangerous time, and much could go wrong, but with God, anything was possible.
What Is the Context of Esther 4:14?
It’s important to understand that King Xerxes himself didn’t have a vendetta against the Jews specifically. Rather, the edict came about because the noble Haman was angry because he felt Mordecai and the other Jews didn’t pay him enough respect. He felt a bias toward the Jews, who worshipped the Lord God and didn’t give what Haman considered to be proper homage to the nobles. Haman’s hatred grew, and he convinced the king to destroy the Jews.
At the start of Esther 4, Mordecai is distraught over the news of what would happen. He and the other Jews mourned in sackcloth.
Esther didn’t know what Mordecai was so upset, for she hadn’t heard about the edict, and she sent an attendant to find out what was wrong. The attendant brought back the dire news, along with Mordecai’s request: that she ask the king to have mercy on the Jews.
But Esther hesitated. After all, Queen Vashti had been ousted when she showed King Xerxes what he considered to be disrespect. It would be considered disrespectful for Esther to approach the king without his first summoning her. She, too, could lose her position.
But Mordecai urged her to do so anyway, for the fate of all the Jews in the kingdom was at stake — and as he told her, maybe that’s why God made you queen in the first place, “for such a time as this.”
How Did God Prepare Esther for "Such a Time as This"?
As a woman gifted with beauty and grace, as well as obedience and intelligence, Esther first asked for deep prayer and fasting from the Jews, and she fasted herself. After all, she knew she could accomplish nothing without the blessing of the Lord.
Then, when she gained entrance to the king, she approached the matter delicately. She didn’t just make demands, which she knew wouldn’t go over well, but rather artfully played to the king’s ego and courted him. She invited her husband and the devious, Jew-hating noble Haman to an elaborate banquet, and when they attended and were relaxing, drinking wine, she then invited the pair to another banquet, where she said she would reveal her petition.
Clearly intrigued, Xerxes agreed once more.
That night, Xerxes was unable to sleep, and he read about how Mordecai once saved him from an assassination attempt. He lavished honor and recognition upon Mordecai in appreciation for what he had done. At the banquet, with Xerxes once again in a magnanimous and relaxed mood, Esther finally asked the king to spare her life and that of her people, for she had been sold into destruction.
Xerxes became outraged over the prospect of his beautiful queen facing such a fate, and he immediately had Haman killed and his estate given to Esther. Then, Esther revealed her relationship to Mordecai, and he further granted her the ability to rewrite the edict as she saw fit.
She and Mordecai did so, and the edict was rewritten so that instead of being killed on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, instead the Jews would have the opportunity to kill, destroy, and plunder from their enemies that day.
This they did, and the king allowed them to do this a second day as well, plus execute the ten sons of Haman. They called these days “Purim” (Esther 9:26).
King Xerxes then became an even more powerful king, and he appointed Mordecai to his second in command.
Because of the trust Esther gained from Xerxes; the thoughtful, careful, and calculating way she convinced the king to do her will and got him on her side; the obedience and honor she showed to Mordecai; the respect and humility she showed to the king; and the courage she displayed, she was successful.
How Does This Verse Encourage Us Today?
Today, we can be encouraged by this verse whenever we ourselves face circumstances that put ourselves in jeopardy. Esther had courage to stand up for her faith and do the right thing for her people out of honor to God. She knew the treatment of God’s people and the honoring of her faith was far more important than her personal position and even her own life.
Because of this, she was rewarded.
Today, when we face difficulties, we too might fear jeopardizing our position if we take a stand for our faith. But when we’re called to have courage and stand up for what is right, and we go about it in a way that is honorable and true like Esther did, we can be encouraged.
Perhaps we, too, were born “for such a time as this.”
Let’s pray.
Lord, help me to listen for Your voice in the world today. Help me not to fear risking my personal comfort for Your gain or to serve Your people. And if I do feel fear, help me to be courageous in spite of it. In Your holy name I pray, Amen.
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