When they told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” Then Esther said in reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. After that I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
A Big Risk
December 14
Read: A selection from Esther 4
Listen:
King Ahasuerus just agreed to order all the Jews to be killed. So Queen Esther decided that she would try to talk him out of it. It might mean that she would be killed, too, since no one was allowed to talk to the king without being invited.
She was willing to die to save her people.
Does that sound familiar? Jesus was also willing to die to save his people. And he wasn’t just willing to die. He actually died, and his death brought us life. Jesus took the biggest risk of all, which frees us to take risks, too.
Death isn’t so scary anymore when we remember that Jesus has already died and beat death.
Esther’s life belonged to Jesus, so she was free to risk her life. By taking that risk, she brought life for her people. The risks we take might also bring life to other people!
Wonder:
What hard or scary things can you do that can help make other people’s lives better?
Pray:
Jesus Christ, thank you for making death less scary. Help me be brave so I can help other people. Amen.
This devotion is part of
The Jesse Tree Story:
A Family Advent Devotional
Each devotion in this family Advent devotional invites you into the story of someone on Jesus’s family tree. These devotions will show young children how God was preparing for Jesus to be born across many generations. Each story pairs with a symbol you can hang on your own Jesse Tree.
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