"For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time… who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Esther 4:14 · King James Bible
The story
The book of Esther is set in the Persian empire, in the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I, c. 486–465 BC), at the winter capital of Shushan (Susa). The Jewish exile from Babylon is over for those who wished to return, but many Jews — Esther's family among them — remain scattered through the empire.
Esther, whose Hebrew name is Hadassah, is a young Jewish orphan raised by her older cousin Mordecai. When the king puts away Queen Vashti and searches the empire for a new queen, Esther is chosen. Mordecai counsels her to conceal her people and her kindred (Esther 2:10) — a hard, quiet obedience.
The story turns dark. Haman, a powerful courtier, is promoted above all the princes and demands that everyone bow to him. Mordecai, a faithful Jew, will not. In fury, Haman persuades the king to sign a decree that on a set day every Jew in the empire — men, women, and children — is to be killed and their possessions plundered. Lots (purim) are cast to choose the day.
Mordecai tells Esther: she must go to the king and plead. But no one may approach the king without being summoned, on pain of death — even the queen. Esther replies with the line the Church has never forgotten: "If I perish, I perish" (4:16). She calls for three days of fasting, then walks unbidden into the throne room.
The king holds out the sceptre. Esther invites him and Haman to a banquet, then to a second. At the second banquet she reveals her people and Haman's plot. Haman is executed on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. A counter-decree lets the Jews defend themselves. They survive. The feast of Purim (Esther 9:26) is set to remember it forever — Jewish households have kept it every year since.
Why she matters
Esther is the only book of the Bible named for a woman. The name of God is never spoken in it — and yet God's providence saturates every page. Esther is a template of quiet courage: a young woman placed by God in a hard position, refusing to hide from what her position was for. Mordecai's line — "for such a time as this" — has become the household's short-hand for vocation: God did not put you where you are by accident.
Where to read
The book of Esther (KJV) — ten chapters, one evening's reading. Read it aloud with the household during the week before Purim.