She Acted WIsely, Bravely, and Selflessly - She Spoke Up Bravely

 Esther dared not test the king's patience any further; at her second buffet, she to tell all.  But how?  As it turned out, the king gave her the opportunity, asking again what her petition might be.  (Esther 7:2)  Esther's "time to speak"  had come.

We may imagine Esther saying a silent prayer to her God before uttering these words:  "If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if to the king it does seem good, let there be given me my own soul at my petition and my people at my request." (Esther 7:3) Notice that she assured the king that she respected his judgment regarding what seemed good.  how Esther differed from Vashti. the king's former wife. who purpose humiliated her husband!  (Esther 1:10-12)  Further,  Esther did not criticize the king for his folly of trusting in Haman. Rather she begged the king to protect her fr0m a danger to her own life.

That request surely moved and amazed the king.  Whou dare  endanger his queen? Esther went on: "We have been sold, I am my people, to be annihiliated, killed and destroyed.  Now, if we had been sold for mere men slaves and for mere maidservants, I should have kept silent. But the distress is not appropriate when with the damage to the king." (Esther 7:4)  Not that Esther frankly exposed the problem, yet she added that she would have kept quiet about it if mere slavery had the been the threat. This genocide, though, would be too costly to the king himself to keep quiet about it.

Esther's example teaches us much about the art of persuasion. If you ever need to lay bare a serious problem to a loved one or even to a person in authority, a combination of patience, respect, and candor can be of great help. - PROVERBS  16:21, 23. 

Next time: She Acted Wisely, Bravely, and Selflessly - Conclusion of She Spoke Up Bravely

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