Voices: What would you do if you were Esther?

Look at the two images below. Is there anything similar in these images set apart 2,500 years?

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky behave in the Oval Office as a glorious Queen Esther or more like a disgraced Queen Vashti? Let’s look at the Holy Scroll.

Esther’s advocacy

“In the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast” (Esther 3:7).

And Haman said to the king: “There is a certain people … who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws. … Let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver … for the royal treasury” (3:8-9).

The Persian king is commonly thought to be Xerxes I (the Great), who reigned 486-465 B.C. He is best known for his invasion of Greece in 480 B.C. It ended in a humiliating Persian defeat.

“‘Keep the money,’ the king said to Haman, ‘and do with the people as you please’” (3:10).

Just a few days later, “dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children … and to plunder their goods” (3:13).

That’s when Queen Esther “disrespected” a common rule well-known to “all the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces … that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death” (4:11).

Her request was only three words but impossible and improper. Not only did it challenge the king’s prior decree, but it threatened the legal framework of the whole Persian Empire. She dared to resist the royal decision that her people “have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.” She asked to reverse the Persian law “which cannot be repealed.”

She said, “Spare my people” (7:3).

Esther’s courage

We don’t know how respectful her tone was. We don’t know how proper Esther’s suit may have looked in modern eyes. The previous Queen Vashti is believed by many to have been commanded to come to King Xerxes naked—“wearing her royal crown [only]” (1:11).

She refused to obey. She may have preferred to save her dignity rather than her crown. Was it a smart move? What would I do?

As a result, “the king became furious and burned with anger,” and a decree was issued that “every man [male] should be ruler over his own household” (1:12, 22).

We don’t know what a young orphan girl experienced making her way through the bureaucracy and intrigues of the world’s most powerful court to see the king.

But we know and admire her words: “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish” (4:16).

‘For such a time as this’

I see two things in common in the images above. President Zelensky also went against the rules and etiquette of the Earth’s highest court to ask for his people’s lives. He didn’t ask for escape or a safe place for himself, his family or his money. He asked just for the security of his people.

If anyone doubts Ukrainian people need safety more than minerals, search the internet for “Bucha massacre,” “siege of Mariupol,” “Irpin terror,” “Russian torture chambers in Ukraine,” or “Russia’s persecution of Ukrainian Christians.”

If you don’t believe what you read, find someone you trust from Ukraine or who has been to Ukraine recently. Don’t rely on media or politicians who frequently change their opinions. Search for the truth, and you will find it.

The deal was made. The king and Haman “went to drink” (3:15). But the true King of kings interfered and changed the course of the “game.” And he used an ordinary girl who didn’t even have parents.

What can you do with all the resources and connections you have? Would you dare to raise your voice in support of innocent people being sold for death? Can you stand out in the media, social networks or churches for the lives of 30 million people?

Maybe you even can find a few minutes to make a few calls to your representatives.

Ask God where he may direct you. Listen to the ancient voice of Mordecai that hasn’t lost its relevance 2,500 year later:

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews [Ukrainians] will arise from another place. … And who knows but that you have come to your … position for such a time as this” (4:14).

Rostyslav Semikov, cofounder and CEO of Audubon Bioscience Co. and the Peace and Development Foundation, is a medical doctor, cancer researcher, biotech entrepreneur and member of City Rise West University Baptist Church in Houston. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.