Esther 2:15-18 – “When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested.  And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her.  She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins.  So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.  And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials…”

Esther appeared for the first time before the Persian Emperor with nothing more than what Hegai suggested for her.  This distinguished her from the other women (see Esther 2:13).  One important attribute of the faithful church is that she does only what God’s revelation tells her to do.  In contrast, many others who call themselves Christians follow their own opinions and chase every idea that sounds good or trendy.  We must learn as a church to follow the Lord and to do His will, nothing else.

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Esther 2:7 – “Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother.  This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.”

Esther, the wife of King Xerxes of the Persian Empire, is a prophetic symbol of the bride of Christ.  The bride of Christ is the faithful church (See Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9; Revelation 22:17).

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Esther 5:3-4 – Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”

“If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

When the King offers Esther whatever she wants, up to an equal share with him in the kingdom, Esther does something unusual – she simply asks to have a private meal with the King, an intimate conversation with him and his second-in-command (Haman). This shows us the disposition of the faithful church in prayer. Even when there is a great crisis or need that prompts her to seek God’s deliverance, her first request is to be close to Him (Jesus is our King of Kings), to be with the Lord. The number one prayer request of the Bride of Christ is this: to have intimate fellowship with the living Jesus, to be in His presence, to hear His voice. This comes before all our needs, all the problems we have to lay before Him, all out items for intercession.

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Esther 1:1-8 – “At that time King Xerxes (or Ahasuerus) reigned from his royal throne . . . and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials . . .  For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.  When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa . . . Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. By the king’s command, each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished….”

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Song of Songs 1:9-11 - “I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.  Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.  We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.”

The Song of Songs is more than just a love poem about Solomon and his wife. It is a prophecy about Christ and His Bride, the faithful church. The New Testament often refers to the true church as the Bride of Christ, and Jesus as the Bridegroom. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband…Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb…” (Revelation 21:2, 9). “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . . to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless…” (Ephesians 5:25-32)

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Esther 4:14 – “…And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther is a prophetic illustration or type of the faithful church, the Bride of Christ. Through her story, God shows how the faithful church should be. As members of the faithful church, we can also apply her lessons in our own lives.

One such lesson is that God put Esther in a special situation through a remarkable series of events. The timing was perfect for Esther to use her position of influence to help deliver God’s people in a moment of crisis. God put Esther in the queen’s position “for such a time as this” – a moment when the people of God needed a real victory.

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Esther 10:3 – “Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews…”

This is the concluding verse of the book of Esther, and it highlights one of the main points of the book: the character and actions of Mordecai. Mordecai, Ester’s legal guardian, is a prophetic symbol of the Holy Spirit. Just as Mordecai raised Esther, the Holy Spirit rears the faithful church, giving instruction, and forming her character.  The meaning of “Mordecai” in Hebrew is “pure myrrh,” used in the holy anointing oil (see Exodus 30:22-31, symbolizing anointing by the Holy Spirit).

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Ephesians 5:25-27 – “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

The Bible teaches that Jesus gave his life on Calvary for the sake of a church that is “radiant” (NIV) or “glorious” (KJV). This church is not just a religious organization, or a Christian ministry. It is a living entity, holy, cleansed from sin and impurity. It is Jesus’ bride. Yet there are many “churches,” denominations, and Christian organizations that do not fit the description here. There is a difference between a “religion” (i.e., Christianity) and a radiant or glorious church.

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Genesis 20:12-13 (KJV)

“And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.  And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, ‘This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.’”

Twice during his wanderings in Genesis, Abraham encounters situations where the local ruler takes Sarah into his harem (pagan kings back then had a large collection of wives, of course).  The first time was with Pharaoh in Genesis 12, and the second was with Abimelech in Genesis 20.  In each case, before any harm comes to Sarah at all, the Lord intervened and rebuked the ruler, so that Sarah came back to Abraham immediately.  Prophetically, this illustrates how we as believers are both Christ’s brothers, as well as the Bride of Christ collectively.   continue