Bible Stories for Kids: Esther

The book of Esther is an unusual story in the Bible. It never mentions God or prayer. It might appear to be a story about a good Jewish girl whom God uses to save his people, the Jews, from destruction. But God didn't use Esther because she was good or righteous. In fact, we see in this story that Esther did not keep the Jewish Mosaic Law. She compromised her values. She broke Jewish dietary laws. And, she married a pagan king, which was certainly forbidden by God. And yet, God used her to save his people and accomplish his will on this earth. The book of Esther is a story to show us that, despite our sin, God can use us for his purpose and glory. The Jews had been held in captivity for many years by the Babylonians. But eventually, the Medes and the Persians took over the captivity of the Jews. During the time of the Persians, a king named Ahasuerus sat on the royal throne. King Ahasuerus was so proud of the riches and great wealth in his kingdom that he put them on display for 180 days for all to see. When these days were completed, he held a lavish banquet for all the important people in his kingdom. There were beautiful white and purple linen curtains and couches made of gold and silver covered in the most expensive cloth. The king served the best wines and food to everyone. The king's wife, Queen Vashti, also gave a banquet for all the women in the palace. On the last day of the banquets, a very happy King Ahasuerus called for Queen Vashti to come before the royal court to be seen by all because her beauty was so great. But Queen Vashti refused to come. This made the king so angry that he consulted the wise men of his kingdom as to what he should do. The wise men discussed the matter and suggested the king create a new law that stated that if the queen refused the king's orders, then the queen could no longer come into the presence of the king and her royal position would be given to a woman more worthy than her. That's exactly what King Ahasuerus decided to do. Queen Vashti would no longer be queen, and a new queen would be selected. All of the single, young, most beautiful women in the kingdom were brought to Hegai, the king's official, who was in charge of taking care of the young women. Esther was one of the many young women chosen to appear before the king, and she was very beautiful in every way. As a very young girl, her mother and father had died, so her uncle, named Mordecai, took her in and became like a father to her. Esther and Mordecai were Jews that lived and prospered among the people of Persia. As Esther grew into a young woman, her great beauty brought her to this point in time. She would now go before the king of Persia to see if he would pick her to become his queen. Before she left for the palace, Mordecai, her uncle, instructed her to never reveal that she was a Jew. All of the young girls that had been selected, including Esther, took many months to work on their appearance and beauty. They were given the best cosmetics and lotions and fed the best foods. During these many months, Mordecai would pace back and forth in front of the palace each day, checking to see how Esther was doing. Finally, it was Esther's turn to go before King Ahasuerus. The king immediately saw her great beauty, and she quickly found favor with the king above all the other women. He placed the crown upon her head and proclaimed her as queen. Then the king gave a great banquet to honor Esther, his new queen. Meanwhile, Mordecai, who loved Esther as a daughter, became a watchman at the king's gate. This allowed him to stay close to Esther. One day, two guards at the gate became angry with the king and planned to kill him. When Mordecai heard of this evil plot to attack the king, he was able to pass the information on to Esther. Esther then told King Ahasuerus about it. And when an investigation in the matter showed that it was indeed true, both men were hanged on the gallows, and the incident was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king. As time went on, King Ahasuerus appointed a man named Haman to one of the highest positions in the royal court. The king commanded all the men at the gate leading to the palace to bow down and pay homage to Haman each time he passed through the gate. All the men would bow as Haman passed through the gate, except Mordecai, who refused to bow. This filled Haman with rage, and when Haman learned that Mordecai was a Jew, he vowed to destroy all the Jews that lived in the kingdom. This would include the Jewish queen, Esther. Now Haman was a very sneaky and conniving man. He went before King Ahasuerus and said, There is a certain people who live among the people of your kingdom. Their laws are different from the king's laws, and therefore they refuse to observe your laws. It's not good to allow them to live. If it pleases the king, let there be a decree to destroy these people, and then ten thousand talents of silver will be paid to the men who carry out the king's decree. The king quickly agreed to the deadly decree, never realizing that his own queen Esther would be one of these people Haman wanted to destroy. Soon, a copy of the decree was sent out to all the kingdom. When the Jews heard the decree, they fell into great mourning, weeping and wailing. Mordecai put on mourning clothes called sackcloth, which looked and felt like a rough burlap bag, and cried bitterly for his people at the king's gate. When Esther's maidens told her about the decree, she collapsed in great agony. She sent new clothes to Mordecai, but he refused to take off the sackcloth. Since Mordecai could not enter the king's palace clothed in sackcloth, Esther sent a message to Mordecai, asking him what she should do. The messenger returned with Mordecai's reply. Mordecai begged Esther to go before the king and ask for his favor and plead with him for the lives of their people. When Esther heard this, her heart sunk. She sent the messenger back to Mordecai, saying, When Mordecai heard her reply, he sent back this response, Some other way, but as for you and your father's house, you will surely die. And who knows, maybe you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, Do not eat anything for three days and nights. My maidens and I will do the same thing. After this time of fasting I will go before the king, even if it is against the law. And if I die, I die. Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had instructed. On the third day, after all the Jews, including Esther and her maidens, had fasted, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, and as soon as he saw Queen Esther, he was very pleased and held the gold scepter that was in his hand out to her. Then the king asked, What can I do for you, Queen Esther? I would give you up to half my kingdom if you request it. Esther replied, If it would please you, my king, I would like to invite you and Haman to come and dine with me at a banquet I have prepared for you. Bring Haman at once, so that we may do what Esther requests, answered the king. As they all dined at the banquet, the king asked Queen Esther, What is your request? I would give you even up to half my kingdom. Then Esther said, If I have found favor before the king, I would love to invite both the king and Haman to a second banquet tomorrow, and then I will make my request known. The king and Haman happily agreed. Haman left the palace very happy until he passed Mordecai at the gate. When Mordecai refused to bow, Haman was filled with rage again, but he restrained himself and went home. As soon as Haman got home, he called his wife and friends together and began to brag about all the ways the king had honored him and placed him above all the other nobles and officials in the kingdom. He went on to tell them how Queen Esther had invited him and the king to a banquet that very day, and that she invited them to another banquet the next day. But Haman said, All this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see Mordecai sitting at the king's gate. So his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Have a gallows built and then tell the king about Mordecai and surely the king will agree to hang him. This suggestion made Haman very happy, so he ordered the gallows to be built for the next day. That night, the king could not sleep, so he gave orders for the book of the chronicles that records everything that happens in the king's reign be brought in and read to him. As it was read, the king heard how Mordecai exposed the two guards that had planned to assassinate him. The king then asked, What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this? The king's servants told him that nothing had been done for him. And the king said, Who was in the court? It just so happened that Haman had entered the outer court of the palace in order to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai. So the king's servants said, Haman is standing in the court. The king said, Bring him in. As soon as Haman walked in, the king asked, What should be done for the man that the king wants to give great honor and recognition? Haman thought to himself, Who would the king want to honor more than me? So he told the king, Bring a royal robe that the king has worn and a horse on which the king has ridden, and allow one of the king's most noble princes to lead this honored man on horseback through the city square, all the while proclaiming, This is what will be done for the man the king desires to honor. Then the king said to Haman, Hurry, take the robe and horse and do these things just as you have said for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Haman did exactly as the king instructed, but as soon as he arrived back at the king's gate with Mordecai, Haman hurried home, mourning, with his head covered. He told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. When his wife and friends warned him, If Mordecai is Jewish, then you will not overcome him. You will surely fall before him. While his friends were still talking to him, Haman was picked up by the king's officials and quickly brought to the banquet, which Esther had prepared. King Ahasuerus, Haman, and Esther were all sitting at the banquet table when the king asked, What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you, even up to half my kingdom. Queen Esther replied, If I have found favor with you, and it pleases the king, let my life and the lives of my people be spared. A decree has gone out from the kingdom to kill and annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom, and that would include me. The king quickly asked Queen Esther, Who is he and where is he? Who would ever think to do something like this? Then Esther turned towards Haman and said, It is this wicked man Haman who is the enemy of me and my people. The king became so angry that he jumped up from his seat and went into the palace garden to think. Meanwhile, Haman threw himself upon Queen Esther's couch, begging for his life. When the king came back from the palace garden and saw Haman on Queen Esther's couch, he cried out, Will he even try to assault my queen in my own house? As soon as the words came out of the king's mouth, the king's officials covered Haman's face with a cloth. Then one of the officials said, Haman made gallows at his house to hang Mordecai the Jew on, who revealed the assassination attempt on your life. Immediately the king replied, Hang him on the gallows! That very day they hanged Haman on the gallows, which he had prepared for Mordecai. King Ahasuerus then gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. When Esther revealed to the king who Mordecai was to her, the king called Mordecai before him. He took off the royal signet ring that Haman had worn and gave it to Mordecai. Then Esther put Mordecai over the house of Haman, which the king had given her. Now the decree was still in effect, because once the king put his royal seal on a decree, it could never be taken back. So Queen Esther fell at the feet of the king and begged him to find a way to keep their people safe from the deadly decree to kill all the Jews. So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, I will allow you to write another decree to be given to all your people in every city and province. So Mordecai wrote a new decree that granted the Jews the right to come together and defend themselves against any army of people that came against them. This new decree was sealed with the king's own signet ring and sent out among all the cities and provinces where the Jews lived. When God's people, the Jews, read the new decree, they celebrated with great joy and happiness, for their lives had been saved.