While studying the book of Esther in church this week, a beautiful picture of intercession leapt off the page to me in Esther chapter 5. The scene in this passage of Scripture is as follows...beautiful Queen Esther approaches the king at the risk of her own life, to make a request of him to save her Jewish people from the certain annihilation that the prime minister, Haman, has set into effect by law. Esther 5:2-4 reads, "And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. And the king said to her, 'What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.' And Esther said, 'If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.'" It was customary for the Persian queen in that age and culture to only approach the king when personally requested by him, not the other way around. The signal of acceptance he would provide to those who approached him would be to hand them his golden scepter; in this way, they would have the assurance that they were welcomed into his presence and could make their request. Fortunately for Esther and her people, that is precisely what the king offered to her that day and the fate of a people group was forever changed.
What I saw so vividly and beautifully depicted in that exchange between Esther and the king was us, you and me as believers, and our Almighty Father God. As we approach God's throne, undeservedly so, just as Queen Esther did with the king, we are blessed to find favor with the Lord because of our relationship with Christ, and in a very real sense, He extends His golden scepter to us. You see, "favor" and "grace" are interchangable concepts in the Scriptures, and the means by which we are saved (Eph 2:8). If it were not for our salvation in Christ, we would not be able to approach God's throne. Hebrews 4:16 assures us as believers, "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." The verses preceding this discuss Jesus and His pivotal role as our great high priest...the very reason we CAN approach God's throne of grace with confidence! What a stark contrast to the children of Israel in the Old Testament, as they were newly delivered from slavery in Egypt. We see them gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai, witnessing it smoking and seeing flashes of lightning and hearing thunder and the sound of the trumpet, trembling in terror at the Almighty God.
They stood "far off" and begged Moses to speak for them, saying, "'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die'...and the people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was (Exodus 20:19, 21)." How unlike the scene we see in Esther chapter 5, a picture of us under the new covenant of Christ, dressed in royal robes (Isaiah 61:10, Luke 15:21-22, Rev 7:9), ushered into His presence having found favor through Christ in His sight, being offered the golden scepter to speak to make our requests. And having found favor in God's sight, through faith in Christ, we are able to then boldly make requests on behalf of ourselves and others, interceding for them with the assurance that we will be heard. As the theologian John Owen so eloquently explained it, "To be heard in Scripture means two things. First it signifies to be accepted, even if the request is denied. 'God will hear me' is equivalent to 'God will accept me, and is pleased by my supplications' (Ps 55:17). Second, to be heard means to have our request answered. To be heard is to be delivered." What a gift! Let us not squander, neglect, minimize, or ignore this profound privilege we have as believers, dear one! In fact, intercession was what was on Christ's heart on the night preceding His death on the cross...interceding for us as believers in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17). It was on His heart while He hung on the cross (Luke 23:34). In fact, it is still Jesus's primary ministry now! Romans 8:34 states, "Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us." Therefore, like Esther, let us draw near to the Lord, knowing we have pleased Him and found favor with Him through Christ, and boldly intercede on behalf of ourselves and others, knowing we will be truly heard today! What a beautiful and wondrous thing!
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