The Anointing of Esther

Many prophets have been speaking recently about the call of Esther. Lou Engle has called for an all women prayer gathering and solemn assembly, this April in Dallas, which has been named The Esther Call. I have known those who have said that they had an Esther anointing. I did not know why that annoyed me at the time. Recently I have realized why. They understood the anointing of Esther as merely a special measure of favor before the king. That is part of it- but there is so much more.

To understand the Esther anointing we need to realize the position she was in. The Sunday School version of the story isn’t completely accurate. Esther’s ancestors had been forcibly taken from their homeland and brought in captivity to a foreign land. Esther was living as an orphan, cared for by her cousin. During this time the king was looking for a new queen and instructed his staff to search for the most attractive virgins of the land. Esther was one of those selected. She had no choice- today we would call this sex trafficking. Women were gathered from all provinces (127 provinces). We can only imagine how many young women were taken from their homes.

Once these women were taken from their families they would spend the rest of their lives in the king’s harem as concubines, one of them would be selected as wife and queen. Esther, along with the other women, spent a year undergoing beauty treatments. An entire year of rejecting her Jewish faith as her cousin Mordecai had instructed her to keep her heritage secret. After a year she was ready for her night with the king. One by one the virgins took their turn. The king would spend the night with these virgins to see if they pleased him. If they did not please the king they spent the rest of their lives as concubines who had had their innocence stolen from them. Since Esther pleased him more than any other virgin (this makes the TV show The Bachelor look like family fare) she was chosen as queen.

Esther had been queen for about seven or eight years by the time that Haman plotted to kill the Jews. Haman hated Mordecai because he would not bow before Haman. Once Haman realized that Mordecai was a Jew he hatched his plot to kill all of the Jewish people. The edict was issued and Mordecai sent word to Esther. He plead with her to go before the king to plead for mercy for the Jewish people. He spoke those famous words “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther and Mordecai both knew that going before the king without being summoned meant death.

But Esther called for a fast. She instructed the Jews of Susa to fast food and water for three days as she and her maidservants would do as well. This was a fast to the death. Three days without water is dangerous. But this was life and death for an entire people. The survival of the Jewish people depended on it. This was a fast for favor before the king; before the high court of the land. Esther went in with resolve: “If I perish, I perish.” Three days was also the time that Christ spent in the tomb. Three days of death to defeat death.

At the end of this fast Esther went before the king. He extended her the favor of his scepter- sparing her life. At this moment Esther invited him and Haman to a banquet. We are all familiar with the rest of the story. But what is interesting is during this time the king could not sleep, discovered a previous time when Mordecai saved his life, and decided to honor him as it had never been done. This further angered Haman. The spirit of Haman hates the people of God and he hates when they are honored. It is this same spirit that has come against the Jewish people throughout history and wars against the children of Israel and the Church today.

We see here how the power of this fast was what shifted the favor of the king. The anointing of Esther is one to plead life before the courts of heaven and earth. First she made her plea before the courts of heaven through prayer and fasting. Second, she made petition before the most powerful court of earth. What was written in the name of the king could not be revoked. He reigned from India to Ethiopia, most of the known world was under his control, the mightiest empire up to that point of history. The favor of heaven rested upon Esther and she moved the heart of the king.

The anointing of Esther is one of power, authority, and favor. The favor of heaven that is then recognized by the powers of this world. But this favor isn’t for just anything. This favor is for the cry of life on behalf of God’s people. Those who have no voice before the powers of this world. Esther is being raised up in this generation. She is going to be placed in positions of influence where her voice can be heard.

Arts and entertainment is one such place. There are many who will criticize Esther for going into those places. But it is God’s will and He will give them a grace for purity. God will raise up Mordecai to launch Esther into her position and to intercede for her protection. The Mordecai of old was never far from Esther- it was her who saw him from a distance in his distress. And these Esthers will be in their position for a time that we do not know. God will redeem the tribulation that they have been forced to undergo. He will take all of the injustices that they have suffered and use it to further His purpose.

The Esthers will cry out for life. They will cry out for freedom. They will cry out for mercy. They will cry out for those who have no voice. For the aborted babies, for the trafficked millions, for the oppressed peoples. And they will cry out for God’s people in the midst of persecution. God is raising up the Esthers! Let the anointing of favor fall upon those who will stand before the courts of heaven and earth. The favor that comes from bold obedience and courage. The favor that will rest upon those who fear no one but God.