God's Grace is Greater Than Law: Esther

"15Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4: 15-16)

Esther was the favored queen of the King of Persia (Esther 2: 8-14), brought in to replace the previous queen who had refused to submit to the wishes of the king.

Yet even she, as the queen, could not come before the King's throne, without the fear of death, unless the king held out his golden scepter to reprieve her from the sentence of death.

Because of her fear of what could have happened to her, Esther was at first reticent to come before the king, her husband. For the law forbid her from coming before him.

Yet what happened?

"And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre." (Esther 5: 2)

Throughout the Bible, we find that the grace of God supercedes the law.

In this example, we see a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is our King, and because He is seated on the throne, at the right hand of God the Father, we can know and believe that all our sins are forgiven:

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15: 17)

and

"1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." (Hebrews 1: 1-4)

Today, we are already highly favored, accepted in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1: 6). We have this favor because of the gift of righteousness, which covers us wherever we go, of which we see a picture in the golden scepter which Esther touched. Gold speaks of our righteousness, and the orb in the king's hand speaks of his authority over all the world.

"In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee." (Isaiah 54: 14)

and

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

We receive this gift of righteousness by faith, apart from the law:

"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 3: 11)

Even though the law says that we cannot approach God in ourselves, because of the grace of God, which we receive through His death and resurrection, today we can boldly come before His throne of grace in time of need, just as Esther did (Hebrews 4: 16).