The Leadership of Queen Esther: Part 3

On the third day of the fast, Esther put on her royal robes and entered the inner court of the palace, just across from the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing there in the inner court, he welcomed her and held out the gold scepter to her. So Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter. 3 Then the king asked her, “What do you want, Queen Esther? What is your request? I will give it to you, even if it is half the kingdom!”-Esther 5:1-3

Queen Esther demonstrates an extraordinary feat of faith and boldness in this passage. She came uninvited into the presence of the king. As she explained to Mordecai in the previous chapter, this one act had the potential to end her life. I'm sure Esther was thinking about the downfall of Queen Vashti before her. A person did not just come into the court of the king uninvited. By faith, Esther entered, and because she had sought the Lord in fasting and prayer, she had the favor of God on her life. God's favor was the reward for her bold faith. An extended scepter and good standing with the king were the fruit of her bold faith.

Bold Leadership.

Leadership takes boldness: Some leaders need to get up in the morning and put aside their personal feelings and introverted tendencies, their naturally shy personality, and to be the leader their family, employees, or team needs them to be. Boldness might look like fighting for your people when no one else will. Boldness might be standing up for your morals and standards, though it goes against the grain.

How do you gain the boldness to be a leader?


Boldness comes from spending time with Jesus. Jesus was one of the boldest leaders ever. But He demonstrated boldness as he was led by the Spirit and not as His flesh dictated.

Be Led by the Spirit: If you open your mouth and speak based on your flesh or emotions, you might get lucky, or you might get fired, or hurt someone, or stick your foot in your mouth. Demonstrate boldness as the Holy Spirit leads you. The Bible shares about how people prayed for Boldness.

Know your authority in Christ Jesus: Read Ephesians 1, 2, and 3. The fullness of Christ (seated at the place of authority in Heaven ) dwells in you! You shouldn't be weak or timid. Know your identity, which is grounded in the assurance of Christ Jesus' identity.

Boldness Comes from Practice: You may have yet to develop Esther-sized boldness. Then, she didn't have much of a choice. You can start to practice boldness in more minor situations today. Please don't wait for the significant opportunities to be bold; it will be harder to do so. Practice boldness in the small things to be ready when the bigger opportunities come your way.

Prayer: Father God, I need your boldness today. I ask for and believe I receive the boldness that Esther presented and that Jesus demonstrated. Holy Spirit, help me to listen to your voice. Help me to get a revelation of my authority in Christ Jesus, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Leadership of Queen Esther

The Bible contains great leaders who exhibit and demonstrate powerful Godly leadership skills. There are Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, the Apostle Paul, and, of course, Jesus Christ, the King of kings, Lord of lords, and many more. But let me focus today on a leader who changed the direction of the Hebrew people from a position that was primarily behind the scenes. Today, I will begin our leadership journey by looking at the humility and God-honoring leadership of Queen Esther.

If you aren’t familiar with the story of Esther, please take the time to read it in her book in the Bible, Esther. It is found after Nehemiah and before Job. Let me take time today to give you an overview of the story of Hadassah.

King Xerxes

The king over the known world

“It was in the days of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who reigned from India to Ethiopia (Cush) over 127 provinces, in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa [the capital of the Persian Empire],”-Esther‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

King Ahasuerus ruled over the known world with great authority and splendor. You may have heard of him from the film 300, directed by Zack Snyder. It’s the same guy. He has made a public demonstration of Queen Vashti, who denies him. Now, he is ready to find a new queen. He goes to great lengths to find his ideal queen, and in the end, God has divinely positioned a Jewish woman to be Queen.

This influence becomes necessary as the story’s villain emerges in the form of Haman the Agagite, who designs and orchestrates a plan to raze the Hebrew people off the face of the earth. Ironically, the failure of King Saul’s leadership from around 500 years before set up the potential demise of the Children of Israel. Now, the Lord must raise Hadassah to empower her people to save themselves and ultimately secure and set up the lineage of Jesus Christ.

The True Power of Queen Esther

Esher’s strength wasn’t in her beauty or charm but in her humility and reliance on the Hand of God.

Queen Esther was a beautiful woman. It wasn’t her beauty that saved the children of Israel; it was her leadership. Let’s outline a few of the leadership skills she implemented in this story.

1. She led the people to fast and pray. She sought the counsel and wisdom of her uncle, and she sought the wisdom and favor from the Lord.

2. She demonstrated faith and boldness. She prepared herself to talk to the king.

3. She put a plan in motion and carried it out.

Strong leadership demonstrated humility and boldness; not just her good looks and charm procured the results her people needed.

Prayer: Father, I ask you to help me to grow in the leadership that you have for me. Please help me learn from Esther to be humble, seek counsel, and demonstrate faith and boldness.  Thank you for your wisdom and favor in carrying out your plans and purposes for my family, business, and life in order to bless and reach others. In Jesus name, Amen.