1. Esther 4: 10-17 10 Then Esther instructed Hathach to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death.

2. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

3. 12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.

4. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

5. 15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

6. 17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

7. Character Matters Esther 1-10 Takes place during the captivity One group of exiles had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra Esther’s family stayed in Persia She became queen of Persia before Nehemiah led the second group back

8. Interesting story…. Twists and turns of the plot You think someone has the upper hand, But it doesn’t end that way Female heroine God can choose to use who He chooses We learn from Esther; also from others

9. It shows that character matters The main characters of this story have very different character traits Who they are as people, and their actions, mattered Affected the history of the Jews

10. The Main Characters King Xerxes Queen Vashti Mordecai Esther Haman What sort of character did each one have? How did that affect the final outcome?

11. King Xerxes Rash, anger issues Made decisions hastily, without a clear head; took poor advice Unrealistic Respect is earned, not mandated Foolish Abdicated his authority to others as he gave out signet ring

12. Queen Vashti She was asked to do something culturally inappropriate She stood up for herself And was unfairly punished Even though she was banished, her son came to power later

13. Mordecai Caretaker and a planner He took care of people His good work was overlooked for a long time Ultimately noticed and rewarded If he had not been in this story, Esther would not have been in a position to save her people

14. Haman A hateful, ego-centric man Power hungry Abused the authority he was given He seemed to be winning for a while But it all came back on him!

15. Esther Knew the importance of taking instruction and advice Chose to use her beauty and intelligence for important things Courageous, willing to take a stand for her people even when it meant risking her life

16. What does this all mean for us? Character matters! What we believe in, and how we live it out, affects lives.. ours and others What we do doesn’t just affects us

17. We are all interconnected Negative character traits pull us all down. Integrity of character makes our community a better place Sometimes it may not seem like you’re getting anything out of integrity … But it will all come around

18. The book of Esther does not use the word “God” in it Yet, when the Jews are mentioned, it is with the understanding that they are people of faith and integrity May we as Christians live with integrity Because “Character Matters!”