At thirty-five her hair was fine And cinder black. Nor was there sign Of aging in her queenly face. And those who saw the tiny trace Of tragedy left in her eyes Compared it to the Persian skies When storms have purged the gloomy air, And left the faintest rainbow there.
She gave her firstborn son the name Of Abihail, and hoped the flame Of faith would burn in him, as pure And bright as once burned deep and sure Within her father's breast. One night The boy said, "Mamma, is it right That you became the Queen because Your were so beautiful? And laws Were changed because you were so brave?" Queen Esther smiled, "Can you behave If I let you stay up a while? If so, we'll put another pile Of logs into the fire, and I Will tell you, Abihail, just why Your mommy is the Queen of all The land from Egypt to the tall And snowy Himalayas." "I'll Behave," he said, and tried to smile And look as wide awake as he Could look for being five. "And we Can sit here by the fire," he said, "And later I can go to bed When you're all through. Okay?" "We'll see," She said (the way moms do). "Could be We'll need another night, you know, We can't talk til the roosters crow!" And so they stoked the fire once more, And Esther shut the royal door, And Abihail climbed in her lap. And nestled with his little cap Beneath her royal chin.
"Your great Grandfather had a dream: ‘Now wait No more in Babylon,' a voice From heaven said, ‘But come, rejoice, For God has made a plan to save His people through your son. A slave Will turn the pow'rs of unbelief Upon their head, and all the grief Of captive Israel will turn To joy." Of course, we had to learn, In time, that what the dream had meant Was that, though Abihail was sent— The son of Shimei—'twas I And your good uncle Mordecai Would come at God's appointed time Alone, and block the awful crime Of Haman." "Mommy, was he bad?" "I'll tell you, Abihail, the sad And ugly truth: that Haman was A wicked man. A coward does A lot of sneaky things to make Himself look good when he's a fake. And Haman even tried to bring Ten thousand talents to the king, And all in silver, if the Jews Could all be caught and killed. And why? Because he hated Mordecai!" "But, Mommy, Mordecai is good." "Indeed he is! And solid wood, My son, makes rotten timber rage. The wicked Haman in his cage Of cowardice could not abide The freedom of the man outside." "And did my dad, the king, agree?" "Sometimes, dear Abihail, we see Things different than they are and make What later seems a big mistake. He did agree.
But God did not Allow success for Haman's plot Nor of the king's decree. It seems That this is what the noble dreams Of Shimei were all about, And why my father didn't doubt. God had a plan to save the Jews From Haman's wicked scheme: to use Not Shimei, nor Abihail, Or mighty armies to assail The Persian palace walls, but me, A Jewish orphan girl, to free The sons of Israel from death. And even now it takes my breath Away to think about the ways Of God, and how from ancient days He planned it all, and ruled the world, Right down to how my hair was curled When all the girls were gathered for The king to see, and what I wore, And how I walked, and everything It took to cause a Persian king To choose from all the women in The world this exiled Jewish kin Of Shimei, O, Abihail! I hope you see, and never fail To know that there's a God in charge Of all the world. He governs large And small. He sets up kings to reign, And takes the lion by the mane, None moves without the Lord's command, And none can stay his mighty hand." "But, mommy, weren't you ever scared?" "Yes, Abihail, but God prepared A special gift for me one night: He showed me that by doing right And trusting him there would be less To lose and more to gain! And yes, Should I have even lost my life, It would be true: to be the wife Of Persia's king, and false to God, Is not reward. What good to trod A bridge of gold above a flood Of icy hate and Jewish blood?" "What did you do to save the Jews?" "Your uncle Mordecai sent news To me about the king's decree, And said that I should try to see The king, and tell him I'm a Jew. And even when your uncle knew That I could lose my life this way, He said, ‘If on this dark'ning day You hold your tongue, God will provide Protection from some other side, And you will die. But Esther think: Is not there now some holy link Of precious providence between The Jewish plight and who is Queen?' And so your uncle Mordecai Filled me with hope. ‘If I must die Then I will die,' your mother said. The sleepy prince picked up his head, And asked, "Did daddy change his mind?" "I'd rather say, God touched the blind," The Queen replied. "You see, dear son, If you would truly know what's done Upon the earth, you have to ask What power is hid behind the mask Of man's design. Am I the queen Because of looks? What does it mean That Haman hung on gallows made For Mordecai, and that the blade Aimed at the Jews, instead of these, Was thrust against their enemies?" But Abihail was breathing deep, And soon the lad would be asleep. So Esther closed his drooping eyes, And prayed that God would make him wise.
And then she sang a lullaby That she had learned from Mordecai: "There once was a baby born under a tree, Her dear mamma died, and nobody could see, Her daddy knelt down by her side on his knee, And no one but God knew, what this girl would be. "Her branches spread out and their beauty was seen, The shade that she made was a deep Myrtle green, An orphan and lovely as she turned eighteen, And no one but God knew, tomorrow a Queen." Rest well, my precious Abihail, When you are weak, God will prevail. Trust now the Lord your soul to keep, He rules the nations while you sleep.
Now listen children, young and old, God multiplies ten thousand fold The little power that you bring, And makes of you a queen or king.
So let the babes light candle three, None knows but God what they might be.
Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsBibleVersion = "ESV"; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsLinksOpenNewWindow = true; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsLibronixLinkIcon = "dark"; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsNoSearchTagNames = [ "h1", "h2", "h3" ]; Logos.ReferenceTagging.lbsCssOverride = true; Logos.ReferenceTagging.tag(); By John Piper. © 1987 Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
