The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther happen in reverse order than they appear in our Bibles. The story of Esther transpires around the midpoint of the Book of Ezra between the 6th and 7th chapters (after Zerubbabel but before the return of Ezra and Nehemiah). During the captivity, God raised up this lady named Esther, a beauty pageant winner who became the Queen of Persia. Apparently she was still on the throne when Nehemiah writes in chapter 2:6 “The king said to me, the queen also sitting beside him” (that Queen being Esther). Esther’s name in Hebrew is Hadassah which means “Myrtle” as in the type of tree. Her Persian name is Esther which means “Star” and is thought by many to be given her because of the “star” shaped flower that the Myrtle tree produces. The interesting point of her name is that the Myrtle tree was not grown in Israel prior to the Babylonian captivity and it seems that it was brought back to Israel at the time of the first wave of patriots back into the land with Zerubbabel prior to her birth. Of further interest is a prophecy of Isaiah over 250 years before this when there would have been no myrtle tress in the land as the Lord spoke to him in Isaiah 55:13, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” All of this reminds us that our calling “for such a time as this” has never been a surprise to God, He has had it planed since the beginning and we are only called to walk out where He has already been!
