The Golden Scepter
“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 ) Queen Esther knew she was risking her life when she came unbidden into the presence of the mighty king of Persia in his throne room . Even though she was his favorite wife, he did not know she was a Jew or that she was hoping to get Haman’s terrible order for genocide of the Jews reversed. She knew that it was a capital offense for even a queen to go into the throne room without authorization, and that only the king—by holding out to her his golden scepter—could save her life. But she also knew that she had “come to the kingdom for such a time as this,” and so she said: “If I perish, I perish” (4:14, 16). The king, however, did extend his golden sceptre to her, and even said: “What is thy petition? and it shall be granted t...