Many years ago, God made promises to a man named Abraham. These promises were for a family, a land, and to be a blessing for the whole earth (Genesis 22:15-18). Indeed, Abraham had many sons, starting with Ishmael and later Isaac (Genesis 16:15, Genesis 21:2). Abraham lived with his family in Israel, called Canaan in Bible times, and many years later Abraham’s family brought forth Jesus Christ, the biggest blessing humanity could have (Luke 3:34). There is certainly something very special about that land God promised Abraham, called Israel. Despite it being a very small country (people often remark it is the size of the state of New Jersey), it is gorgeous and richly populated, not to mention all the history there.
In my book, “Esther: Queen of Persia”, Esther does not live in her promised land, but she knows God will bring her there one day. She knows God is with her everywhere, whether she is in the promised land or not. Her rich spiritual heritage had predicted from King Solomon’s prophecy over ancient Israel that Jews would go to captivity but keep praying toward Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:29). Daniel did this during the captivity to Babylon, and later Esther also in Persia (Daniel 6:10, Esther 4:16). We might wonder how people can be content or maybe even happy when not in the land promised to them by the very God they worship and love. When we think about it, this was actually another tradition from Daniel and Esther’s spiritual heritage, going back even before King Solomon, all the way back to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. The Bible tells us that Jacob was a simple man who dwelled in tents (Genesis 25:27). Presumably, Jacob was content and happy to trust God’s promises and know they would be fulfilled completely in the future. This rich spiritual tradition was passed down to Daniel, Mordecai, and Esther, even though they lived outside Israel.
Honestly, it’s the same thing today. As the Bible says, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9), and this can be true in so many ways. Personally, I absolutely love living in the house where my grandparents lived, and today I live here happily with my husband and our daughter. As lovely as our home is, this is our “tent” if you will, and we know God will bring all His family to the promised land when His son Jesus Christ returns to the earth as king (Romans 11:25-26).
It was my dream for many years to visit Israel, and in the summer of 2022 I went with my husband Elías and our daughter Camila when she was five years old. Five is a significant number in the Bible, the number of grace. That is because Noah and his family (wife and three sons) were five people saved by grace in the flood (sons’ three wives allowed for repopulation of the earth after the flood, also by God’s grace) (Genesis 6:8, 1 Peter 3:20). We see the number five making an appearance in the book of Esther, as she sought grace at the throne of King Xerxes in the fifth year of their marriage (Esther 2:16, Esther 3:7). Therefore, it was particularly spiritually meaningful and satisfying for me to visit the promised land with my little family when our daughter Camila was the age of the number of grace.
When we went to Israel, we visited Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, Jerusalem where he was crucified and rose from the dead, and several places he worked miracles throughout his ministry. In fact, the tour we went on was called, “In the Footsteps of Christ”. We sailed across the sea of Galilee, splashed and waded in the Jordan river, enjoyed beautiful weather, and saw the date palms everywhere. Our tour guide explained to us that the honey in Israel comes from the date palms, the honey prophesied by God to Moses when He described the promised land as flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).
Israel is an amazing place and the trouble surrounding it and within it for centuries has been heartbreaking, though it was also prophesied. God tells us He makes it a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone (Zechariah 12:2-3). And of course it continues to be the case today. I published my book, “Esther: Queen of Persia” in 2023 and that same year war was later declared by the promised land so they can defend themselves against attack. “I am for peace but when I speak they are for war” (Psalm 120:7) is the constant war of Israel for its own existence. We read about it in the Bible such as in the book of Esther with Haman’s evil plot to wipe out the Jewish people (Esther 3:8-9), I experienced the constant defensive atmosphere when we were in Israel in 2022, and in 2023 Israel was again attacked by enemies.
Again, thanks be to God, we know this is not the end of the story. Xerxes and Esther’s relationship represents God and His people. They get together and take on the world, as King and Queen of the Person Empire. Esther knew she would be in Israel one day and she will when Christ returns, resurrects her, and brings her there, along with all of God’s children. In the name of Jesus, God’s son the Christ, amen!