Esther’s Preparation for Authority
During a devotional time with the Lord, God began to open certain aspects of Esther’s story to me. I have taught many times on the story of Esther, as have many other people, and I have tended to focus only on certain chapters. I’ve focused primarily on chapter 4, where she courageously makes the decision to go before the king despite protocol stating that unless the king put forth his scepter, her death would be guaranteed.
Esther made the decision to risk her life for the cause of her people and said those famous words, “If I perish, I perish!” (See Esther 4:16.) Both Esther and Mordecai received great favor because of their obedience to God. That morning, however, God began to highlight to me the process Esther went through before she was chosen to be queen.
Esther was greatly favored by Hegai the king’s eunuch and was given a special room in the king’s house with seven women from the king’s courts to serve her. Hegai is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, to prepare us for our King Jesus. The Holy Spirit is there to love on us, teach us, prepare us, equip us, heal us, refine us, and bring us forth in glory.
Esther was prepared for twelve months in oils—and twelve represents governmental authority. For six months she was prepared with the oil of Myrrh and for six months with oils to beautify her. Myrrh was the oil used to anoint Jesus for burial. Nicodemus brought one hundred pounds of Myrrh and aloes with which they anointed Jesus’ body and wrapped it in linen after His death on the Cross. I believe that the Myrrh represents the willingness to offer one’s life as a sacrifice for the greater good, and for the Kingdom of God.
Esther was soaked in these oils, which I believe represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit. She was being prepared in purity to go before the king. She was being prepared for her position as a representative of the royal kingdom.
Esther was prepared in purity for intimacy and relationship with the king. She was prepared in wisdom to carry the scepter of the kingdom’s authority, and she was prepared in character to write the royal decrees.
God Is Investing in You!
In my time with the Lord, I saw a picture of myself being clothed in the royal garments of the Kingdom and saw God handing me His scepter. I believe this picture is a representative word for all who have paid the price and made the choice to remain in His fire through the refining process.
As I pondered this picture, I suddenly felt led to check the definition of the word “scepter” and discovered that it means to invest with authority. I was then led to check the definition of the word “invest” and was surprised that both these words confirmed the meaning and significance of the picture God was revealing to me.
The word “invest” means to provide or endow someone with a quality or with an attribute; to formally confer a rank or office on someone; to invest something or confer a right or power to someone; to endow with authority. “Invest” also means to clothe or cover with a garment; to clothe with the insignia of a rank.
God is presently investing and endowing many with great authority, including many of His daughters called to the front lines. He is clothing with royal garments all those who have come through the fires of purification and have been soaked in the oils of the Holy Spirit. God is placing His overcoming ones in the rank He has prepared for them. He is putting royal garments on His Bride! They will wield the scepter of righteousness and decree the demise of the enemy’s plans and strongholds against God’s people.
Standing in Authority in the Courts of Heaven
There are many who have persevered in intimacy, who have persevered in prayer, and have continued to believe that they will see the salvation of the Lord against present tyranny. Esther is now rising to be presented and seen before the courts and before the world stage, truly prepared for such a time as this! Esther represents those who have been called to stand in authority in the courts of Heaven and legislate, in Christ, Heaven’s agenda as described in Zechariah 3:7:
“…If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here.”
When king Ahasuerus summoned Vashti to come forth and show her beauty she refused. Vashti represents the religious and disobedient wife. Esther was brought forth to replace her. Esther was on the edge of making the same mistake of not rising to her place in her hour, to stand in the place of destiny created for her. Mordecai declared to Esther that if she chose to remain silent, deliverance would arise from elsewhere. When she hesitated, Mordecai wisely admonished her with these words:
“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish…” (Esther 4:14) (Photo via Unsplash)
Esther made the wise decision to be courageous, having understood that she was called and created for this moment of history. Today we are living in a time of great trouble on Earth and God is now calling for His Bride to arise and present herself! As Mordecai admonished and warned Esther to take her place, God is calling His Bride to come out from her dressing room and is saying to her: “Arise and shine for your light has come! Come forth into the glory I have prepared for you.”
God has been at work, carefully preparing His Body as the vessel that will give birth to the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth. We have been in a long season of learning and growing in maturity. During this time of growth, we have been kept by God within the confines or parameters of His protective shield. This shield has acted like a giant incubator where God has been transforming us, as in the case of a caterpillar, from one form of species into a brand-new creature.
On the Edge of Breakthrough
Many are now experiencing the sense of being on the edge of breakthrough, as the Body outgrows this place and pushes against the confines. There is a sense of having been trained as a prize stallion to run a race, yet waiting in the stall for the trumpet to blow.
When the trumpet sounds, we will be given a window of time to do the work of building the ark to contain and gather in the harvest. We must be ready to run, with everything we have in us, when the trumpet sounds. God will sound His trumpet through His leaders who have been prepared to forge ahead and lead His tribes; those who have ears to hear Him and who have the anointing to marshal the army.
The Lord declared that out of our bellies would flow rivers of living water (see John 7:38). This Greek word “koilia” is sometimes translated as belly or heart, and it also means womb or a hollow cavity. The womb of the Bride is the container filled with all the treasures of God prepared for this hour. As the Bride comes forth in glory, she will begin to birth God’s treasures in the earth. She is being cleansed and prepared as the womb that will give birth to the most glorious hour of all history.
The river flowing from the womb of the Bride will birth life where death once reigned. Where the river flows there will be life! In the times surrounding the day of the Lord, the Bride will enter the travail to birth and bring forth the harvest and God’s Kingdom on Earth. This travail and intercession will be aggressive and sometimes violent. It is a determined travail that will not settle for anything less than the new life. What does this new life look like in the Bride? It looks like Isaiah 61. It looks like Jesus:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.
“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
“Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
“‘For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In My faithfulness I will reward My people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.’ (Photo via Flickr)
“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
Nothing Will Get in the Way of Delivery
The Bride’s water is about to break and gush forth. The baby is coming, and God will ensure that nothing will get in the way of the delivery. We will get through this time because of the joy of knowing that the baby is coming and will arrive on time.
The Lord will cleanse His Body and make His Bride glorious. This is the work the Lord must do in His Bride as He makes her harmless to humanity and dangerous to the enemy (Matthew 10:16). This season of circumcision and healing we have been in needed to take place before the Bride could be released to bring transformation in the earth.
The Lord is seeking out those who will humble themselves and submit to His ways to release them to go and conquer lands for His kingdom. God is asking us if we love Him enough to take the risk and trust Him enough to believe that, through Him, we can overcome all hindrances in us and all obstacles on the path ahead.
There are two prominent revelations in Esther 4:14: the “time” we are called to, and the “cost” of holding back, which is “…you will perish.” Our attitude must become that of Esther’s. Esther drank the Lord’s cup and declared, “If I perish, I perish.”
When Esther chose to come before the king in boldness, the scepter of the authority of the kingdom was lifted toward her. She was given great favor and her requests were granted—up to half of the kingdom! Esther touched the head of the scepter of the kingdom, representing an act of union with the king (see Esther 5:2).
Writing a New Decree
The Hebrew word for top is “rosh,” which means “head.” Under the governance of the king—the head of the kingdom, sanctioned by the full weight of his rule—Esther was granted power and right in the kingdom! Esther was given great authority and the liberty to write any decree on behalf of her people to foil the plots of the enemy! As the number eight represents new beginnings, Esther 8:8 ushered a new season and beginning for the people of God:
“Now write another decree in the king’s name on behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”
The king told Esther to write another decree, taking into consideration the decree Haman had already written to destroy the Jews. The king told Esther to write a new decree that would eliminate Haman’s decree. Esther wrote one that gave her people the right to rise up and defend their rights, property and families, and completely annihilate their enemies.
Esther completed the job given by God to Saul, to destroy the Amalekite enemy. Saul, like Vashti, represents the religious in this hour who through sin, deception or disobedience are working against the purposes of God. The Lord declared in His Word that if we were not for Him we were against Him.
“Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters.” (Matthew 12:30)
Like Esther, God is now calling forth His leaders to now present themselves; this includes His daughters who play significant roles in the government of His House. They are to be granted great authority, power, and right to thwart the worst plots of the enemy in these last days. They will be anointed to write new decrees to drive them out, and release great blessing for the people of God!
Faith Marie Baczko, Executive Director
Headstone Ministries International | Schools of The Last Wine
Email: contact@headstoneministries.com
Website: http://www.headstoneministries.com
Faith Marie Baczko is the president of Headstone International Ministries and HWAM – Headstone Women’s Apostolic Network. Faith is an apostolic, prophetic teacher and author, bringing significant revelation to mobilize, equip and strengthen the Body of Christ for this momentous hour of history. She carries key insights into the profound significance of Israel’s place in the purposes of God for the time of the summing up of all things in Christ. She models a life that inspires others to live undistracted and rigorously devoted to passionately pursuing Christ. Faith is an international speaker, and through her ministry and work in South America, she has garnered enduring relationships with pastors and leaders, united in passion for truth that is the foundation of revival. Her books are also available in Spanish.