“A person, whether king or peasant, can surround himself with many, and still be lonely. He needs that one rare person, one to confide in and with whom he can be at ease.” Hadassah was that one rare person in whom King Ahasuerus found the answer to his loneliness. Jim Baumgardner tells the story of how she was brought to him, prepared for him, and became his queen in Esther Queen of Persia: A Courageous Woman for a Dangerous Time. Being taken from the home of her cousin, Mordecai, who had raised her since she was a child, Esther was placed in the care of Hegai, who was tasked with preparing her along with hundreds of other virgins for the same purpose. Hadassah stood out beyond all of them and was given the name, Esther (which means star), because she was brighter and lovelier than all of the rest. Little did Esther know, as she spent her days being made ready to be presented before the king, that God was preparing to use her and her cousin to bring about great things on behalf of his people, Israel.

Jim Baumgardner has done a fantastic job in bringing life and emotions to the characters and plots from his fictional account of a part of history in Esther Queen of Persia. The demonstration of the faith of the servants of the Lord in the characters of Esther and Mordecai are first rate, but the demonstration of the power of God to prepare things years in advance to be used at the appointed time bears witness to his might. Inspiring, emotional and uplifting, Esther Queen of Persia will bless you in a real and profound way. Every man’s daughter ought to have a copy as a means of encouraging their faith and as a demonstration of what qualities inspire true beauty.

Hadassah, who was later known as Esther, was a very beautiful young Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents. Since Ahasuerus, the King of Persia, desired beautiful young women, Esther was forced to go to the king's palace to be prepared for the king's approval. I can only imagine how Mordecai felt about what was happening to his cousin whom he loved so much. Why was God allowing this horrible situation to happen to Hadassah?

There have been a lot of books, Bible studies, and such written about the life of Esther, and she is one of my favorite women of the Bible. I enjoyed the way author Jim Baumgardner created the scenes in his book to bring Esther’s story to life. My heart always breaks when reading this story, with Esther taken from her cousin to the palace where she knows what the king wants with her. How scared she must have been, wondering if she would be picked from among the many other young virgins in the care of Hegai, and those involved in preparing these young ladies to be perfect and spotless for the king. Tension and emotions were flowing as I read scene after scene throughout this book.

Baumgardner does a really good job telling the fiction story, yet staying on course with the Biblical account of the story. And the beauty of it all is that we can see how God takes a situation totally impossible to human minds, and turns it around to make something wonderful from it. I appreciate how the author shows that God had a plan for Esther’s life, and though she and her cousin were so scared of the horrible things that would happen to them, they trusted God to intervene in the situation, and he did just that. This is a beautiful story, taken from a true Bible story, that will warm your heart and make you want to praise God more.