Esther 5:2 ‘So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favour in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the sceptre.’
Queen Esther ‘found favour’ in the sight of the king. He held out his sceptre toward her which signified she could approach him with impunity. He loved her above all others (2:17).
By a stretch of the imagination I can see this episode as a picture of our Lord and King extending His hand towards those he loves and inviting them into His throne room. For Ether entering the king’s court, this was a very bold thing to do, since she had not been summoned by the king, and there was a law prohibiting anyone from doing so without being invited. The penalty was death (Esther 4:11).
The historical account of the life of Esther goes on to explain how her act of faith and boldness saved the Jewish nation from being annihilated (Esther 4:14). Had that happened, Jesus would not have been born of Mary, and there would have been no salvation for the people of God. All of this happened within God’s plan of salvation. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of His people (Romans 5:8, 9). He died and rose from death that they might die in Him spiritually and rise with Him spiritually (Romans 6:11).
Having risen with Him in this life (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12) we [believers] dwell with Him in His heavenly kingdom, because we ‘found favour’ in His sight. Metaphorically He held out His golden sceptre towards us and summoned us into His presence. He gave us faith (Ephesians 2:8,9) and boldness to enter His courts. He chose us and placed us in Him (Ephesians 1:4). We know Him as our King (Psalm 145:1) who sits in splendour at the righthand of the Father (Colossians 3:1, 3) who dwells in the Holy of Holies. All of this, as we know it now, is a foretaste of what is to come. We cannot imagine the true magnificence of our new life after our physical death, when our souls have risen to be with Jesus, and more-so when our souls are united with our new bodies. Words of this world cannot describe what it will be like in the presence of the eternal God. When Paul the Apostle was ‘caught up to the third heaven’, i.e., the Paradise of God, he ‘heard inexpressible words which it is not lawful for a man to utter’ (2 Corinthians 12:2-4).’
The Bible describes the splendour of the earthly *temples of God built by human craftsmen, and we are awed by their beauty and riches. How much more shall we be amazed at the glorious Temple in the new heaven spoken of in the Book of Revelation; that is ‘the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Revelation 21:22).’
*The Temples of God
The Biblical Way 