Esther 3-5, Acts 5:22—42 • Key Verse: Esther 4:14
“Silence is golden,” but in truth there are times when silence is anything but valuable. In fact, it
can be quite costly. Imagine walking by a house and seeing through a window that the family
inside is enjoying a quiet evening at home. You walk on in silence, leaving them undisturbed.
That is good silence.
But what if you see a fire smoldering on the roof and realize that they are unaware? Would your
silence be “golden” or costly?
Esther was in a position to make a difference if she would break the silence and speak, but she
feared approaching the king (4:11). She had her excuses. Her uncle Mordecai did not counter all

her reasons but laid out before it the price of silence. Her failure to speak out would be costly,
costing at the minimum her life as well as that of her family.
Then he said, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
(v. 14). With that verbal push from her uncle, Esther began to take the steps that would
ultimately spare the life of not only herself and her family but of her people.
We can engage in golden silence and guilty silence. There will be times when we are in the
“right place at the right time” and must make a crucial decision either we speak or remain silent.
Far too often we fail. Fearing man, we remain silent when we should fear God more and speak.
When did you last speak to someone about Jesus? Yesterdays reading challenged us to be living
testimonies. Today’s focuses our attention on what we say. Is there someone who has seen your
testimony but now needs to hear it?

Woodrow Kroll & Tony Beckett
www.backtothebible.in