Monday, May 2, 2011

Is Sarah Palin The Esther For Our Time?



I received an interesting phone call Sunday afternoon from a missionary in southern Florida. He had read about this blog in a local paper that had been referenced in an earlier LA Times piece about Governor Palin's operations here in Iowa.

In the article I was mentioned along with our Iowa O4P director, Peter Singleton, and while I guess it's nice to see your name mentioned in an article of national importance (at least they spelled my name right!) I think the thrust of the article was incorrect. They gave the impression that Governor Palin's volunteer organizing effort had little to nothing going on in the state, while O4P volunteers here know better.

The article did show supporters around the country we do have a presence in the state, even if they downplayed our reach and effectiveness. This is what motivated the Florida missionary to find my phone number and give me a call.

As a man of faith he wanted to impress on me his belief that Governor Palin is our modern day Esther. This sentiment has been expressed before, of course, and it seems like a very fitting analogy. Many are familiar with the Old Testament story of Esther, a beauty queen who became a real one, gaining the king’s ear to avert the slaughter of the Jews and vanquish their enemies. When Esther is called to serve, God grants her a strength she never knew she had.

My caller was insistent I look at Esther 4:14

"Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14)

It does seem like Governor Palin is the only one for  'such a time as this.'  Sarah Palin, with her clear understanding of not only the issues we face, but the solutions that will be needed to turn our country around, seems to many of us to be providence sent.

The parallels are many. The biblical Queen Esther came out of virtually nowhere, based in large part on her looks (though she was clearly smart). She was not really seeking power.

As the New York Times reported in 2008, Sarah Palin's former pastor suggested she read the Book of Esther when she was first elected governor, years before she burst on to the national scene.  The parallels were evident even then.

He said of Governor Palin, "God has given her the opportunity to serve, and God has given her the strength to carry out her goals.”

And we, her ardent supporters, are standing strong with her, ready to engage in the campaign of our lifetime to elect the one who is ready to lead with a servants heart, Sarah Palin of Alaska!

~ teledude

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