Esther's Dilemma
Her Wise Strategy in Response to Slavery, Racial Hatred & Genocide
by Stephen Noll
At a pivotal moment in the build-up to the American Revolution, Patrick -Henry famously declared, holding his wrists together in imaginary manacles: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" Then dramatically bursting his "bonds," he cried: "Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
But what if Henry had been an African slave in Virginia, consigned by Almighty God to perpetual bondage? What if his choice then had been slavery or death? There is biblical precedent for this dilemma.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Stephen Noll is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and former Vice Chancellor of Uganda Christian University. He wrote the commentary on the Book of Esther in the Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Baker, 1989).
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on bible from the online archives
5.3—Summer 1992
Everything You Need to Know About Morality & the Bible by David Mills
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
31.4—July/August 2018
on the Brevity & Theology of Her Recorded Words by Judith Anderson
more from the online archives
17.6—July/August 2004
Old Science Confronts a Formidable Challenge in the Scientific ID Movement by Jay W. Richards
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
