Esther and Daniel
Author: Robby Van Arsdale
Major Theme: The Salt of the Earth (be different from the world around you)
Source: Esther; Daniel 1-3
Main Cast: 7 Female, 9 Male
Sample: First and final plays of God Has Put You Here
Esther doesn’t want to be Hebrew anymore; it’s too complicated, and it isn’t any fun. She endures her cousin Mordecai telling the old stories about Daniel, but what she really wants is to fit in. When she’s chosen to live in the palace, all those old stories are the last thing on her mind.
Daniel and his friends were forced to choose, time and again, between God and fitting in. It’s true that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were skeptical at first. But Daniel keeps dragging them along. First the bet with the vegetable meals, then this business with the dream about the statue . . . but they’re forced to admit it keeps working out. God must be on their side.
Esther just wants to fit in, but it’s hard when the king notices you and invites you to dinner. It’s even harder when Mordecai shows up to reveal a murder plot against the king’s life. She tries to do the right thing and just hopes no one will notice that she’s actually a Hebrew. But Mordecai keeps bringing up those old stories and keeps saying troublesome things like “maybe you were put here for such a time as this.”
By Friday, Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are really forced to choose. For the Babylonian captives, the choice is obvious. But for Esther, it turns out, the choice is much harder. She’s been trying to choose two different things all along, and this business with Haman has gotten too big to ignore. With the story of the fiery furnace ringing in her ears, she has to reveal her origin to Xerxes and hope he doesn’t get angry.
These plays flip back and forth between the stories of Esther and Daniel until Friday, when both stories play out on the stage at the same time, arriving at the choice to be different and stand with God simultaneously.
