God is so powerful! He rules over all rulers and nations. Out of all the nations, God chose Israel to be his special people. He gave them his promises and laws. He raised up good leaders like Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, and Nehemiah to guide, teach, and discipline his people. When God’s people listened to God’s good leaders, blessings followed. When they didn’t, curses came. Do you remember how one consequence was the kingdom being divided? The northern kingdom (Israel) was taken into exile by the Assyrian Empire, and the southern kingdom (Judah) was taken into exile by the Babylonian Empire. Then God raised up the Persian Empire to conquer Babylon. Under King Cyrus of Persia, some of Judah’s exiles were permitted to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city’s walls and God’s temple. The story of Esther also took place when the Persian Empire was in power and some of God’s people (like Esther) were still living far from home. But God had a reason that some of his people (like Esther) were still living far from home. Any guesses? In today’s story, we’ll learn why God kept Esther in Persia. Let’s listen and find out.