Summoned: Answering a Call to the ImpossiblePrøve

### Summoned to Study One of my favorite childhood movies was The Wizard of Oz. I was around eight or nine years old when I first saw the film. I watched the black and white scenes unfold before my eyes as Dorothy’s house plopped down on top of the wicked witch. As the story goes on, Dorothy ventures out of her house and finds herself in a world of technicolor. An ethereal voice is singing while birds tweet in the background. The Munchkins begin to quietly move from their hiding places when it is announced that “the wicked witch is dead!” The whole crowd breaks out into song and a celebration ensues. “Ding Dong,” Haman is “not only merely dead, [he’s] really most sincerely dead.” The problem is that his edict is not. The decree proclaiming death and destruction for the Jews in Persia is still very much alive. After Haman’s death, the crown now owns all his possessions. In an attempt to make restitution toward Esther, the king gives her Haman’s earthly wares. She now has control and possession of Haman’s entire household—his home, his money, and so on. The king gave Esther riches, specifically Haman’s riches. Esther also shared with the king that Mordecai was in fact her cousin, which would make Mordecai and the king related by marriage. Then the king gave Mordecai Haman’s position as the number two guy in Persia, literally handing him the royal signet ring. Now Esther has great wealth and Mordecai has great power. But is that what they wanted? No. These gifts, while I am sure they appreciated them, did not make up for the fact that their people were still in grave danger. Read on to see what happens next.