After Esther rose to the position of queen, a hateful man close to the king convinced the king to issue a decree that would cause all the Jews to be put to death. Esther's people were in danger, and she was the only one with access to the king; they needed her to convince the king to overturn the decree. However, in Persia, no one was allowed to approach the king without permission, not even the queen. If a person approached the king and he did not hold out his staff to acknowledge or accept the person, they could be killed![1]

Most people are familiar with the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue.[2] Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree that everyone was to bow when the music played or else they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. These 3 young men stayed true to God's word despite the threat of death.

Approach to request salvation.

In both of these situation, the person (or people) had to risk their lives, just under different circumstances. When I first thought of this question, I leaned toward refusing to bow to the idol, mainly because these three gentlemen had each other for support. Having close friends standing beside you as you make difficult life decisions definitely takes the pressure off. Ultimately, however, I decided that I would rather take on Esther's situation.

The reason I settled on Esther's situation is because I feel like it would have been an easier decision to make. Although Esther didn't have two friends at her side ready to die with her, she didn't have much of an option. Had Esther chosen not to approach the king, the decree to kill the Jews would have caught up to her eventually, and she still would have died. Knowing this, I think, would make it easier to make the decision. Also, because Esther wasn't quite put on the spot, she was able to fast and pray going in to the action, whereas Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego didn't have time to think about it.