The Jewish holiday of Purim, commemorating the events recorded in the Book of Esther, is celebrated to this day. Presents are given. Food and donations for the poor are collected. Plays are performed. Children are given rattles so that when the story is read aloud, the name of evil Haman (v. 7) can be drowned out with noise.

In today’s reading, Esther wondered whether going to the king was a risk that would get her killed for nothing (v. 11). The temptation was to do nothing, keep her head down, deny her identity, and stay safe. Mordecai, however, helped her realize that this wrong choice would be the most dangerous of all. God would rescue His people in any case, but her silence would bring His judgment on her and her family (vv. 12–14). She had been placed where she was by God “for such a time as this.”

While she may have been tempted to keep quiet, Esther chose faith over fear. Courageously, she risked death to approach the king on behalf of her people. Prayer and fasting (see Matt. 6:16–18) were an important part of her spiritual preparation to do so, in which she and her attendants were joined by Mordecai and all the Jews in Susa (vv. 15–16). “If I perish, I perish” did not signify stoicism or resignation, but calm trust in God’s love and sovereignty. She knew that she and her people were safe in His hands. This didn’t guarantee a particular outcome. Like Daniel’s friends, she made the righteous choice no matter the result (see Dan. 3:17–18).

Notice in Esther’s story how resisting temptation called for a nexus of spiritual virtues, including faith, courage, and prayer. Giving in, by contrast, would have empowered vices such as fear and self-centeredness. Winning against temptation is never about just one thing.

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Doctor Faustus, in Christopher Marlowe’s Renaissance drama, wanted power at any cost. After considering his options, he decided that magic could make him a “mighty god.” To make sure his magic would be the strongest, he made a deal with the devil—his soul in exchange for the power he craved. As one might expect, that bargain was a bad one with hellish consequences.

God had put Daniel in a position of power near the top of the Babylonian Empire. That fact, plus his identity as a Jewish exile, plus his incorruptible integrity (v. 4), made him some enemies—122 jealous imperial officials, to be exact. Looking to take him down, they found his only “weakness” to be his faith in his God (v. 5). So they plotted to pass a temporary law against praying to any god other than King Darius (v. 6).

The temptation for Daniel was to compromise. He was in the habit of praying three times daily at open windows facing Jerusalem (v. 10). There was no biblical command to do so. Why not suspend the practice temporarily? Or pray in a more secret place? Why hand evil a victory? But Daniel chose to act on faith, not fear. Godly wisdom makes choices that the world doesn’t always understand.

The results: God protected Daniel from the lions (vv. 21–23). The conspirators paid with their lives (v. 24). God’s name—to which Daniel had already been bearing clear witness (vv. 11, 16)—was glorified even more than it had been before (vv. 26–27).

What was Daniel’s strategy against temptation? He unreservedly “trusted in his God” (v. 23). Drawing near to the Lord is a sure defense against temptations to wrongdoing. The apparent appeal of sin vanishes, its lies are unmasked, and the power of God strengthens us to choose rightly.

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Pastor and author John Piper called Ruth “God’s ideal woman” in A Sweet and Bitter Providence. Why? “Faith in God that sees beyond present bitter setbacks. Freedom from the securities and comforts of the world. Courage to venture into the unknown and the strange. Radical commitment in the relationships appointed by God. This is the woman of Proverbs 31:25 who looks into the future with confidence in God and laughs at the coming troubles... It is a beautiful thing to watch a woman like this serve Christ with courage.”

Following Ruth’s example is another way to fight and win against temptation. She could have stayed in her comfort zone and done the culturally expected thing, as Naomi advised her to do (vv. 8–9). But she must have seen something of the one true God in the lives of her in-laws. She’d become His follower. There was no going back (see also Luke 9:62). So she chose the more difficult but more faith-filled option: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (v. 16).

Naomi’s offer to release her two Moabite daughters-in-law from their family obligations to her as a widow was logical and generous in one sense, but also bitter and self-pitying. “The LORD ’s hand has turned against me!” she lamented (v. 13). Even when she arrived back home, she complained, “The Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty” (vv. 20–21).

God, though, had remembered Naomi by providing Ruth to come with her, just as He would later remember Ruth’s need for a husband and provide Boaz. Ruth’s character quickly earned a positive reputation in Bethlehem, and she became an ancestor of the Messiah (Matt. 1:5).

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