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Have We Been Chosen For A Specific Purpose?
Contributed by Chris Swanson on Nov 27, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: You may never know when you will be picked, or chosen, to do or be in a position of prominence. The outcome of that said choosing will depend upon the state of your heart.
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In this chapter, the king chooses a new queen.
In Chapter 1, King Ahasuerus, had a party to show off his queen, Vashti. She refused so the king banished her and stripped her royalty. After banishing Vashti, the king sent officers out to gather fair young women of all the lands to choose a new queen.
In Chapter 2, verses one - four:
Persian rulers gathered immense measures of gems, goods, wealth, and numerous young ladies. These women were taken from their homes and made to live in a structure close to the palace, called a haram. Their sole intention was to serve the ruler and to anticipate a call to enter his bed chamber. They rarely visited the king, so their lives were confined.
If dismissed, Esther would be one of the numerous young ladies that the ruler had seen once and neglected. However, Esther's presence and excellence satisfied the king sufficiently enough that he delegated her queen instead of Vashti. The queen stood firm on a more compelling foothold than a courtesan (concubine), and she was given more opportunity and authority than the others in the haram. However, even as the queen, Esther did not have many privileges, particularly since she had been decided to supplant a lady who had become excessively overbearing (Esther 1:1-3, 1:9)
In verses five - seven:
Mordecai was a Jew that worked in the palace of Shushan. The Israelites had been exiled from Jerusalem 100 years earlier, and as such, their numbers had grown. They were given freedom in the Medio-Persian empire, so they could own businesses and hold government positions. Mordecai had raised Esther, his uncle’s daughter, so in a sense he was a stepfather. (Daniel 2:19, 6:3)
The Bible says that Mordecai was conveyed someplace far off, banished in shame when Jerusalem was annihilated. On the off chance that this alluded to Mordecai himself, he would have been north of 100 years of age at the hour of this story. This contention can be settled by determining if the word “who”, alluding to Mordecai, can likewise mean “whose family.” Almost certainly, Mordecai's folks, grandparents, or even his great-grandparents were conveyed into imprisonment rather than Mordecai himself (2 Kings 24:14-15; 2 Chronicles 36:17-20; Daniel 1:6-7).
In verses eight - eleven:
Esther had been chosen to be placed in the king’s harem for purification & beautification; to be trained on how to be a queen. Mordecai had instructed her to keep quiet about her heritage during her training. There are times when it is better to keep silent and let God work through our lives to work His will. For Esther, this was the case (Jonah 1:8).
In verses twelve - seventeen:
The women were given whatever they wanted to wear before the king. Esther followed Hegai’s guidance and chose nothing extra. We cannot see the end of the road, but God does. When we let God drive, he will not hit the potholes in the road of life like we do.
With essentially no freedoms and little admittance to the king, it was better for Esther not to uncover her heritage. While strength in expressing our way of life as God's children is our obligation, now and again a decent methodology is to stay silent until we have won the option to be heard. This is particularly obvious while managing those in power over us. In any case, we can constantly allow them to see the distinction that God makes in our lives.
God put Esther on the throne even before the Jews confronted the chance of complete annihilation (Esther 3:5), with the goal that when inconvenience came, an individual would currently be in a situation to help. No human exertion could impede God's arrangement to send the Messiah to earth as a Jew. Assuming we are moving to a totally new job, a new position within our current employment, or a new area and cannot see the purpose that God has for us in our circumstance, we should comprehend that God is in charge. He might be setting us in a position with the goal that we can help when the need emerges (Zechariah 6:10-11).
In verses eighteen - twenty-three:
Mordecai learned of a threat against the king from two men, as Mordechai was in a position at the king’s gate. Mordecai told Esther, who in turn told the king. After the investigation was made, the two men were hanged. Good employees must not conceal any bad situations they know of against their employers.
Although Mordecai was not rewarded at the time, the deed was recorded. This typifies servants of Christ. Although recompense may not be shown at the time, an account of our actions, work of faith and love is recorded. We must remember that reward may not come now, but it will be remembered in the hereafter (Ezra 6:11; Revelations 20:12).