With the deposed of the Queen (Vashti) in chapter 1, which happened in the 3rd year of King Xerxes’ reign (1:3), the stage is set for the rise of Esther.
• The Jewish girl Esther was made Queen in chapter 2, in the 7th year of the King’s reign (2:16), so some 4 years have passed between chapter 1 and 2.
• History tells us during this time the King fought against the Greeks in the Battle of Salamis and suffered a great defeat.
He came back discouraged and thought of the deposed queen. A suggestion was made by his attendants to hold a beauty pageant to pick a new queen.
• So the King appointed officers in every province of his Kingdom to bring in all the beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa.
• The ancient Jewish historian Josephus says they had a total of 400 women selected.
It wasn’t going to be a competition among the contestants, with a panel of judges.
• The King alone will decide. It’s a beauty pageant with only one judge. And that meeting will only take place once.
• 2:14 says after that one meet, the girl “would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name”.
• No one, not even the Queen, can approach the king without being summoned, Esther mentioned that to Mordecai later in 4:11.
Chances are slim but God will put His ‘servants’ in the Persian court, in view of the upcoming threat to His people.
• I call them ‘servants’ because they serve God’s purposes, whether they know it or not at the beginning.
• God makes a way. We are introduced to the casts in God’s play (plan) – Mordecai and Esther.
• Both of them played very important roles. We cannot have one without the other.
MORDECAI (2:5-6) a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, his forefather who was deported by King Nebuchadnezzar when the Babylonians invaded Judah.
• The Jewish remnant did not lose their identity, even though they were exiled and living in foreign lands.
• Mordecai is likely an official of the Persian court given his connections to the King’s gate.
• 2:21 he was “sitting at the king’s gate” and 3:2-3 the royal officials at the king’s gate (that is, his colleagues) accused him of not paying homage to Haman (hey men).
Mordecai is not a supporting actor in this story, although many sees Esther as the ‘star’ of this book.
• He plays a very critical role in the unfolding of the events coming up – how he uncovered an assassination plot (2:22, recorded in the chronicles which the King read 6:1); and how he related the news of the threat against the Jewish race.
• Mordecai’s name appears more often than all the other names in this book.
The fact that he raised Esther is itself noteworthy.
• The faith, the courage, and the conduct of Esther that we are going to appreciate, is a reflection of his upbringing. We are told that she follows Mordecai’s instructions.
• Mordecai did a good job raising Esther, considering that she wasn’t even his own daughter.
We see how he continues to watch over her when she was taken into the harem.
• 2:11 “Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.”
• And he instructed Esther not to reveal her nationality and family background, mentioned to us twice, in 2:10 and 2:20.
• Apparently it was not favourable for her to do so, under current circumstances and times. Later on he challenged her to tell the King and that would reveal her race.
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And then we have the second great player in God’s scheme of things – ESTHER, “the star” in Persian.
• 2:7 - she is Mordecai’s cousin. She lost her parents but got a “father” in Mordecai.
• An ordinary Jewish girl, orphaned from young, has no status, power or influence. Yet God is going to use her.
• With the position of the queen vacated and now the search for a new queen, God positions Esther for the important task of saving His people.
She is the most unlikely candidate but it doesn’t matter. She is at the right place and time for God to do His work.
• Paul puts it well: 1 Cor 1:26-29 “26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him.”
Chances are slim for an unknown, orphaned Jewish girl to beat 400 other girls for the position of Queen of Persia, but we see God’s favour right from the start.
• Esther cleared her first challenge when she meets Hegai, the King’s eunuch in charge of the women, the immediate filter for all the candidates.
• You don’t need to go on if you cannot pass the first round of screening.
2:9 “The girl pleased him and won his favour. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.”
• All these are favours granted to her by Hegai, no doubt, but by the providence of God. She could not ask for them. They were given to her. She got the best preparations.
2:15 “When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested…”
• 2:13 says they are allowed to bring anything they liked with them into the palace, probably referring to the showy dress, jewellery, ornaments, or any adornment that can make them looks beautiful and impress the King.
• But Esther chose to listen to Hegai’s advice. Being closest to the King, she trust him to know what the King likes best. It’s not about what she likes, but what the King prefers.
We see Esther’s humility and wisdom. 2:15b “And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her.”
• The way she holds herself and conducts herself pleases people. She is not just beautiful in looks, she is beautiful in character.
• Up to this point, notice that everything was done to her. Esther did nothing on her own to impress or try to gain mileage. They were favours!
• 2:17 “Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
We see these favours of God, not just for Esther but for Israel.
• Esther was being elevated to be Queen for the sake of Israel. She was elevated even BEFORE Israel understand her need, before she faces a real threat.
• Mordecai was perceptive. He said correctly, to Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (4:14)
This is the grace and providence of God. We can trust Him. God knows what we need before we know it. He prepares us for it.
• We can trust Him, not just for today’s needs, but also for tomorrow’s necessities.
• God knows and He cares. The Jewish remnant is reminded of this at every Festival of Purim, when this story is being recounted.
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There are many unknowns or unanswered questions in this history.
• Why didn’t this group of Jewish remnant in Susa return to Jerusalem with the first group under Zerubbabel? Why did they choose to remain in a foreign land?
• Did they assimilate the Persian way of life to the point of compromising their faith?
• Did they live out their Jewish faith faithfully in this unbelieving and pagan culture?
• Why did Esther even consider being Queen of a pagan King? Could she have opted out?
The author did not attempt to address any other issues except to tell is this point:
• God did not forsake us; He saved us. God kept His covenant with Israel.
• Exiled in foreign lands because of their sin and now being disciplined, God did not give up on them. They are His chosen people and He will save them.
God works to fulfil His will, despite man’s sin and failures.
• He works through man’s imperfections to fulfil His perfect purposes.
• Only God knows the end of our story from the beginning, and we trust Him.
• We seek Him and do His will, and obey Him in every situation as we know best.
Picture this in your mind. Human history is like this PLAY with God as the director and screenwriter behind every scene.
• The world is His STAGE and He shapes the affairs of humanity and the direction of history.
• He schedules us to come in, at certain places and different times, to play our roles and do His script.
• In a sense, we are all casts in this big human drama. We have our bit-parts to play and sound bites to say.
• We play our roles and make our appearances, but we are not the director or producer behind this great life story. We do our routine, read our lines and exit the stage.
• I came on stage in 1965 and will go out – if my span of life is 80 – then 2045.
Our responsibility, when on-stage, is to play our roles well, do the will of God and fulfil His purposes for us, just like Mordecai and Esther.
• That’s what makes life so fulfilling and purposeful.
Today if we find ourselves facing times of trouble and life is rather messy, be assured of this – God rules and He is sovereign over all.
• God is at work in our lives and in our situations. He is watching OVER us and working WITH us. We commit our situations to God because He is in control.
• He knows everything we are facing, not just for today, but the days to come.
We need Him. We put our trust in Jesus Christ, our only Saviour and the only way for us to know God and return to Him.
As we take the Holy Communion today, let me share with you this passage - Eph 1:3-8. God's plan and purpose for us.
