Esther 2:1-4
Seems that King Xerxes may have been sorry for what he ordered to have done to Queen Vashti at the advice of his counsel. Now he is about to take their advice again. In times that cause us to feel angry, we would do ourselves justice to wait until the anger subsides. We will often discover other emotions beneath the anger. How often do we say things we are later sorry for or how do you think we look as we act out on our anger instead of maintaining control?
None of us will attain perfection this side of eternity. Even our Bible heroes are not perfect. Beth says, “God is busy conforming us into the likeness of Christ” god gives us biblical figures to teach but He is the only constant. “All scripture is God-breathed but different parts have different primary purposes. Only together are they complete.
Esther 2:5-9
When God is involved, things don’t always unfold as you would expect. Esther would have never been chosen to be a candidate for queen because of her being of the a Jew. We see with Esther gaining favor with Hegai, that beauty is more than skin deep. There was something about Esther that caught the attention of Hegai that did not compare to the other girls. We would save ourselves a lot of grief by abiding by Proverbs 16:21,23 and Proverbs 29:11. Jesus Christ is our ultimate example of having people skills as Luke 2:52 describes. It is about having godly wisdom and having a relationship with people. We will always have room to grow in this area. Manners have been lost in a culture that is becoming more and more focused on “me”.
Esther 2:10-14
The Jews had begun to blend in with the Persians because many had forgotten God in their daily disciplines. Are we blending in with our culture by being too passive. We are to be a peculiar people so that we can make a difference. God had not forgotten them and he has not forgotten us. As we look back at different times of our lives that we seemed to have lost our way or put God lower than our main priority, we can see how He never forgot us. His hand was still on us and still is no matter where we are in our relationship with Him.
In Esther 2:11 we see that Mordecai was protective of Esther. She was out of sight but never out of mind. He had times of hope where he thought she would be chosen and promoted to a position of influence and he also had times that were less hopeful and just wanted her to survive in one piece. Does this happen with us as parents when we watch our kids go through life. We can rest in the fact that God is protective of us and our children and we are never out of His sight or mind.
These girls would go to the king one night at a time and then be sent to another part of the harem, possibly to never be called on again. How would they have felt? Giving ourselves to someone in unhealthy and ungodly conditions brings feelings of rejection and causes us to feel misused more than ever. Our God desires to clothes us in beauty and righteousness(Isaiah 61:10) without blemish holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Esther 2:15-18
Esther’s turn had come. She proceeds by accepting wise counsel and takes only what Hegai suggested. She was not hasty. She put thought behind her actions. She wins favor not by threatening the leadership but by compliance, seems to be her way, pleasing those who are caring for her, her foster father, her Persian caretaker and now the king. How often do we try to buck the system to get our way when we would be further ahead to comply to the leadership and positions of authority in our work place, school, society, etc.
Esther won favor with king Xerxes. Could Proverbs 21:1 be why Esther was favored? Beth says of king Xerxes, “He could have had a night, but he chose a wife.” He was not just looking for any woman. How many women and girls today are giving themselves away to men that just want a night thinking they will win them over only to be hurt and rejected when another women becomes willing? Why is it so hard to find your beauty in the God that created you and save yourself for a man that wants a wife?
Esther 2:19-23
Mordecai shows where is loyalty is and Esther continues to be obedient and loyal. Favor can be shown to us through “our simple willingness to follow instructions.” “Only a person strong in character and steadfast in spirit can follow someone else’s instruction for long.” If long-term persistence to being obedient and loyal can win favor of an earthly supervisor, how much more is our all seeing, unlimited God able to show us favor. If we can’t bring ourselves to follow earthly rules, how obedient can we be to God’s rules. Makes me think if we can be faithful in small things, then we can be trusted with much. Our choosing “the excellence of Christ over the minimalism of man will distinguish us from countless peers.”