March 12, 2010 (Esther 1-10)

I can't read the book of Esther without thinking of the "Veggie Tales" depiction of this story. I love that one!

In the beginning of the story, the king gave a BIG party....it went on for six months. And after that party, he gave a party for all his servants, I guess as a "thank you" for supporting the 'party to the masses', that lasted for seven days. The only rule at this second party was that you couldn't be forced to drink wine, but of your own free will you could drink as much as you wanted. So on the seventh day, when he was half drunk, King Xerxes called for his wife to be paraded in front of all the people. It says "He wanted all the men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman."

Bottom line, the queen refused. (In Veggie tales, I think she refused to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, if I remember right...). The king banished her, because he couldn't have all the women follow her example of disobeying their husbands. So now the king needs another wife. They looked all over the kingdom for beautiful virgins and had them 'groomed' for a year, and then 'audition' for the king. Esther, a Jewish girl, who had never revealed her identity because of the advice of her uncle, Mordecai, was one of them.

^{Esther 2:10} Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so.

Read this following verse:

^{Esther 2:15}When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her.

When I read this, I thought of her attitude of submission. She listened to her uncle and did what he said. She accepted the advice of the one in charge of the harem and did exactly what he told her. I also thought of this passage in I Peter 3:

³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ⁵ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

I think the beauty of her "gentle and quiet spirit" also made her admired.

So, Esther was the one the king chose. Her uncle was elevated to the position of palace official. Did her 'fame' go to her head?

¹⁹ Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official,²⁰ Esther continued to keep her family background and nationality a secret. She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home.

The story of Esther is a great story. If you don't know it, go read these 10 chapters or watch the Veggie Tales episode! I'll only bring attention to one more point.

A decree was made for all the Jews to be killed. Mordecai wanted Esther to use her position of influence with the king to change things. Here is what transpired:

¹³ Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Don’t think for a moment that because you’re in the palace you will escape when all other Jews are killed. ¹⁴ If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”

Esther knew that if she approached the king without him calling for her, she could be killed. But she was willing to do so, and sacrifice her life if need be, but only after one thing. And that was after fasting and praying for a miracle, and really placing her life in the hands of God instead of the hands of the king.

I lied...one more point. I won't go into the background because it would make it too long, but the night before she was to have dinner with the king, the king couldn't sleep. So what would make him sleepy? Having all the minutes of "the historical records" read to him, of course! What are the chances of that? And what are the chances of being read of a time when Mordecai saved his life, and yet was never rewarded? Coincidence? I think not. God is in control of every circumstance of our lives.