In our study of Esther chapter two, we look at how God allows some things to happen but that does not mean that he approves of them. This chapter demonstrates God's permissive will in that he will allow us to do things and will use them for good even though he doesn't like the things.
** Note ** In this study, we will be using the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) translation which was translated directly from Hebrew into English. You can get your own hardback or paperback copy on Amazon where we will earn a small commission.
Now, if God speaks to you in this study, you can save your own personal notes on this page. Then, every time that you look at this study, your notes will automatically be added to the page. To add a note or to display your previous notes, click on the YOUR NOTES button.
For a deep dive discussion of this chapter, you can listen to The Olive Grove Podcast on Youtube.
A while later, when King Achashverosh's anger had subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done and what had been decreed against her.
The king had been so angry about Vashti's actions that he couldn't even think but now he has calmed down. He remembers that he has issued a law saying that Vashti must be replaced as queen.
The king's servants attending him said, "A search should be made for young, good-looking virgins.
Now, we see that the king's attendants propose what we would call a beauty pageant or contest. It is funny that what caused the problems with the former queen (Vashti) was the fact that the king wanted to put her on display. Now, the solution that is presented is to put a bunch of women on display but this isn't your ordinary beauty contest as we will see.
The king should appoint officials in all the provinces of the kingdom to gather all the young, good-looking virgins to the house for the harem, in Shushan the capital. They should be put under the care of Hegai the king's officer in charge of the women, and he should give them the cosmetics they require.
The attendants continue to explain the contest and we see that the girls were to be brought into the harem. A harem was a large group of women that were set aside to have sexual relations with the king. A eunuch (man that no longer had the ability to be with a woman) was put in charge so that there was no possibility of the girls being with another man.
Then, the girl who seems best to the king should become queen instead of Vashti."This proposal pleased the king, so he acted accordingly.
The winner of this "beauty contest" would be queen but what about the losers? They would be a permanent part of the king's harem and that is not what God has designed for women.
There was in Shushan the capital a man who was a Jew, whose name was Mordekhai the son of Ya'ir, the son of Shim'i, the son of Kish, a Binyamini. He had been exiled from Yerushalayim with the captives exiled with Y'khanyah king of Y'hudah, whom N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel had carried off.
Now, we are introduced to Mordecai whose great grandfather had been carried into exile to Babylon. Mordecai was still in Susa instead of going back to Jerusalem as instructed by God therefore he was being disobedient and was outside the will of God.
He had raised Hadassah, that is, Ester, his uncle's daughter; because she had neither father nor mother. The girl was shapely and good-looking; after her father's and mother's death, Mordekhai had adopted her as his own daughter. When the king's order and decree were proclaimed, and many girls assembled in Shushan the capital under the care of Hegai, Ester too was taken into the king's house and put under the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.
Now, we are introduced to an orphan girl who has been adopted by her cousin. Esther, whose name meant "star" was a lovely girl and Mordecai had raised her as his own. This all sounds well and good until we see that his disobedience leads to giving her over to what we would consider prostitution. Because Mordecai had not obeyed God and went back to Jerusalem, he was there and entered Esther into this "beauty contest". If she won, she would be queen but, if she lost, she would just be another woman that was kept for the physical pleasures of the king.
The girl pleased him and won his favor, so that he lost no time in giving her her cosmetics, her portions [of special food] and seven girls from the king's palace to attend her; he also promoted her and the girls attending her to the best place in the harem's quarters.
God takes care of his own even when they aren't seeing it. When Esther was taken to the man in charge of the beauty contestants, he showed her favor and moved her to the head of the line. She was immediately the favorite to win the contest.
Ester did not disclose her people or family ties, because Mordekhai had instructed her not to tell anyone. Every day Mordekhai would walk around in front of the courtyard of the harem's house in order to know how Ester was doing and what was happening to her.
Esther had not revealed her Jewish identity because Mordecai told her not to. Mordecai is not in the will of God and we can see it by his lack of peace. He spent every day pacing at the gate but, if it was of God, he would have peace. If we know that something is God's will for us, we can be confident and rest in the fact that he is in control.
Each girl had her turn to appear before King Achashverosh after she had undergone the full twelve-month preparation period prescribed for the women, consisting of a six-month treatment with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and other cosmetics for women.
We are reminded that the girls had a year to prepare for their chance with the king.
Then, when the girl went to see the king, whatever she wanted would be given to her as she went from the harem's house to the king's palace. She would go in the evening, and on the following day she would return to another part of the harem's house and be under the care of Sha'ashgaz the king's officer in charge of the concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he was especially pleased with her and had her summoned by name.
Now, my friends, that brings into focus the fact that this is not God's will. We know, from Genesis 2:24, that God created a man and a woman to be one (not a bunch of women to be one with a man). The losers from the encounter with the king became concubines (women that were just used for the pleasure of the king).
When the turn came for Ester the daughter of Avichayil, whom Mordekhai had adopted as his own daughter, to appear before the king, she didn't ask for anything other than what Hegai the king's officer in charge of the harem advised. Yet Ester was admired by all who saw her.
God can and will show favor to his people in various ways. Even though God was probably not happy with this whole contest, He blessed Esther by causing the people around her to like her. The same can be true for us today in that, when we are walking with Jesus, people will see a difference and want to be a part of him.
She was brought to King Achashverosh in his royal palace in the tenth month, Tevet, during the seventh year of his reign.
Esther's turn came and if we look behind the scenes we can see that God was still in control. It was the tenth month and the number ten throughout the Bible tells of earthly completion. It was the seventh year and seven is the number of spiritual completion. God's divine will is going to meet with earthly circumstances at this time.
The king liked Ester more than any of his wives; none of the other virgins obtained such favor and approval from him. So he put the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
God continued to work and Esther was favored by the king. You can almost feel that God has a reason for this although we don't see it yet. That is true in our daily lives as God is constantly in control and working but we don't always see His purpose. As his children we can be confident that he is looking out for our best interests.
The king then gave a great banquet in Ester's honor for all his officers and servants, decreed a holiday for the provinces and distributed gifts worthy of royal bounty.
After Esther was chosen, the king threw a big banquet to show her off. He celebrated by declaring a holiday.
When the girls would gather on other occasions, Mordekhai would sit at the King's Gate. Ester had not yet revealed her family ties or her people, as Mordekhai had ordered her; for Ester continued obeying what Mordekhai told her to do, as she had when he was raising her.
Even after she became queen, Esther humbled herself and continued to listen to Mordecai. She still kept the fact that she was a Jew hidden from the king. Meanwhile, Mordecai was promoted from a servant of the king to a judge (Esther probably put in a good word for him with the king). We can tell that by the fact that we are told that he was sitting at the king's gate (that was where the judges held court).
On one of those occasions, when Mordekhai was sitting at the King's Gate, two of the king's officers, Bigtan and Teresh, from the group in charge of the private entryways, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Achashverosh. But Mordekhai learned about it and told Ester the queen. Ester reported it to the king, crediting Mordekhai.
Mordecai was in the right place at the right time to learn of a plot to kill the king. Esther continued to demonstrate her humbleness by giving credit to Mordecai and Mordecai is in position to be favored by God.
The matter was investigated, found to be true, and both were hanged on a stake. All this was recorded in the daily journal that was kept with the king.
The plot was investigated and the men were executed. The king was made aware of all of this and you can imagine how thankful he was for Mordecai. Behind the scenes, the hand of God is at work to protect his people. The same is true for us today as He looks after His children even when we don't see what he is doing sometimes.
Read about what we do with the data we gather and the rules you agree to by using this website in our privacy policy.