A BIBLICAL
REFLECTION ON ESTHER 2.
By Ezekiel
Kimosop
Esther 1 captures
the events leading to the dethronement of Queen Vashti following her defiance
against the king’s command that she appears before his royal guests. The
circumstances leading to the removal of Vashti appear to have been largely
informed by the king’s drunken stupor during the royal banquet hosted in
celebration of his vast royal achievements.
In Esther 2, the reader of Scripture is introduced to a new scene. A long period of time appears to have elapsed since the occurrence of the incidents described in Esther 1. There is evidence from Esther 2:16 that a four-year span separates the events describe in Esther 1 and Esther 2. This is a pretty long period for a heathen royal to live without a royal consort. Bible scholars say that king Ahasuerus had by this time made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Greece and had returned to Persia humiliated and perhaps sought to cheer his heart through sensual diversions.[1] The king had perhaps realized that he had been carried away by the haste of irrational judgment during is banishment of Vashti.
Vashti was gone
and with her departure came a dark void in the king’s life. The king began to
remember Vashti not in the context of the royal vacuum that she left but
perhaps for the companionship that he now missed. The king’s attendants noticed his
predisposition and quickly crafted a solution. They proposed to the king that a
replacement for Vashti should be sought among beautiful virgins. The proposal received the king’s nod (vv.
2-4). Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian supposes that about 400 women were
chosen in the pageant and kept in the king’s harem.
The writer of
Scripture pens a brief description of Esther and her
heritage in vv. 5-8. It is instructive that Mordecai is first
introduced because his pivotal role will stand out through the succeeding
events. He was a Benjamite from the family of Kish, a clan that is reputed for
raising Saul, the first king of Israel. Mordecai’s father carried the clan’s
name. The fact that his father, Kish was carried away from Judah by
Nebuchadnezzar, along with King Jeconiah suggests that he was possibly part of
the senior royal officials that served in the royal courts of Judah before the
fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. It was common for Middle Eastern societies to use
members of the Jewish royal captives in the administration of their royal
courts. Daniel and his three friends were recruited into the imperial courts of Babylon on the same score (Daniel
1:3-7).
Esther is
described as an orphan, the daughter of Mordecai’s uncle. Mordecai adopted her
following her father’s death. She had also lost the mother. The circumstances of
their demise are not disclosed. Scholars say that Esther and Mordecai were part
of the remnant Jewish community who chose to stay on after the Ezra group
returned to Judah (Ezra 1). Mordecai was perhaps a senior court official in
Persia and his strategic position may have been instrumental and timely. He was able to introduce Esther
into the beauty pageant and linked her to senior court officials in charge of
the king’s harem. Esther’s Jewish name is revealed as Hadassah which means
“myrtle”, a tree that would replace the briars and thorns of the desert. Some consider
this name to bear some prophetic significance given Esther’s subsequent influence
in the royal courts of Persia.
Esther gains the favour of Hegai, the custodian of the women (vv. 8-9). It is tempting for the reader to be carried away by the mere beauty of this Jewish lady. Her success was however informed more by God’s divine favour than her physical complexion. God opened the corridors of power for Esther to ascend to the second highest office in Persia.
Notice that Hegai is earlier described as a eunuch (v.2). He was perhaps a close acquaintance of Mordecai within the royal courts. Joyce Balwin observes that Hegai is mentioned by Greek historian Herodotus as being an officer of king Ahasuerus.[2] This perhaps lends credence to the view that Hegai held a highly influential position and the historical validity of the royal events described in the Book of Esther.
The fact that
Esther was instructed by Mordecai not to reveal her Jewish identity is perhaps
instructive of the racial tensions in the Persian society. The Jews may have been victims of state sponsored racial discrimination in the Persian empire.
The reader will come to discover in Esther 3 that there were powerful people in
the Persian imperial corridors who were sworn enemies of the Jewish people who
sought their decimation.
The lengthy
preparations for the beauty contest are consistent with the culture of the
Persians, given the climatic conditions of the region (vv.12-13). Matthew Poole
notes that the oils and perfumes were necessary because “the bodies of men and
women in those hot countries did of themselves yield very ill scents, if not
corrected and qualified by art.”[3]
Esther
demonstrates modesty and simplicity in her dealings with the eunuchs. The
choice of Esther as queen was finally settled and the king sets the crown on
her head and made her queen in the place of Vashti who had been deposed (vv.15-18).
This is the divine moment for Esther and the Jewish people in Persian captivity.
The incident recorded in vv.19-23 is perhaps both an anticlimax and a divine opportunity rolled together. While it appears to soil the captivating narrative touching on Esther’s ascension to the coveted position of queen of Persia, it offered her cousin, Mordecai, an opportunity to have his name recorded in the royal archives. Mordecai foiled the assassination plot targeting the king and reported it to Esther who then informed the king with a credit to Mordecai. This royal record will be instrumental in Mordecai’s elevation to one of the highest offices in Persia in Esther 6-7.
The threat of
assassination was real. Historians say that Ahasuerus was later assassinated by
one of his senior officials who facilitated the ascension of Artaxerxes 1 to
the throne. The two doorkeepers, Bigthan
and Beresh are found guilty and executed on the gallows (vv. 23). Historians
say that this method of execution was extremely cruel and was intended to
result in a slow and painful death. It was reserved for the king’s enemies. The
execution of the two doorkeepers closes the writer’s account of Esther 2. It heralds
the beginning of a major conspiracy that will be encountered in Esther 3.
MORAL LESSONS FROM
ESTHER 2
1. God
works in mysterious ways to fulfil His purposes for His covenant people no
matter where they are found in life. He uses ordinary people and divine agents
in the corridors of power to achieve His purposes. We should never shy away
from opportunities when they come. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20)
2.
God
is not a respecter of persons. He can lift the most disadvantaged or lowly
people in society for His glory. He picked out Esther, an orphan and a member
of a minority people in captivity for elevation to the highest position in Persia.
He can reach out to anyone irrespective of their position or social class in
society. He answered the prayer of Jabez, an insignificant person whose story
is captured in only two verses (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).
3.
Racial
and ethnic tags may matter to men but they are irrelevant in
the eyes of God. He breaks such barriers in raising people for His divine
purposes.
4.
Young
people should seek and heed the counsel of their parents, guardians and godly
elders, as appropriate, in order to succeed in life. Proverbs 6:20 says “My
son, keep your father’s command, and do not forsake the law of your mother.
Bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck” (Proverbs
6:20-21).
5.
God
honors those who lift others in life. Mordecai was instrumental in not only adopting
Esther but in seeking opportunities for elevating her in society. God later
elevated Mordecai in the royal corridors of Persia (Esther 6-7).
6.
The
quality of advisors in the corridors of power is significant for the stability
of the nation or organization. A kingdom is established under wise counsel and
destroyed by foolish advisors. Scripture proclaims that wisdom strengthens the
wise more than ten rulers of a city (Eccl. 7:19; cf. 12:12, Prov. 1:7, 2:7).
7.
Never
despise people based on their present circumstances of life. You never know
where you will meet them in future. Remember that Joseph was lifted from an Egyptian dungeon to the second highest office in the land (Genesis 41).
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023
[1] David Guzik, “Study Guide for
Ether 2” in Blue Letter Bible Ministry, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/esther/esther-2.cfm
accessed on 31 October 2023 at 0800 GMT.
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