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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
I have an important question for us to begin today: ‘When you and I are doing the best we can to ‘walk with Jesus’… faithful to the truths of God’s Word; prayerfully and worshipfully facing life’s challenges; …do we expect God will in return protect us, provide for our needs, and bless us with a wonderful life?’
Let’s rejoin the remarkable story of Esther in the Bible to see how God was answering that question with a Jewish man named Mordecai and his young cousin Esther, whom he had adopted and raised as his own child, since she was orphaned by the death of her parents. (Esther 2:5-7)
You recall yesterday we saw King Xerxes, the emperor over the vast 127 province Persian empire. He had issued an edict for an empire-wide search to be made for the most beautiful young virgins. Once found, they were to be brought to Susa and placed in the royal harem under the direction of Hegai and his staff. I wonder how Mordecai and his adopted, young, virgin, daughter, beautiful Hadassah heard this news, and what they did about it?
‘Hadassah’ was her Jewish name and in Hebrew tradition that name celebrates her purity, humility and desire to be a God-honoring and blameless young woman. ‘Esther’ was the name by which she was known in Susa (Esther 2:7) and it is a variation of a Hebrew word meaning ‘hidden’. A young, orphan, Jewish girl, adopted and raised by her uncle Mordecai, in the most significant city in the world at that time, but carefully living a pure but very private, humble, even ‘hidden’ life.
We do not know the size of the Jewish community in Susa in 483bc, but we can presume it was large, most of them descendants of captives taken from Israel as it had been conquered by Assyria or Babylon over the past centuries.
As the king’s edict went out across the kingdom, we can presume hundreds, maybe thousands of girls were selected and brought to Susa, to the harem dormitories to be evaluated by Hegai and his staff. (Esther 2:8) Hegai’s job was to have available to the king some of the most beautiful young women in the entire Persian kingdom. At any time, day or night, if the King desired companionship he could send word and one or more of these young women would be brought to him exclusively for his pleasure. At the conclusion of their time together, be that an hour, a day, a week, a month, King Xerxes would send her back to the Harem.
This was the custom of royalty for many centuries in this part of our world. Lest we throw stones of shame at King Xerxes, do you remember even Jewish King Solomon had three hundred (300) such women, ‘concubines’ in his royal harem in Jerusalem! (1 Kings 11:3) You may recall these, plus his 700 wives, and Solomon’s irresponsibility with the women; as well as his refusal to lead them morally or spiritually, led to his demise and God’s judgment upon Solomon! (1 Kings 11:1-9)
We do not have the details of exactly how Esther was selected and brought into the harem in Susa, but the record tells us there was evidently no significant background check, no lengthy application and therefore Esther was able to keep her Jewish heritage a secret as she entered the Persian harem. (Esther 2:10)
The record tells us: “Esther was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. She pleased Hegai and won his favor. Immediately Hegai provided Esther with beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven (7) female attendants selected from the king’s palace and Hegai moved Esther and her attendants into the best place in the harem.” (Esther 2:8,9)
I wonder what your emotional reaction is to that description of what happened to Esther. What do you feel for her? Fear, anxiety, joy, privilege? And if you are a parent or grandparent, what do you feel for Mordecai?
I presume it was Esther’s gentle spirit, her humility, her kindness which attracted Hegai’s attention and won his favor. Hegai made some major decisions to treat Esther in a very special way: special food, seven attendants, beauty treatments and even the best suite in the harem! What do you see God doing here my friends?
The record is careful to tell us both Mordecai and Hadassah were careful to keep her Jewish identity a secret: “Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. Every day Mordecai walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.” (Esther 2:11) Mordecai was obviously concerned for Esther’s safety and well-being. He evidently had some connections so he could ask about her without putting her at risk. So, what do you suppose was going on deep in the soul of both Mordecai and daughter Esther during these days?
Now lest you think this only lasted a few days, listen to this next statement in the record: “Before a young woman’s turn came to go into King Xerxes, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics.” (Esther 2:12)
Now don’t rush past this my friends. A full year. 12 months of beauty treatments! History tells us they literally soaked in vats of oils and perfumes so the beautiful scents would permeate their skin. Regularly the girls and their attendants inspected every square inch of their bodies looking for any imperfection and taking whatever action would be necessary to achieve the most perfect body possible for them.
We can assume these girls were also being coached and mentored by Hegai’s staff who knew his majesty King Xerxes very well. How to walk, how to smile, how to sit and stand, how to speak, how to whisper, how to respond to any question or request the king may have.
They were being prepared and trained for ONE opportunity with the King, and only one. This would not be a prolonged dating experience, nor a courtship. This would be ONE opportunity, at the request of the King, and only one woman would be invited back again, potentially to become his Queen.
Now let’s pause right here and ponder this my friends. Yes, it’s helpful for us to think about our own marriages and how we care for ourselves and love our spouses, but I’d like us to turn to a spiritual focus.
How do you prepare your heart and mind to approach the King of kings in conversation (prayer) or worship, or meditation?
How do we prepare ourselves when we come into a worship gathering with others, ready to meet with the Almighty God, and the resurrected, ascended Jesus Christ on His throne?
Oh my, King Xerxes’ harem protocol gives us some important things to think about, doesn’t it? If that’s preparation to enter a human throne room, what about entering God’s throne room?
Let’s worship with this powerful song and come back tomorrow to see what more God has for us in this remarkable story of Esther.
Today’s Scripture: Esther 2:8-14.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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