Weekly Devotion no 21
21 August 2020
Bible reading – Esther 2[1]
Later, the great anger of King Xerxes
calmed down. Then he remembered Vashti and what she had done. He also
remembered the royal order he had sent out concerning her. 2 At
that time the king’s personal attendants made a suggestion. They said, “King
Xerxes, let a search be made for some beautiful young virgins for you. 3 Appoint
some officials in every territory in your kingdom. Have them bring all these
beautiful young women into the fort of Susa. Put them in the special place
where the virgins stay. Then put Hegai in charge of them. He’s the official who
serves you. He’s in charge of the women. Let beauty care be given to the new
group of women. 4 Then let the young woman who
pleases you the most become queen in Vashti’s place.” The king liked that
advice. So he followed it.
5 There was a Jew living in the fort of Susa. He was from the tribe of
Benjamin. His name was Mordecai. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of
Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. 6 Nebuchadnezzar
had forced Mordecai to leave Jerusalem. He was among the prisoners who were
carried off along with Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah.
Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. 7 Mordecai had
a cousin named Hadassah. He had raised her because she didn’t have a father or
mother. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a lovely figure and was very
beautiful. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. He had done it when
her father and mother died.
8 After the king’s order and law were announced, many young women were
brought to the fort of Susa. Hegai was put in charge of them. Esther was also
taken to the king’s palace. She was put under the control of Hegai. He was in
charge of the place where the virgins stayed. 9 Esther
pleased him. He showed her how happy he was with her. Right away he provided
her with her beauty care and special food. He appointed seven female attendants
to help her. They were chosen from the king’s palace. He moved her and her
attendants into the best part of the place where the virgins stayed.
10 Esther hadn’t told anyone who her people were. She hadn’t talked about
her family. That’s because Mordecai had told her not to. 11 Mordecai
tried to find out how Esther was getting along. He wanted to know what was happening
to her. So he walked back and forth near the courtyard by the place where the
virgins stayed. He did it every day.
12 Each young woman had to complete 12 months of beauty care. They used oil
of myrrh for six months. And they used perfume and makeup for the other six
months. A virgin’s turn to go in to King Xerxes could come only after a full 12
months had passed. 13 And here is how she would go
to the king. She would be given anything she wanted from the place where the
virgins stayed. She could take it with her to the king’s palace. 14 In
the evening she would go there. In the morning she would leave. Then she would
go to the special place where the king’s concubines stayed. She would be put
under the control of Shaashgaz. He was the king’s official who was in charge of
the concubines. She would never return to the king unless he was pleased with
her. He had to send for her by name before she could go to him again.
15 Mordecai had adopted Esther. She had been the daughter of his uncle Abihail.
Her turn came to go in to the king. She only asked for what Hegai suggested. He
was the king’s official who was in charge of the place where the virgins
stayed. Everyone who saw Esther was pleased with her. 16 She
was taken to King Xerxes in the royal house. It was now the tenth month. That
was the month of Tebeth. It was the seventh year of the rule of Xerxes.
17 The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women. She
pleased him more than any of the other virgins. So he put a royal crown on her
head. He made her queen in Vashti’s place. 18 Then
the king gave a feast to honour Esther. All his nobles and officials were
invited. He announced a holiday all through the territories he ruled over. He
freely gave many gifts in keeping with his royal wealth.
19 The virgins were gathered together a second time. At that time Mordecai
was sitting at the palace gate. 20 Esther had kept
her family history a secret. She hadn’t told anyone who her people were.
Mordecai had told her not to. She continued to follow his directions. That’s
what she had always done when he was bringing her up.
21 Bigthana and Teresh were two of the king’s officers. They guarded the
door of the royal palace. They became angry with King Xerxes. So they decided
to kill him. They made their evil plans while Mordecai was sitting at the
palace gate. 22 So Mordecai found out about it and
told Queen Esther. Then she reported it to the king. She told him that Mordecai
had uncovered the plans against him. 23 Some people
checked Esther’s report. And they found out it was true. So the two officials
were put to death. Then poles were stuck through them. They were set up where
people could see them. All of that was written in the official records. It was
written down while the king was watching.
Reflection
King
Xerxes has recovered from his hangover, recalling what has happened whilst he
was drunk. However, his questionable behaviour continues: not only has he
treated his wife with disrespect, he now proceeds to round up all the beautiful
young teenagers so that, after he spends money on them to make them even more
beautiful, he can rape each of them in order to select his new queen. After the
girl was rejected by the king, she would be sent off to the concubine quarters,
where she was effectively kept captive and rendered useless. In this way, this
selfish king was also removing all the beautiful girls from being married to
anyone else in the kingdom - but he wasn’t thinking of the potential
consequences of his actions. His behaviour is abhorrent, even for the times in
which this occurred.
Into this context we are introduced to Mordecai. Mordecai is a Jew. Many of the Jews had been permitted to return from exile to Jerusalem, but not all the Jews had been able to return, and so some remained in exile in places like Susa. Mordecai had taken in and cared for his orphan cousin, whose Persian name was Esther. He was clearly a man of high principles. However, his adopted daughter was one of the girls forced into the king’s harem. His wisdom to Esther was to keep her Jewish heritage a secret.
Esther is an impressive young lady. She earns the respect of the officials and ultimately, she earns the favour of King Xerxes. For someone who is in a situation not of her choosing, she shows courage to excel in an environment that was so antithetical to her religion and background. She continues to be obedient to her adoptive father, whom she clearly respects and loves.
Mordecai continues to care for Esther by attending the court each day. And it is in doing so that he overhears a plot to assassinate King Xerxes. Now, he would have had every excuse to let this plot continue so that ultimately his daughter could be freed. But instead, he notifies Esther who is able to warn the king. Mordecai acts with integrity and honour.
But we have got to the end of chapter 2 of this book and there is still no mention of God! And yet, we can see God at work through the actions of Esther and Mordecai. They act differently to those around them, they seek to do the right thing, they respect other human beings, and they live out their faith authentically.
We are living in a world that is increasingly like Persia in this story: a world where we don’t see obvious signs of God, where people act as though he does not exist. And yet, he lives – through us! Every word we say or action we take that honours him is God at work. And maybe we’re in a situation that is outside our control, like not having the freedom to see the people we love, or being cooped up inside due to lockdown. But how, in that situation, will we continue to live for God, as Esther did? Will we seek and do God’s will, or will we follow the path of King Xerxes? May we put our hope in God and may he renew our trust in him.
Hymn
Verse 1
All my hope on God is founded;
he doth still my trust renew.
Me through change and chance he guideth,
only good and only true.
God unknown,
he alone
calls my heart to be his own.
Verse 2
Pride of man and earthly glory,
sword and crown betray his trust;
what with care and toil he buildeth,
tower and temple, fall to dust.
But God's power,
hour by hour,
is my temple and my tower.
Verse 3
deep his wisdom, passing thought:
splendour, light, and life attend him,
beauty springeth out of naught.
Evermore
from his store
new-born worlds rise and adore.
Verse 4
Daily doth th' Almighty giver
bounteous gifts on us bestow;
his desire our soul delighteth,
pleasure leads us where we go.
Love doth stand
at his hand;
joy doth wait on his command.
Verse 5
Still from man to God eternal
sacrifice of praise be done,
high above all praises praising
for the gift of Christ his Son.
Christ doth call
one and all:
ye who follow shall not fall.
Prayer
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that all people may know the glorious liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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