Esther 2:21-23 “Why Should I?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

²¹In the days the those and Mordecai one dwelling in the gate of the king. Bigtan and Teresh were angry, the two eunuchs of the king, ones watching the threshold. They were seeking to send a hand in the king Xerxes. ²²And the matter was made known to Mordecai and he told to Esther the queen and Esther said to the king in the name of Mordecai. ²³And the matter was sought and it was found. And the two of them were hanged on a tree and it was written in the book of the matters of the days to the face of the king.

There is a great deal to observe and learn from these three simple verses. First of all, observe what we have. A very wicked, selfish, godless king unknowingly has in his employment two believers. He thinks he is the master of his own destiny. He thinks he is a god himself. He is completely oblivious to the spiritual war that is raging about him and utterly does not realize that all his plans and his very life itself hang by a thread. Yet in spite of all that, here are these two people, two gifts from the Lord Himself—two people who are there to do him good, to be his faithful servants, no doubt to pray for him, and to seek God’s favor upon his kingdom.

This should always be true of us believers, wherever we may find ourselves. Jeremiah urged the people: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (29:7). Yes, you and I live in a very wicked world. Yes, the people who lead it may be cruel, selfish, godless people, yet the Lord would have us be good workers and good citizens. He would have us to pray for “kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful, quiet lives” (I Tim. 2:2).

A.B. Davidson observed: “Every follower of Christ, in whatever sphere he moves, may do incalculable good to those around him, even to those who are placed high above him. If you cannot do so much as you would, a consistent and faithful life, spent in all the unobtrusiveness of true humility, will be a lesson to some that may be productive of vast benefit.” Even in our workplaces and even under unbelieving bosses, we are to be people who sincerely try to be assets, to seek to prosper those bosses and that company. Like Xerxes, they may never appreciate the advantages and successes they enjoyed specifically because the Lord had some of His people there, but we should do it anyway.

And look what a benefit Xerxes enjoyed! We don’t know what Bigtan and Teresh were mad about and we don’t know how Mordecai learned of their plot, but such information could not have fallen on better ears. Here is case in point. Palaces (and corporate headquarters) may seem like pinnacles of success, but they invariably are inhabited by a whole variety of sycophants, flatterers, deceivers, and even traitors. They smile in each other’s faces and stab each other in the back. They’re each one “in it for themselves.” But Mordecai and Esther are different.

We need to observe too that this isn’t as simple as it might appear. When Mordecai discovers this plot, next he needs to figure out who to tell. He probably did not have direct access to Esther, so somehow had to get the information to her in some kind of message. Even Esther did not have direct access to the king (note later she cannot enter his presence without hazarding her very life!), so she too probably had to get the information to Xerxes as some kind of message. At each step, you wouldn’t know who is actually involved in this coup. If Mordecai picked the wrong messenger, they no doubt could just quietly kill him and be free to proceed with their plans. If Esther picked the wrong messenger, they could have simply not delivered her warning to the king. As soon as he was dead, she had no standing anyway.  It is a very dangerous thing to get involved in the intrigue that goes on especially in leadership circles.

As David bemoaned, “I am a man of peace, but they are for war.” The people of this world are constantly fighting. We believers don’t want anything to do with their fights but it is the world we live in and so, even in simply doing our jobs, we often end up seeming to “side” with one bunch or the other. That can then land us in trouble. Mordecai, as a believer, should do the right thing and protect the king. He is the king. He may be wicked and selfish, but he is the king. And so Mordecai does do the right thing and our Esther does the right thing, the evil plan is thwarted and the perpetrators are executed.

But then, here is another thing to ponder about it all. One could easily argue, in all this intrigue, the question of who is right and who is wrong. What I mean is, this is a selfish, wicked king. Maybe he should be deposed? On the other hand, the people who would steal his throne are just as wicked as he is. They’re all wicked. So who does a believer side with? Once again, I would suggest we are people who simply do our jobs. Whoever is in charge (today) we seek to serve and support. We have to leave it all in God’s hands who will be in charge tomorrow—and what that will mean for us.

Mordecai and Esther did their jobs. They guys who were supposed to be guarding the king did not.

Now, here’s the next thing to ponder. After doing the right (but dangerous) thing, Mordecai and Esther were both richly rewarded, right? Wrong. What did they get for the risk they took? Nothing. Mordecai just goes on “sitting in the gate,” and Esther just goes along being the queen. Us believers must accept that we may receive no recognition at all for doing our jobs or even for significant sacrifices we make or dangers we face. As Jesus instructed us, we must learn to say, when we’ve done it all, “I am an unprofitable servant, I have done only what was expected of me.” Whatever we do, we are to do it “heartily, as unto the Lord, knowing that of the Lord we will receive the reward of the inheritance.” The Lord Himself is “our Shield and our exceeding great Reward.”

Of course, we know from reading the story that it did get written down and the time will come when Mordecai’s dedication will be rewarded—but he doesn’t know that now. Like us, he has to leave it all in God’s hands and just keep doing his job. Like Mordecai, you and I really have no idea what the Lord is up to. We need to serve Him faithfully today and be willing that our work may go unnoticed and unrewarded. The fact is, our God does see and He knows and He is more than able to make whatever we do weave its way into His great eternal plans.

All of this highlights the difference we find, living in this world where God doesn’t exist. Without Him, this world is a hopelessly confusing ball of dog eat dog, of clamoring for rewards and battling for wealth and position. What else can they do? But those who see the unseen God have Someone to trust. We have the wonderful freedom to do what’s right, to be patient, to be kind to people whether it does us any good or not, to do our jobs well whether we’re ever recognized or not. Because, for us, Someone does care. And it does matter.

Mordecai and Esther live in this world where God doesn’t exist, but look what a difference it makes in their lives. See what admirable people they become. You and I can do the same if we’ll simply see Him who is unseeable. We don’t have to ask, “Why should I?” We live all day every day with that question already answered!

Esther 2:15-20 “Inside”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁵And arrived the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, whom he had taken to himself to daughter. Coming into the king, she did not seek a thing except what said Hegai the eunuch of the king, one keeping the women, and Esther was one carrying favor in eyes of all seeing her. ¹⁶And Esther was taken to the king Xerxes to the house of his royalty in the month of the tenth, it the month of Tebeth, in the year of the seventh to his reign. ¹⁷And the king loved Esther from the all of the women and carried grace and favor to his face from the all of the virgins and he set a crown of royalty on her head and he caused her to reign instead of Vashti. ¹⁸And the king made a great banquet to the all of his princes and his servants—the banquet of Esther—and he made a rest day to the provinces and he gave gifts in the hand of the king. ¹⁹And second virgins being gathered and Mordecai one sitting in the gate of the king. ²⁰Esther had not revealed her kindred and her people as Mordecai had commanded her and the word of Mordecai Esther doing as she had done in her nurturing by him.

So now we see Esther elevated to her position as queen of all Persia. We believers know it is true that “promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west, but it is God who raises us up” (Ps. 75:6,7). Even in a godless, wicked world, believers find themselves elevated to positions of importance and intimately involved in whatever is going on in their world. In spite of the fact that much of what happens is cruel and wicked, yet a great deal of it is also perfectly good and necessary. Every legitimate job in the world is intended to do others good in some way and so, just like Joseph or Daniel, Esther can come as a believer to this position with every intention of doing good, even if, in fact, she lives surrounded by godlessness.

Here in this account, we once again see Esther’s character shine out. We already saw in verse 9 how she immediately won Hegai’s favor. Now we see in verse 15 how she won the favor “of everyone who saw her.” Xerxes is of course completely taken with her. Someone could dismiss all this favor with the observation, “Well, she is beautiful, you know,” but the palace is full of beautiful women and, in fact, the whole group of girls brought in with Esther were specifically chosen as the most beautiful girls in all of the kingdom. No, there is something more than physical beauty going on here, to make our Esther stand out in a palace filled with super-models.

As I mentioned before, this first of all happens simply as a kindness of God to His children living in this wicked, broken world. He just makes people like us. However, there is usually also an element of personal character involved. As with the theme of this book – people may not see God, but they see us. And we all know what it is that makes Esther so exceptionally attractive – what the old KJV called “a meek and quiet spirit,” what the NIV calls the “inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” (I Pet. 3:4). Innocence and modesty, genuine humility and a kind heart shine out a beauty of which this wicked world knows little, yet values highly.

We see the beauty in her relationship with Mordecai. He tells her not to reveal her nationality and that is what she does. Our text tells us this not just once but twice, in verses 10 and 20. In fact, verse 20 even expands our understanding, saying, “She continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.” Someone could suggest that perhaps Mordecai was an overbearing man who somehow held Esther in his grip of fear, however, that makes no sense in this setting. As far as Esther knows, she may never lay eyes on Mordecai again. If he had been overbearing or even abusive, the fact would be that Esther is now free. She would see this elevation to the palace as finally her chance to “escape.” Yet, we see the exact opposite. Why would this girl continue to value his instructions?

I suggest there is only one believable explanation: love. We know from Mordecai’s side that he “took her to daughter” and we know that, when she was taken to the palace, “Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.” As mentioned before, in the Hebrew, he was literally worried over “her peace.” Notice the text doesn’t say anything like “he wanted to make sure she put in a good word to the king.” It says he was worried over “her peace.”

He loved this girl.

And she loved him.

Even in a wicked world where it would seem God doesn’t even exist, His people still know real love relationships. While everyone else goes on “hating and being hated,” real believers get to enjoy a world of love. Parents love their children and sacrifice for them. Children love their parents and value their guidance. And, as with our Esther, that love in a heart shines out in a dark, cold world as still something very beautiful and attractive.

Isn’t it interesting too that, in Xerxes’ godless world, even a beautiful girl needed an entire year of external treatments to make her more beautiful? I already related several reasons why it would make sense to keep girls in his prison for a year before they could see him, however, we are told specifically in verse 12 that the year included beauty treatments of “six months with oil and myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.” All external. The best this world can do is paint a girl on the outside. Gold rings in pigs’ snouts. This world utterly does not realize the profound beauty of a “meek and quiet spirit.”

In this world, girls have to spend fortunes on their hair and their makeup and their clothes and who knows what all else. Then they are led to believe that what will make them attractive is to be “sexy,” or to be “strong,” or “independent,” “sassy,” or even “defiant.” Then a believing girl shows up with the “unfading beauty” of her “meek and quiet spirit” and wins everyone’s heart. We see her humility in the fact that Esther “asked for nothing other than what Hegai suggested.” You can bet the other girls went crazy with all the gold and pearls and jewels and extravagant clothes they could cover themselves with. Esther’s sweet spirit valued Hegai’s advice and made her totally unassuming. What she took with her was the beauty of her innocence and modesty. And, again, swimming in an ocean of beautiful girls, the king’s heart was obviously touched more by her virtue than her beauty.

So what do we learn? Just like Joseph and Daniel, Esther lives in a cruel, wicked world. First it robbed her of her parents and left her an orphan, then it gets her kidnapped and drug off to live in a selfish king’s toy box, where she may just get shut up to live out her life as a desolate prisoner and nothing more. Again and again, this world would rob her of any possible joy or hope or love. Sound familiar? Life is HARD. It was for our beautiful Esther and it is for you and me too. Yet, as the years unfold, what do we see? As Joseph observed, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

Even living in this wicked world, even though we may suffer greatly in this wicked world, yet we can live in the hope of our God who says, “I know the plans I have for you—plans to do you good and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” Our God promises, “All things work together for good to them that love God.” We may not be able to see Him and sometimes this world’s cruelties may make us feel He’s not there, yet with the eye of faith we can see He is still quite in control and always, always, always working for our eternal good.

This world would beat our poor Esther with a club, but God reached down, lifted her up, and made her a queen! And you and I can live quite assured the same God who loved Esther loves you and me too. Even as we suffer here, while the rest of the world may have to live out its suffering alone, you and I can see the unseen God and trust Him with “the all of our heart.” Even at work, where God “doesn’t exist,” you and I can live and work quite assured He is up to good on our behalf. And just to show that He is God when He lifts you and me up, He’s also doing it for their good. He’s doing good even to the people we work with and for, whether they care anything at all about Him.

Secondly, what we learn from Esther is that what really matters most is who you are. To be like Jesus is to be humble, to be gracious and kind, to be faithful and dependable–all the things the old KJV called a “meek and quiet spirit.” Even in this totally godless world, even at your work where God doesn’t even “exist,” that spirit is still a beautiful thing and highly valued. We can pause to observe that our gifts are important—Esther is in fact very beautiful and that beauty got her even considered to begin with. You might be artistic, or very smart, or fast, or just a hard worker, or a lot of other things that fit you for your job, but, while you give those gifts to the people you serve, the thing that will make you truly “beautiful” in others’ eyes will be your character.

Isn’t it interesting that the Lord would use an unusually beautiful girl to teach us that real beauty is found in who you are? Of course, that in itself should be a great encouragement to us all. I can’t change my gifts. I can (and should) appreciate them and put them to the best use I can in service to others, but what I can change is who I am, how I treat others, whether or not I really care. I may not have Esther’s good looks or Joseph’s amazing management skills or Daniel’s ability to interpret dreams, but I can have the one thing they all three shared—a meek and quiet spirit.

In this world of the Unseen God, you and I have the opportunity, like Esther, to make Him seen. The NT calls it “adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in all things”—making the Gospel attractive. Esther has already taught us so much—even without specifically mentioning God, precisely because what she and this book by her name are doing is showing us God.

Would that all us believers were, especially at work, epistles written on our hearts, known and read by all men, letting our lights shine such that people would see Jesus in us and glorify God, that we would spread everywhere the aroma of Christ—His humility and kindness and faithfulness. Esther teaches us that there is a beauty that even a godless world values and that beauty is still what goes on inside.

 

Esther 2:8-14 “God’s Product on the Market”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁸And it was in being heard the word of the king and his law and in gathering of many young women to Shushan the citadel to the hand of Hegai, one keeping the women. ⁹And the young woman was good in his eyes and she carried favor to his face and he hastened her beauty treatments and her portions giving to her and seven of the young women being seen  giving to her from the house of the king and he changed her and her young women to the good of the house of the women. ¹⁰Esther had not declared her people and her kindred because Mordecai had commanded her that she should not declare [it], ¹¹and in every day Mordecai one walking to the face of the court of the house of the women to know the peace of Esther and what was done in her. ¹²And reaching a turn of young woman and young woman to go to the king Xerxes from an end of being to her by the law of the woman twelve months because thus would fill the days of their beauty treatments—six months in the oil of myrrh and six months in fragrances and in the beauty treatments of the women. ¹³And in this [way] the young woman going to the king: All of which she says to be given to her going with her from the house of the women unto the house of the king. ¹⁴In the evening she going in and in the morning she returning unto the house of the women second unto the hand of Shaashgaz the eunuch of the king, one keeping the concubines. Not she will come again to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was called by name.

Here we begin to see clearly side by side the monstrous cruelty of this world’s wickedness and the quiet beauty of truly humble, godly people. On the wicked side, I find it almost painful to keep reading how these poor girls are treated. Our text says “many” young women were brought to Shushan. How many does the king need? One. One will be made queen. What about all the others? They’ll spend the rest of their earthly lives as prisoners shut up in this wicked selfish king’s prison house. And their only crime was being found young and beautiful – and female.

For starters, they were subjected to an entire year of these “beauty treatments.” A precious entire year of these girls’ young lives—an entire year when they should have been at home with their family or being married and beginning the long journey of building a family of their own. They were specifically chosen because they were uncommonly beautiful. But that isn’t enough. They need a year of treatments. Now, I must insert here that I’m sure, in part, the year is prescribed in case any of these girls might already be pregnant upon their arrival. If, after one year, they haven’t had a baby, then, from then on, and because they were kept completed isolated in a prison house of women guarded by a eunuch, if any babies are born they must surely be fathered by no one but the king.

Also, it is possible many of these girls were brought in from the country. It was apparently true that, because country girls often lived in squalor on their farms and because their poor diet contained many coarse foods, they would actually stink to high heaven. Apparently the stink was even beyond what a single good bath could cure. I believe one place we still see that today is amongst people who eat a lot of garlic. It’s not just that it gives them bad breath, but the garlic smell seems to ooze out of their very skin. Apparently this was often true of country people in the ancient world.

One more reason for the year would be that the country girls would be tanned from all the outside work of farming. In our world, a tan is a beautiful thing. However, throughout most of human history, wealthy women deliberately avoided exposure to the sun and the lighter their skin, the more beautiful they were considered. A girl only got tanned if she was poor or a slave and had no choice but to work out in the sun. In the Song of Solomon, the Shulammite bemoans, “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected” (1:6).  An entire year shut up in the king’s prison house would leave all of the girls as light as their natural complexion would allow them.

And so, to some extent, there may be good reasons for this entire year of treatments. However, that detracts not a wit from the monstrous cruelty of it all.

Then it goes on to say the plan was that each girl gets one single night with the king and after that she gets transferred to the “second” house, the prison where they were to spend the rest of their lives as concubines. Concubines. Married women who can’t marry again, but not even considered as a full-fledged wife. Sort of a half-wife. Being one of probably hundreds, it is even unlikely they’ll ever see the king again or that they’ll ever know the joy of having children. Once again, even as I type, the cruelty of it all is almost unbearable to consider.

But, once again, that is the godless world that Mordecai and Esther have to live in. In contrast to all this monstrous cruelty and wickedness, we have in verses 9 and 10 our first introduction to Esther’s character and, in verse 11, another revelation of Mordecai’s.

In that regard, I want to insert something here. As you would read different commentators on this book, many of the writers put Mordecai and Esther in quite a bad light. They paint Mordecai as a shrewd, calculating schemer who would even hazard his own daughter’s purity for his own political advancement. They would paint our Esther as some kind of morally compromising gold-digger. Part of this originates from the fact that they are both still in Persia, in spite of the fact that some fifty years before, Cyrus had decreed that the Jews could return to Israel.

In these fellows’ thinking, anyone still in Persia must be a back-slidden, sold-out, useless Jew in name only. I’ve already addressed that matter in an earlier post, but I will point out again that we find many very godly people in Persia after, and sometimes long after Cyrus’ decree. Daniel’s story ends in Babylon after the decree. We meet Nehemiah and Ezra in Persia long after the decree. As I said before, I think it is very unfair, and I will add here arrogant, to be judging people who lived 2,500 years ago in a world of which we have only tiny glimpses to inform our opinions.

I think this is a case where, as the Lord said in Psalm 50:21, “You thought I was such a one as you are.” When someone is always quick to question everyone else’s good character, it’s not a bad idea to question theirs. “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted” (Titus 1:15). People who are quick to assume evil of others need to take a hard look in the mirror. I’ll leave it at that.

Personally, I believe what we have before us is two very godly people of exemplary character and from whom we can learn a great deal about living godly lives in our own godless world. I fully acknowledge that this is my assumption and, as I ponder what the text does say about them, I have every intention of defending our two friends. I hope, if someone else reads my thoughts, I can convince you of the same and that together we can emerge from a study of this book having secured in our hearts forever a place of deep respect and appreciation for our Mordecai and Esther.

That said, what do we learn?

First of all and right off the bat, we see that as soon as Hegai met Esther, “she pleased him and won his favor.” This is a familiar theme is it not? I think of Joseph and Daniel, two young men in their own godless worlds, yet immediately winning the favor of their godless bosses and overseers. I believe you and I can gain great encouragement from this in two ways. First, this is actually an enormous kindness us believers receive from the Lord. As it says in Psalm 31:19,20: “How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men, on those who take refuge in You. In the shelter of Your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; You hide them from accusing tongues.” Like Prov. 16:7, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” You and I can live right in the middle of a completely godless, monstrously wicked world, and the Lord puts it in people’s hearts to actually like us!

I know I have enjoyed this kindness my whole life. Pretty much every job I’ve ever had, there were people who just seemed to “take a shine” to me, even before I’d done anything good or bad, and then in spite of the fact I was a complete idiot. I have been keenly aware there was another “force” at work on my behalf and that was, of course, the Lord. It was true of me and I believe we see it in Joseph, Daniel, and now Esther – that our bosses just seem to like us. It is a kindness straight from the heart of our wonderful Father. The Lord Himself “hides us from the intrigues of men.” He “hides us from accusing tongues.”

But for our friends, I think there is one more reason why people “liked” them. Even in (and perhaps especially in) a wicked world, it is still true that the most beautiful people are humble, sweet-spirited people. There is no question in my mind that what Pharaoh saw in Joseph, what Nebuchadnezzar saw in Daniel, and what Hegai and Xerxes will see in Esther is this humble, sweet spirit. Such a spirit is basically non-existent in a godless world. One can only imagine what it would have been like to meet Esther, to meet this stunningly beautiful girl who is also humble and sweet! Hegai’s job is to oversee an entire prison-house filled with beautiful girls, yet, the minute he meets Esther, he moves her to the best apartment in the harem, gives her seven girls to tend her, and assigns her special food. As I said above, on the one hand, that is simply a kindness of the Lord to ease Esther’s (and our) passage through this cruel world, but, on the other hand, it is a direct benefit accrued to people who know what it is to “sit at Jesus’ feet.”

Especially to young people, I would offer you this encouragement as you go out to your jobs. If you make the Lord your refuge and seek to walk before Him even as you work, you can fully expect to find that people “like” you – and I promise  you, you will often be very aware it has nothing to do with who you are. It just seems to “happen.” But you can also fully expect, if you sincerely try to be Christlike, to work hard and be faithful, to be kind to others even as you strive to do a good job yourself, your bosses in particular will most of the time really like you. You will be VERY unusual to them, but unusual in all the ways they particularly value. Though they may themselves (like Xerxes) be wicked, selfish people, yet they still deeply value the beauty of someone else’s humble, sweet spirit. You can walk out into your own godless world and fully expect to find the same kind of reception Esther received 2,500 years ago and halfway around the world. God’s people “shine as lights in the world.”

We also see the beauty of godliness in the relationship between Esther and Mordecai. We already saw in verse 7 how Mordecai “took her to daughter.” To have taken her at all would of course have been admirable in this world – to at least give his little orphaned cousin a place to live – but, being godly, Mordecai’s heart goes far beyond “duty” and he actually “took her to daughter.” We then see the effect of his love on her – that she happily obeys his charge not to reveal her nationality – and we see that same love as he “walks back and forth every day near the courtyard of the harem to know how Esther was doing.” In Hebrew, it says literally he wanted to know about “her peace.” If you or I had to depart this world and leave behind a little daughter, what more could we ask for than an adoptive father who would “take her to daughter” then worry over “her peace?”

Thank God that even in a godless world where He seemingly “doesn’t exist,” there can still be people like Mordecai and Esther.  Then may He grant that we be like them. The fact is, our God can still put His product on the market!