Sin, Suffering, and Sovereignty

Esther 2:1-18

Main Idea: We live in a dark world, and sometimes we are part of the darkness; nevertheless, God in his grace does not discard us but delivers us, even from ourselves, and deploys us for his purposes.

1. In Painful Consequences, Seek Counsel That Fuels Faith Rather than Flesh (2:1-4).
   1. Decisions made in haste and anger often lead to remorse.
   2. We need to seek counsel that fuels our faith rather than our flesh.
   3. The best proposals from the world cannot meet our deepest needs.
2. In Painful Consequences, Live so that All Will Be Blessed Rather than Burdened (2:5-7).
   1. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations because of the disobedience of others.
   2. At all times, even in discipline, God has preserved and is preserving his people.
3. In Pressure to Compromise, Persevere in Commitment to the Word (2:8-11).
   1. The Lord, in his sovereignty, can use our lack of courage and compliance with this world for his plan.
   2. Concealing convictions is not ultimately profitable.
   3. Compromise with the world in the past does not disqualify us from contending for God in the future.
4. In the Presence of God’s Favor, Find Progress in Faith (2:9, 12-15).
   1. God’s favor
   2. Esther’s progress
5. In the Providence of God, Move into a Strategic Position without Knowing His Sovereign Plan (2:16-18).
   1. Esther is in a position of prominence because of God’s providence.
   2. God’s blessings in our lives are not for selfishness but stewardship.
6. In Pondering Christ, See That Ahasuerus and Mordecai Cannot Compare.
   1. Ahasuerus exercised authority for his own gratification, but Jesus does so for our good.
   2. Ahasuerus sought a beautiful and pure bride, but Jesus made us into one.
   3. Ahasuerus left the women he used with shame, but Jesus has taken our shame away.
   4. Mordecai could only check on Esther’s situation, but Jesus can change ours.

Sometimes we experience painful consequences because of our poor choices. When I was a little boy, my mother used to take me shopping with her for what felt like days at a time. If she happened to be in a store with a clothing section, I would immediately look for the garments hanging on a circular rack. I would then proceed to climb into the middle of it and push the clothes out as if I were a mini-tornado.

On one particular day something caught my eye, and I shot out of such a clothes rack, hitting whatever the maximum speed is for a kid in husky jeans. My mother saw me and began to call my name. I heard her calls but replied, “No, Momma!” She kept calling, and I kept running. That is, of course, until I crashed into a glass display. Any hope I had of my mom extending tenderness and nurture to me was quickly dashed as she yanked me up and informed me what discipline she was going to administer when we got out of the store. Perhaps it was on that day that my earliest convictions about running being painful began to take shape! I made a poor choice to disobey and ignore my mother’s protective calls, and for that decision I experienced painful consequences.

Sometimes we experience painful consequences because of the poor choices of others. I was raised in an abusive home. One of my earliest memories, in fact, is of my dad yelling and seeking to wound my mom and sister. In our town my father had a reputation for being a bit crazy. When I was in fifth grade, many of my friends were in class together. My mom wanted me to be in that class, but the teacher refused to accept me because she did not want to deal with my dad. She would not be the only one to have concerns about my father’s issues. Time after time, my mother and sister and I found ourselves in painful circumstances due to the poor choices of my father.

Whether they are my choices, your choices, or the choices of another, and whether they come with blessings or burdens, every choice and consequence are always under God’s sovereign care. In Esther 2:1-18 we will see that the Lord reigns over Ahasuerus’s cravings and Esther’s and Mordecai’s compliance, and he will use all of it to accomplish his purposes. Despite Ahasuerus’s fleshliness and Esther’s and Mordecai’s fearfulness, the Lord’s favor remains present and productive.

Before we examine 2:1-18, some clarifications need to be made for those whose memories of the text are more blurry than bright. First, Mordecai is not Esther’s father, brother, or uncle. He is her cousin, and he treats her like a daughter (2:15)—most likely because he raised her (2:20). Second, Mordecai does not enter Esther into a beauty pageant in hopes she will advance herself. No college scholarship was provided to the one crowned Mrs. Persia 479 BC. Third, neither Esther nor Mordecai is acting with a preconceived plan to rescue all the Jews in the empire. They will later discern Esther’s position through the lens of providence but not because of their own premeditation. In other words, Esther’s and Mordecai’s actions are not based on any guarantee they have of prominence and certainly not because of future problems they are anticipating. Indeed, the present has enough problems of its own for them.

Even knowing that God’s plan will eventually be brought to light does not completely diminish the darkness recorded in 2:1-18. Strain provides some helpful thoughts on this passage:

Esther 2, instead of offering us an example to follow, invites us to face the reality of life in which women are often objectified and made victims, where men can be predatory, and where at least for some, fear is often more powerful than faith. (“Beauty and the Beast”)

He adds,

Esther 2 does not flinch from narrating for us this simple, ugly fact of life in ancient Persia, where people are treated as commodities. It is no fairytale story of a poor, Jewish girl falling in love with prince charming. Esther 2 is a story, the like of which when we hear it on the news we can scarcely bear to contemplate. . . . And yet it is here, amidst all the moral ambiguities and the shocking abuses that dog Esther’s steps, that we are being invited to trace the footprints of the sovereign God who is working in and through and despite the sin and suffering that we find here, for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to His purpose. (Ibid.)

Though we live in a dark world, and sometimes we are part of the darkness, God in his grace does not discard us but saves us, even from ourselves, and deploys us for his purposes. Let us now closely examine the sin, suffering, and sovereignty recorded in Esther 2:1-18.

In Painful Consequences, Seek Counsel That Fuels Faith Rather than Flesh

Esther 2:1-4

Between the closing scene in 1:22 and the opening scene in 2:1, at least four years have passed. The events in the opening chapter occurred during the third year of Ahasuerus’s reign (1:3), but by the time a new queen is crowned, Ahasuerus will be in his seventh year of rule (2:16). The Bible provides no record of the king’s actions in the interim, but other historical works claim that between his third and seventh years on the throne, Ahasuerus gathered the largest army known up to that point and attacked Greece (Herodotus, The Histories, 425). His military campaign was not successful, and he returned to Susa.

When the author raises the opening curtain of chapter 2, we find the defeated king in a moment of reflection and remorse. He thinks about Vashti and what happened to her. He is obviously down in the dumps because those around him come up with a plan to cheer him. Their idea is for all the beautiful young virgins in the 127 provinces to be gathered in Susa, and the one who most pleases the king will become the new queen. If chapter 1 was not enough to convince you that Ahasuerus needed some new counselors, then perhaps chapter 2 will be sufficient. The plan reeks of something devised in a locker room rather than in a royal court, but Ahasuerus thinks it is a great idea. (No surprise there!) If you are a young and unmarried woman in the Persian Empire, this is definitely a contest in which you do not want the odds in your favor. There are a few lessons we can learn in Esther 2:1-4 about the consequences of our own poor choices.

Decisions Made in Haste and Anger Often Lead to Remorse

One of the most regrettable decisions recorded in the Bible is in Judges 11. Jephthah has become the reluctant leader of God’s people and is charged with battling the Ammonites. In his desire for victory,

Jephthah made this vow to the Lord: “If you in fact hand over the Ammonites to me, whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.” (Judg 11:30-31)

The Lord had not asked or required Jephthah to make such a vow, but he did grant victory over the Ammonites. Upon Jephthah’s return home, his only child, his daughter, was the first who came out of his house “to meet him with tambourines and dancing” (Judg 11:34).

As any father who had made a foolish decision to the detriment of his family would be, Jephthah was deeply grieved. “When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, ‘No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me’” (Judg 11:35). Just the words every little girl loves to hear when skipping out to meet her father after he’s been away on a trip or at work or at war. Interestingly, in his initial phrases, Jephthah’s pain is primary and his responsibility for it is minimal. While he is devastated, she will actually die. While he is expressing his misery, she will experience mortification. In his hunger for victory, he made a hasty vow. His was an unnecessary and regrettable decision indeed.

As tragic as the story of Jephthah and his daughter is, my guess is that at least on a reduced scale you can relate. Perhaps you have made a decision in anger or haste or because someone gave you bad counsel, and then later you regretted it. Perhaps you immediately regretted it. Most of my regret regarding haste and anger centers on words I have used toward or about others. One of my constant prayers is for the Lord to help me be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” When I fail to live James 1:19, I cannot shift the responsibility for my sin to others.

In Esther 2:1 Ahasuerus is thinking back on all the events regarding Vashti. Whether this is the first time he has done so in the four-year interval, the author does not tell us. Ahasuerus’s anger is gone, but so is she. We know that he “remembered,” but it seems his memory had grown a little fuzzy in the time that passed because the author says he was pondering “what was decided against her.” There is an important word missing in that phrase. Do you know what it is? The word he is missing (no, not from the biblical record—I do believe in inerrancy and all the other I’s of Scripture). But doesn’t it seem that it should say, “what he decided against her”? We can have regret and we can have remorse, but we do not have repentance until we acknowledge our responsibility in what is wrong. Jephthah’s you and Ahasuerus’s was both fell short. Though his counselors may have been in agreement, Ahasuerus had no one to blame but himself. When you mess up, fess up. The beauty of the gospel is that whatever we confess, Christ has already covered with his blood. In seeking to learn from Ahasuerus’s example, we can see that decisions made in anger or haste often lead to remorse.

We Need to Seek Counsel That Fuels Our Faith Rather than Our Flesh

In Esther 1 and 2 Ahasuerus is responding to the counsel of others who guide him according to his gratification rather than his good. One does not have to read far in chapter 2 to see part of Ahasuerus’s error. While experiencing the painful consequences of his poor choices, the king was provided counsel by the young men who assisted him. As those of us who have been young men know, young men are not the best source from which to hear the wisdom and experience of the ages. This reality, in fact, is one of the reasons I continue to advocate for intergenerational ministry in the faith family I lead. The last thing young men and women need is to receive counsel only from their peers.

To cheer the king up, the young men proposed an idea that would be for Ahasuerus’s delight but to the detriment of many families in the empire. They decided all the beautiful young virgins in the king’s provinces should be brought to the palace for the emperor’s pleasure. We are not told the marital status of the young advisers, but if any of them were single, this collecting of girls to do the king’s bidding would also mean none of the girls could be their brides. Regardless, our concerns should lie with all the young virgins that were to be taken from their homes. Ahasuerus is not the kind of guy to whom a father would joyfully give his little girl, especially when considering his treatment of Vashti.

Up to this point in Esther, the only ideas that originate from Ahasuerus include feasts for his glory and demands for his gratification. In both instances in which decisions needed to be made, he sought and followed what others suggested. Jobes notes, “What becomes the irrevocable law of the Persians and Medes is the will of those closest to the king, who know how to skillfully manipulate his needs” (Esther, 100). This revelation should lead us to an important evaluation. Whom do we let influence us? On whose counsel do we place the most value? Are we surrounding ourselves with those in whom “the word of Christ [dwells] richly” (Col 3:16)? At all times in our lives, we need those whose counsel fuels our faith rather than our flesh, but especially when we are in painful circumstances due to our poor choices. Their encouragement from the Word can be used to prevent us from making further unwise decisions. Ahasuerus did not have that kind of counsel, but I hope you do and will provide that for those with whom you have influence.

The Best Proposals from the World Cannot Meet Our Deepest Needs

Ahasuerus was a king with power who ruled for his pleasure. Mathew Gilbert exhorts, “When we seek pleasure for the wrong reasons and in the wrong places, it will always evade us. When we seek pleasure in Christ, we will always find it” (“The Greatest Treasure”). In sin we are constantly seeking substitutes for God. In turning to those, we turn away from him. But only God provides what he promises. Sin never will.

The young assistants provided the king with a solution, but it (or more specifically they) will never satisfy. The best proposals from the world cannot meet our deepest needs. As Strain notes,

Whatever pangs of remorse he had been feeling for Vashti are now forgotten as his lust ignites afresh. It’s actually a classic strategy of the un-renewed human heart. Incapable of repentance, unbelieving hearts can only avoid guilt. They can ignore guilt, they can hide guilt beneath a blanket of indulgence, but they can never really remove guilt. We know, many of us don’t we, there’s only one thing that can do that—the blood of Jesus Christ that can cleanse our consciences from dead works that we may serve the living and true God. (“Beauty and the Beast”)

If Ahasuerus were really repentant about how he treated Vashti, then he would not seek to replace her in the manner the assistants suggested. He has already wronged one woman. He will now multiply that many times over.

In Painful Consequences, Live so that All Will Be Blessed Rather than Burdened

Esther 2:5-7

In the next portion of the passages, the spotlight is shifted, and the author informs us for the first time that two particular Jews were living in Susa. For the original audience hearing or reading Esther, there had to be someone thinking, Finally! Now we are getting somewhere with this pagan story. But any joy about fellow Jews may have been short-lived when they read the names of those in the citadel. In the lineage of the Benjaminites, few are named after pagan deities. But before we rush to judgment regarding the brow-raising names Mordecai and Esther (more on that in a moment), remember that we do not know when, how, or why the two Jews living in Susa received their non-Jewish names. And just because their names were acceptable to the culture does not mean Mordecai and Esther had accepted the culture. Their Babylonian names could have been assigned or given to them.

Mordecai’s name was most likely derived from the “chief god of the Babylonian pantheon,” “Marduk,” which admittedly is not so great for a Jew (Bush, Ruth/Esther, 362). If he had a Hebrew name, the author does not tell it to us. Of course, when you are living in a foreign land under the Lord’s discipline and a tyrannical king, your name probably is not your biggest concern.

Even if the original readers recoiled at his name, they would at least respect Mordecai’s caring for his cousin because her parents were dead. But that respect would probably vanish too when he let said cousin be taken into the king’s palace, although he did at least check on her every day. In any case, I doubt the Mordecai fan club was being overwhelmed with a membership rush at this point in the narrative’s first telling. Respect for him would grow (10:3), but it would not start here. His people chose not to return to Jerusalem (more on that later too), he has a pagan name, and the one he was caring for will soon be one of the king’s conquests.

The female Jew in the story is named Hadassah, which means “myrtle” (ibid., 363). Several hundred years before, Isaiah said,

Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up; this will stand as a monument for the Lord, an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed. (Isa 55:13)

Isaiah meant the Lord would forgive and accept his people. Esther “means ‘star’ (a reference to the star-shaped flower of the myrtle) and is close to the name Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love” (Smith, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 238). Bush contends, “As for the name ‘Esther,’ determining its etymology adds nothing to the meaning of our story, though the subject has been much written about” (Ruth/Esther, 363).

Our attention to the details, however, should be drawn elsewhere. Jobes asserts, “In Hebrew narrative the physical attributes described when a character is first introduced is of special relevance to his or her role in the story” (Esther, 96). In both her shape and appearance, Esther is lovely. The author is letting us know she will certainly be chosen to participate in the horrific upcoming season of The Bachelor from Persia.

Sometimes We Find Ourselves in Situations because of the Disobedience of Others

As excited as we may be to learn that Jews were in Susa, we need to ask, Why were there Jews in Susa? The first part of that question is, How did they get there? The answer is that Mordecai’s and Esther’s ancestors had disobeyed the Lord and were disciplined with exile. The initial verses in Daniel reveal the opening stages of that discipline and dispersal:

In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. (Dan 1:1-4)

The second part of the question is, Why were they still there? After all, in time, opportunity arose to return home. In the book of Ezra, we are told that King Cyrus of Persia said,

The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:2-3)

Mordecai and Esther, then, are still in Susa because their relatives decided to stay. Any could return, but not all chose to do so. Perhaps they felt like they were heeding these words spoken through Jeremiah:

Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. (Jer 29:6-7)

But in doing so, they were ignoring what Jeremiah said a few verses later:

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. (Jer 29:10)

Instead of returning to and restoring Jerusalem, an unnumbered group of the Judean Diaspora chose instead to live “as expatriates in various localities in the Persian empire” (Bush, Ruth/Esther, 361). While the group was unnumbered, Mordecai and Esther were not unnamed. They were living in Susa—due to the disobedience of some and the decisions of other ancestors. And that disobedience and those decisions caused conflict in the lives of Mordecai and Esther.

We should strive to avoid leaving those who come after us in difficult situations. When I was single, I only had to make decisions that for the most part impacted just me. Now that I am married and have four children, I constantly think through how my decisions will affect them. One of my mother’s favorite songs is “Find Us Faithful” as sung by Steve Green. These are the words of the chorus:

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.

May the fire of our devotion light their way.

May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe

and the lives we live inspire them to obey.

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful. (Jon Mohr)

Indeed, may our obedience leave peace for those who follow us rather than problems.

At All Times, Even in Discipline, God Has Preserved and Is Preserving His People

Mordecai and Esther may have found themselves in circumstances they did not choose, but that does not mean God did not care. Even in discipline God preserves his people. He told Israel,

I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I have given Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place. (Isa 43:2-3)

When told there were Jews living in Susa, we should think of disobedience, we should think of discipline, and we should also think of deliverance. Moreover, the fact that there are still Jews is evidence that they have not been destroyed, and if God is not going to destroy his own people, he certainly will not let anyone else do it—even their captors. Though God disciplines us, he does not discard us. He ordains the discipline for our repentance and reconciliation and not for our ruin. The next verse in the passage from Jeremiah expresses that exact thought:

“For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11)

Jobes notes, “While God may be good to all his creatures in general, he is in a special relationship of protection and preservation with his covenant people” (Esther, 103). Strain notes this as well:

We get the message, don’t we? Mordecai and Esther are exiled. That is, though they live in Susa, they belong to the people of God, and that changes everything. They are strangers in a strange land, exiled to be sure, but they’re not cut off from the covenant of promise or from the commonwealth of Israel. Whatever else happens, our author is indicating to us—“Keep your eyes on this family. God is not done with His people yet.” (“Beauty and the Beast”)

I’d like to make one more point here. God was using Mordecai to protect and preserve Esther’s life. We are not told at what age she was taken into his care, but we will see soon that this adopted orphan would be used to save her people. Do not let anyone ever tell you, then, that adoption does not matter. As awful as it would be for Esther to be gathered into the king’s harem, she was able to meet the qualifications because she had been protected and loved by Mordecai and not abandoned on the streets to settle into the arms of any passerby.

In Pressure to Compromise, Persevere in Commitment to the Word

Esther 2:8-11

The Lord, in His Sovereignty, Can Use Our Lack of Courage and Our Compliance with This World for His Plan

After telling us Esther was alive, she was living in Susa, and she was beautiful, the author probably surprises no one by informing his readers that Esther was taken to the palace. But the phrase was taken leaves one to wonder if Mordecai tried to prevent her capture or whether he was complicit. I would like to think that if a pagan king wanted my two daughters, I would fight the captors to my final breath. But if Mordecai did resist, the author does not reveal it. Surely, though, he did not think it would be good for Esther to live out her remaining days in the royal harem.

So, what was Esther thinking? Smith contends,

Interpreters sometimes attempt to read Esther’s mind, and some conclude that she remained a faithful Jew throughout this period, while others condemn her for leaving her faith and the moral requirements of the law. Although it is enticing to imagine what she might have thought and consider the things she may have done, none of this is revealed in this narrative, so it is impossible to condemn or praise her. The rest of her experiences prove that she did not totally abandon her faith, but it is impossible to know how she justified all the ethical choices she faced in the pagan world of Persia. (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 239)

If Mordecai did not put up a fight, then did Esther? Did those who took her to the palace have bruises to prove her displeasure?

Ultimately, the author offers no commentary on the facts he or she is recording. Esther was pretty. Esther was taken. The author does not say Mordecai was wrong for letting her be taken or that Esther should have put up more of a fight. What is also missing is any evidence that Mordecai met with the Lord at a burning bush where God revealed his secret plan regarding Esther’s future. Actually, the text reveals that Mordecai has no idea what is going to happen because he checks on Esther every day and tries to get any morsel of information he can. So why was Esther taken to the palace? Jobes suggests, “Esther and Mordecai may have compromised knowing that if they did not then it could cost them their lives” (Esther, 101). In considering my own decisions, I tend to compromise with the world even with far less personal threat. So perhaps we might be a little sympathetic with Esther’s being taken captive. But then there is the issue of concealment.

Concealing Convictions Is Not Ultimately Profitable

Concealing our convictions in order to advance in this world may cause us to gain nothing of value but instead to lose what matters most. Mordecai’s clashing with the captors is not revealed in the text, but his commanding Esther to conceal her ethnicity while in custody is. Again, the Mordecai fan club is not gaining traction at this point. Esther complies with his counsel and does not tell anyone about who she is or who attended her last family reunion.

Frustratingly, we are not told why Mordecai made such a command. Were Jews being targeted and threatened by Persian authorities? Not any more than usual, as far as we are aware. No indication of intentional genocide is in the text up to this point. Was Mordecai afraid Esther’s ethnicity would decrease her opportunities to advance in the harem? I hope this was not true, but if that was the case, then she should have told everyone she met about her heritage. Was Mordecai right for what he commanded, or was he wrong? The author offers no answers.

There are questions we can and should answer about our own lives. For instance, are we currently concealing the fact we belong to God? Have you been shrinking back from using the Bible in your conversations at work because you are afraid it will harm your opportunity for promotion? If young and unmarried, are you not being vocal about your faith because you are interested in dating someone who is not a believer or in impressing a professor who is an avowed atheist? In short, are we seeking approval from others rather than resting in God’s approval in Christ? The gospel frees us to serve because we have found security in God and are not seeking it elsewhere.

With regard to Mordecai’s and Esther’s actions, hopefully we can all agree that making the right decision in the right manner is not always easy. But is compromise with the world necessary? Can we blur the means as long as it justifies the end? One would be hard pressed to prove this is what Esther and Mordecai were doing since their focus was most likely on personal survival and not on building a strategy to benefit an entire ethnic group.

I had an opportunity once to go with a friend to search for one of his sons who was living hundreds of miles away. There was concern the son was involved in drugs, and some doubted that we would be able to find him. My friend had been advised that if we did find him we needed to make up a story and get him in the car and then on the plane with us at any cost. As we talked through that plan in the hotel room late one night, the Spirit brought Romans 12:21 to mind. There Paul encourages us not to “be conquered by evil, but [to] conquer evil with good.” I told my friend that if we were seeking to do good toward his son then we should not have to start off our interactions with a lie. In God’s good providence we did find the son, we did not lie, and soon after our visit the son chose to return home on his own.

We are called to navigate being in the world but not of it. Duguid sees Esther’s actions as fully complying with the empire’s outrageous demands with the goal of winning the “love” of an unworthy royal husband. She would perhaps have objected that she had little choice, but if someone is willing to suffer the consequences, full obedience to God’s law is always an option. (Esther & Ruth, 29)

Jobes is not as critical as Duguid is here but offers another perspective:

Regardless of whether they always knew what the right choice was or whether they had the best of motives, God was working through even their imperfect decisions and actions to fulfill his perfect purposes. Other than Jesus, even the godliest people of the Bible were flawed, often confused, and sometimes outright disobedient. (Esther, 108)

Compromise with the World in the Past Does Not Disqualify Us from Contending for God in the Future

If there is anyone who knows about denying who they are and their relationship to Jesus, it is Peter. On the night of Jesus’s trials, Peter had at least three opportunities to clearly affirm his love and support for Jesus. On all three occasions he chose to conceal the truth and feign indignation about being asked if he knew Jesus. After Peter’s last denial, the Lord looked straight at him, which led Peter to remember what the Lord told him and moved him to run out and weep bitterly (Luke 22:61-62).

Often, like Peter’s, our level of self-reliance and self-confidence is too high, but our level of self-awareness is too low. I am certain Peter did not think he was capable of denying Jesus in the Lord’s darkest hours, but he did it. J. C. Ryle offers wisdom as he cautions, “Let us settle it in our minds, that there is nothing too bad for the very best of us to do unless he watches, prays, and is held up by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Expository Thoughts, 370). But as we can learn from Peter, Esther, Mordecai, and a host of others in the Bible, though we may lack courage at times and choose to compromise with the world, it does not mean God is done with us.

Here are two truths for you to consider before we leave this section. First, God’s people are not perfect, but his plan is. If our imperfections disqualified us from being used by God, then none of us would be used. He is not seeking a perfect servant. He sent one: Jesus. Our previous compromises with the world do not completely disqualify us from contending for God in the future. (Ask Esther and Mordecai.) Second, knowing that Peter was ultimately led to repentance and restoration, though he had repeatedly denied Jesus and even invoked a curse on himself, we can have hope that all our sins can truly be forgiven as well. Though we need almost daily reminders of this fact, God’s grace is greater than all our sin.

In the Presence of God’s Favor, Find Progress in Faith

Esther 2:9, 12-15

In the middle of the gloom of custody, compromise, and concealment shines a bright spot. Esther pleased Hegai and won his favor, and he placed her on the fast track with cosmetics and food. True, she was rapidly advancing toward the king, but she was also receiving the best possible care in an awful situation. Hegai also gave her the best place in the harem. Not exactly what every girl dreams of but a blessing nonetheless.

As the story advances, we move from the search process to the special preparations. Here we learn what happens to the unfortunate contestants. They receive twelve months of treatments to prepare them for one night with the king apiece. They will be made to look and smell in a way that pleases the king, regardless of their own preferences. I wish I could say things have since improved, but many of the same pressures of appearance still exist for women today. Just consult any magazine at the checkout of your local grocery store.

After joining with the king, these girls could not return to the virgins’ quarters for obvious and grievious reasons. The phrase walk of shame is used in our culture to describe the situation of someone who has a sexual encounter with a person to whom he or she is not married and then walks home the next morning wearing the same outfit worn the previous night. As these young girls would leave the king’s bedroom and walk to a different harem where all the king’s other concubines were living, it was a walk of shame indeed. But the deeper shame should fall on Ahasuerus for taking the virginity of all these women and then consigning them to a place like Hotel California, where they could check out but never leave. If the king did not call for them by name, the girls would live out the remainder of their days in the second harem having only been with the king for one night. This experience could have been Esther’s as well, but for some reason it was not. Any guesses why?

God’s Favor

Though she may have been faithless (unnecessarily concealing her heritage) and though she may have been fearful (who wouldn’t be in that situation?), Esther still was winning favor with everyone she met. For some reason Esther is received positively by all who see her, and they help her for her good (as far as good goes in a harem). Why are the pagans so accomodating? Because “God makes even His enemies serve His ends” (Strain, “Beauty and the Beast”).

We are not told that God’s favor is something Esther asked for in her prayers. We are not even told she prayed. In fact, if God’s blessing were based solely on bold obedience to God, Esther would be owed no favor at all. But God bestows his favor daily on those who do not deserve it and could never earn it.

Esther’s Progress

Just because Esther was out of Mordecai’s direct care does not mean she was out of God’s. Even if we find ourselves in a pagan king’s harem and not seeking God, we may find him seeking us. I am thankful for all the times God has walked with me even when I was not walking for him. The author gives no specific reason for it, but God’s kindness toward Esther is seen in how she was treated and how all received her. She was progressing instead of being punished. Her progress was because of his plan. And though it did not result in an immediate proclamation of her faith, she was certainly being advanced for the purposes of the faith.

In our lives God’s kindness and favor are not any more deserved than they were in Esther’s. We have acted faithlessly and fearfully as well. But when we experience the presence of God’s favor (and are given eyes to see it), we are often led to progress in our faith. His grace is for our growth and for the purposes of advancing the gospel in and through us. Esther will eventually identify her ethnicity and intercede on behalf of her people, and it will all have started because God’s hand is even over a harem.

In the Providence of God, Move into a Strategic Position without Knowing His Sovereign Plan

Esther 2:16-18

Esther Is in a Position of Prominence because of God’s Providence

Choosing to skip certain details, the author gives the outcome of Esther’s visit. The king decides no other virgins need be considered. He was smitten by Esther and wanted her to be his queen. In his joy he slashed taxes and gave gifts, which would have caused Esther’s most ardent detractors, if she had any, to at least be slightly grateful. The girl who was adopted became the girl who was abducted who then became the girl who advanced in the harem ultimately to be adorned with a crown and announced as a queen in a feast given just for her. A provincial search process, special preparations, and the move into a strategic position all seem guided by a silent providence.

God’s Blessings in Our Lives Are Not for Selfishness but Stewardship

In Esther 2 the biblical author is telling us how, despite all odds, a young Jewish woman comes into a position of power in the Persian Empire. It was not something she had sought for herself or been planning since childhood. Her being made queen certainly did not occur in a way any self-respecting woman would prefer. Being given the crown would have surprised Esther. But her rise to such a prominent position (though at this point in the story she would not have seen it as such) signaled that as sure as God had disciplined his people, he was committed to preserving them. Sometimes God moves us into position without fully revealing his plan.

Importantly, God has not placed Esther in this position just for herself. His provision for her is ultimately so he can provide for his people, and Esther will play a key role in that process. Reflecting on the chapter, Strain says,

Their wickedness notwithstanding, the advice of the king’s counselors actually leads to the positioning of Esther in the only place where she could save the people of God. The crass and abusive contest for the queen’s title is utterly wicked to the core and the suffering of those subjected to it can’t be minimized. And yet the painful rise of Esther to the throne of Persia meant salvation for the covenant people of God. (“Beauty and the Beast”)

The king does not know she is a Jew, and the Jews do not know they will need her. God, however, knows all and always knows exactly what he is doing.

In Pondering Christ, See that Ahasuerus and Mordecai Cannot Compare

We could stop our discussion with Esther’s being crowned, but it would be incomplete. Throughout our examination of the passage, I have tried to point us toward the Father and Son where applicable. Now I want to do so directly. When we consider Christ, we see that Ahasuerus and Mordecai cannot compare.

Ahasuerus Exercised Authority for His Own Gratification, but Jesus Does So for Our Good

Though in our text Ahasuerus offered tax relief and gave gifts, it was only after he had taken so many young virgins from their families. Repeatedly, Ahasuerus is seen to rule for his own good above all. Ahasuerus is not unlike many political leaders through the ages—dominated by selfishness instead of service.

My hope, however, is not in Congress’s legislating for our good but in Christ living for it. As a matter of fact, “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Rom 4:25). We could examine many places in Scripture when considering Christ’s leading for our good, but let me briefly mention two. In the first passage Jesus says,

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:10-11)

Selfish rulers think only of preserving their own lives, but Jesus presented his life as a substitute for ours. He placed our good above his own.

The second passage is in John as well. Consider these words Jesus prayed for you:

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the world’s foundation. . . . I made your name known . . . so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them. (John 17:24, 26)

Jesus’s desire is that we would be with him, that we would see his glory, that the Father’s love would be in us, and that he himself would be in us. In his final night of prayer before the cross, Jesus prayed for us to experience the greatest blessings in the world. He would then go to the cross to secure them. Jesus does not have to use his authority for our good. We do not deserve it. But grace is never about merit.

Ahasuerus Sought a Beautiful and Pure Bride, but Jesus Made Us into One

The instructions in the king’s decree were clear. There were three requirements for girls brought to the palace. Each one had to be beautiful, young, and a virgin. Their looks were to be appealing to all men, but they were to have known none of them.

The gospel, by contrast, is not a love story in which a good-looking and experienced groom meets and falls in love with a radiant and pure bride. The gospel is a love story in which a radiant and pure groom chooses to love and purify a wretched bride who has repeatedly given herself to the devouring love of the flesh, the world, and the devil. There is no beauty inherent in her, only sin and darkness. But as Duguid notes, “[Christ’s] pain was the prerequisite for our beauty” (Esther & Ruth, 31). And the beauty treatments he puts us through are not just for his benefit but ours. Unlike Ahasuerus who took what was beautiful from others, Christ took us who were spiritually ugly and gave us his beauty. Ahasuerus sought a beautiful and pure bride, but Jesus made us into one.

Ahasuerus Left the Women He Used with Shame, but Jesus Has Taken Our Shame Away

This truth seems similar to the previous one, but here I am not addressing beauty but shame. Too often we are one-dimensional in our application of Christ’s cross. We tend to think primarily of his paying the penalty for our sin. That truth certainly is important and necessary. But as sinners we also need peace and healing, which is why Isaiah says, “He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds” (Isa 53:5). Not only is our penalty cleared in Christ, but in him we are made whole and given peace.

Related to the context of Esther 2:1-18 is the issue of shame. I mentioned earlier the “walk of shame” some of the girls would have felt as they left Ahasuerus’s chambers having had something taken away that they would never have given the king willingly. Perhaps they did not feel it immediately, but maybe shame came like a crushing blow on a girl’s first night in the new harem with all of the other concubines.

Victims of sexual abuse are prone to feel shame. They feel dirty and used. This feeling comes not because of any sin they have committed personally but because they’ve been sinned against.

I know I have felt shame because of my own sin. I have known the good I ought to do but instead have often chosen and desired the wrong I should not. In the aftershocks of the sin that I have chosen once again failing to provide what was promised, I have felt not just guilt but shame. I have sensed the filth of my rebellion. Like Peter, I have often said to Jesus, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord” (Luke 5:8). Instead of running away from me, though, he runs to me.

Christ uses his Spirit and his Word to remind me that he not only provides atonement, cleansing, healing, and peace, but he also has taken my shame. Roland Muller contends,

The overall message of the Bible is not just the story of God redeeming his people (a legal thought), but it is also the story of God raising mankind from a position of shame, to the ultimate position of joint-heir with Christ. (Honor and Shame, 57–58)

Muller goes on to say, “In the Gospels, Jesus continually turned to the lepers to heal them, demonstrating God’s desire to reach out to those in a place of shame, and restore them” (ibid., 60).

After telling us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author of Hebrews says, “For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). Jesus, then, knows all about shame. On the cross Christ had not only my sin laid upon him but also my shame. The psalmist says, “My disgrace is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face” (Ps 44:15). But on the cross Jesus bore our disgrace so that one day our faces will not be covered with shame but captivated as we “see his face” (Rev 22:4). Our hope in Christ is not just wishful thinking. Our faith will not be in vain. For Paul says, “Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame” (Rom 10:11). While Ahasuerus left the women he used with shame, Jesus has taken ours away forever!

Mordecai Could Only Check on Esther’s Situation, but Jesus Can Change Ours

Though Mordecai’s concern was not displayed in all the ways we may have hoped, his care for Esther was still evident. But as much as he loved Esther, Mordecai lacked the power to change her situation. He could not free her from the harem. He could not keep her from having to spend the night with Ahasuerus. There is no doubt he fully desired to help, but Mordecai lacked the ability to deliver Esther from her situation.

Jesus, however, can change ours. He has both the desire and the ability to accomplish all of his holy will. Jesus is not just full of hope for us but full of help. You can trust that “if the Son sets you free, you really will be free” (John 8:36). After calling the church at Ephesus to remember when they were “without hope and without God in the world,” Paul gladly declares, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:12-13). Let us rejoice that Christ indeed can save his people, and at great cost to himself he has chosen to do so.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Why do we often go around difficult biblical texts instead of through them? What is the danger of doing so? What are some of the more difficult aspects of Esther 2?
2. Why is making a decision in anger or haste a bad idea? How can we minimize how often we do so?
3. How is remorse different from repentance? Why do we need more than just remorse?
4. Describe a time when you found yourself in a difficult situation or circumstance because of someone else’s sin. How can we be faithful even in such difficult situations?
5. Describe a time when you believed the Lord disciplined you, but you also saw evidence of his sustaining you through it.
6. We do not know Esther’s or Mordecai’s motivations, but we do know that neither’s resistance is recorded in chapter 2. Perhaps they were threatened with loss of life, and they chose to compromise with the world. Why do you and I tend to compromise for far less serious threats?
7. In what ways are you currently trying to hold on to your biblical convictions but feel tempted to compromise with the world? How can we faithfully navigate such tension?
8. Esther and Mordecai were imperfect and perhaps even disobedient, but the Lord still used them instead of discarding them. How do you feel about this? Is it any less true for us?
9. What is your response to the idea that Ahasuerus took the purity of women and left them with shame but that Jesus takes our shame and leaves us pure?
10. Ahasuerus sought a beautiful bride, but Jesus has made us into one. How should this fuel your worship and obedience?