Esther 2:8 So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women.
10 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.
11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
12 Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)
13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.
14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.
As we study the Word of God, it is encouraging to know that it is not a complicated book to study. The only problem in understanding the Bible is the lostness of man. The Bible is a spiritual book and it requires the Holy Spirit to understand it. The natural man cannot understand much of the Bible, because he is not saved.
I Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
We recently relocated our dwelling place. We moved closer to our son in order to be able to be more readily available to help with his children. He lost his wife to cancer about a year ago and there are young children that need help. Together with that move, we needed to make some changes to some of our technical devices. Today most everything that needs to be done involves a certain level of AI. That is supposed to stand for “artificial intelligence” but it actually is “anti intelligence” or in simple terms ‘a nuisance’. I am old enough to remember the time when you would call a business and a person would answer the phone. That person could either deal with your situation or they would direct you to the person who could help you. Now, an entire generation is being raised to accept the nuisance of dialing a number and getting a recording that gives you different numbers to direct the call. When you choose a number, then you get some more options to choose from. You might even get a robot who asks you questions that might lead you further into the maze. Eventually you get to a person who then does not know what they are talking about so you need to find an actual outlet which is another test of endurance before you finally get the help you need.
As we have been dealing with this, my thoughts went to God’s salvation. There is nothing complicated about that. He does not have some superficial recording that gives you the run around before you might get some help. The Bible tells us that we come to God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never get a busy signal when seeking to know God whether for salvation or once saved, to direct you.. In fact, the Bible tells us that it is God Who is reaching out to man through His Holy Spirit to convince man of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. When a person finally submits to the Holy Spirit’s convicting work, there is an open line to call out to God for His gift of salvation and eternal life.
True churches should flee from the automated system like the plague. When a person is calling for help or direction from the Lord and is reaching out to a local church, they need to hear a human voice. They need to be given real help, not a run around. Churches should not be so busy that they cannot assist a person in need.
As we continue our study of the book of Esther, we find that God gives us the facts. He shows us the disastrous results of a life without Him. Man tends to dig his hole deeper and deeper. Occasionally a
person finally listens to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit and is saved. In our text, that was not the case. King Ahasuerus just kept digging his hole deeper and deeper. He sought counsel from the wrong people.
In verse 8 we read that at the king’s commandment, many maidens were gathered together to Sushan the palace and placed in the custody of Hegai. Esther was also chosen and brought into this harem. The society of that time was so corrupt that parents assumed it would be such an honour to have their daughter chosen to join into an adulteress relationship with a wicked king. Even Mordecai did not have enough spiritual sense to realize this was not a good thing.
Some of us know the rest of the story and we know how this book ends. As we have mentioned before, God never leads a person to do wrong so that good can come from it. Often, God works through the wrong for His glory. He protects things from getting too far out of hand. He does not need man’s help to get His Work done. He needs man’s obedience so that man can receive the blessing that God would have for him.
In verse 9 we see that Esther pleased Hegai. He gave her all the things she needed to prepare her for her presentation before the king. Seven maidens were given to her to assist her with whatever she might need. Hegai put Esther and her maids in the best place in the house of women. Hegai did all he could to make sure that Esther would be the choice of the king.
In verse 10 we read that Esther had not showed the people who she really was. She did not identify herself as a Jew. She tried to blend into the culture of the time. She was obedient to her guardian, Mordecai. This was a bad move on the part of both of them. Again we see how God would protect His people even though they were not willing to openly identify with Him.
This is quite the contrast to other captives like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They made it a point to identify themselves immediately upon being taken captive. They had no desire to assimilate into the Babylonian culture. We see the great influence they had over Nebuchadnezzar and his ungodly counsellors. Daniel also had a godly influence over king Darius of the Medes and the Persians.
In verse 11 we see that Mordecai paid close attention to what was happening with Esther. He really had no opportunity to do anything about what was happening. He had given up that responsibility by giving her into this plot. He was concerned about what would become of her.
In verse 12 we see that this process of choosing a suitable adulteress for the king took some time. The women needed to be prepared with special oils and with sweet odours to make the right impression before the king. After all, he was a married man and he still had tender thoughts for Vashti. That was as it should be. Now there needed to be a woman brought before him that could outdo Vashti.
In verse 13 we see that every woman was thus brought before the king. Whatever she desired was given to her for this occasion. Each woman received what was deemed necessary for her to go before the king.
The world functions under a different standard than God’s people do and should. The world justifies its actions by the end result. If there seems to be a happy ending, then it is all good. God says there can be no truly happy ending without knowing the Lord. We will see some good things come out of this entire mess due to God’s mercy. God declared His standard of marriage in Genesis 2. Jesus referred back to that standard in Matthew 19. God’s standard has never changed. We need to go by His standard and not the corrupted standard of so many. God shows us these things to help us to see the need to follow Him.
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
In verse 14 we see that each woman spent an night with the king. Then she would return to the second house of the women and placed into the custody of Shaashgaz, one of the king’s chamberlains. There she was kept with the kings other concubines. She would remain there unless the king desired some further “pleasure” from her.
We need to be careful to look at God’s Word according to His standard of righteousness and understand that He often exposes the depravity of man. He shows us the disaster this path brings. He also shows us how He alone can protect His promises.
Pastor Bartel
