Esther 2:12 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.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
16 So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
King Ahasuerus created this problem by having a drunken party. He had bad advisers who made matters even worse. Now he is going to have various young virgins come and parade around him as he tries to figure out which one he “loves”.
We see the same problem in many people’s lives today. Dating is a very common way of trying to find a mate. In dating, a man approaches a woman and asks to take her to coffee or to a dinner or to some event. If the man or the woman decides they do not like the other person, then they try to find some other person to repeat the same thing. In modern dating, intimacy comes before marriage. One of the reasons for the breakdown in marriages is because this entire dating game is terribly flawed.
God’s design for marriage is for the man and the woman to be saved first of all. Secondly, since the man and the woman are saved, they are praying and seeking God’s wisdom in choosing a life partner. Of course the Christian parents of the young people are also praying for wisdom and direction for their children.
This likely sounds too simplistic or ridiculous for many. However, we can see how God brought godly couples together in the Bible and how they were blessed. We can also see how things worked when couples chose not to follow God’s way. Even king David, a man God speaks very highly of, had problems related to his multiple marriages. He could not be a godly father to his many children. One of his sons even tried to kill him. It was a mess.
Back to our text, we see the king’s very unwise plan begin to be put together. In verse 12 we read that no expense was spared in preparing these virgins for their encounter with the king. All of the attention was on the outward appearance of these women. Nothing was mentioned of the state of their hearts.
In verse 13 we read that when the maiden was to come before the king, she was given whatsoever she desired. This too is quite similar to today’s method of finding a spouse. During the dating period, the man and the woman put their best foot forward. They want to try to impress the person they hope will choose them. After they get married, if they do, that drive wears out. Now the real world sets in and that world is not nearly as pretty as the dating world. Too many couples choose not to marry and just move in together. That is a very bad choice as well.
In verse 14 we read that each woman was given her time and she would go to the king’s palace in the evening and return to the second house in the morning. This second house would be the house of the concubines. If the king did not delight in her, then he would not call her back. She had her night and she defiled her body with this worthless man and she became used merchandise.
Too often men take a dim view of women. They see them as a playmate to satisfy their lusts. They do not see the woman as that help meet for the man. God designed the woman to be an asset to the man. He designed them both to look deeper than what they saw on the surface. Keep in mind, that God’s design is for the man and the woman to marry and remain married for life. Compatibility has more to do with being right with God first and then choosing a spouse that He has in mind for you. Too often the emotions take over and reason is set aside, when a man and a woman are choosing a spouse.
In verse 15 we read that Esther’s turn came. She was different than the other maidens. She did not ask for anything extra or special when she went in to be with the king. She was content to take what Hegai assigned to her. She had a different character than the other maidens and she found favour in the presence of those who observed her.
Beauty is good. God mentioned that Vashti was fair to look upon. However, beauty is only skin deep. The character of the person is of much greater importance. A godly man does not want a froward woman. He does not want a vain woman. A godly woman does not want a vain man either. A godly woman wants a man who is responsible and will look after her and protect her.
In verse 16 we read that Esther was brought in before the king. This was now the tenth month of the year, and it was now in the seventh year of his reign. Remember that he threw his big party in the third year of his reign. Several years have passed by as the king has tried to find a replacement for Vashti. He could have resolved his differences with Vashti, but that was not even an option.
We read in verse 17 that the king loved Esther above all the women. That is not saying very much. His “love” is not the Biblical love that God has for us, nor the love that a man needs to have for his wife. A godly man does not weigh the pros and cons of a group of women. He seeks godly counsel and chooses one woman that he is going to make his partner for life. The woman is also looking for a man that will be there to take care of her for the rest of their lives.
Esther was not raised in a pagan culture as the other virgins were. Even though Mordecai chose not to walk faithfully with the Lord, his culture was different. He passed that on to Esther. She was a woman who did not walk in vanity. She did not desire beauty agents to try to enhance her looks. She was content with who she was. She gained favour with those who were with her because she had a different attitude to life than many.
The king, even though a lost man, could see the difference between Esther and the other maidens. He liked what he observed. He chose Esther to be the replacement queen for Vashti. We need to keep in mind we are dealing with a pagan nation here. What was taking place here was not according to God’s design. We have already noted that. There is no blessing in being someone who can be used and if you can satisfy some vain man with your body, then he will keep you. God gave us this record, not to condone the immorality that was so common in Persia, but rather to show how He would overrule a bad situation to protect His promise made to Abraham. As we will see in this book, Haman wanted to destroy the Jews. God was not going to allow that to happen. There is no point in pondering the “what ifs” that might have taken place. This is the reality of what happened. No one should look at this account and use it to suggest God is giving His blessing to divorce and remarriage. He is not. We already know what God decreed in Genesis 2:24. We have already seen that Jesus took the Jews back to God’s standard for marriage in Matthew 19.
It is foolish to take a situation where God is not honoured and try to make a doctrine from that.
In verse 18 we read that this godless king now had something else to celebrate. Earlier it had been his pride in his reign over his great territory. He chose to throw a drunken party for that one. Now he was celebrating his removal of Vashti from being the queen and being his wife. He was done with her because she refused to be his door mat. Now he had chosen one of the vulnerable beautiful young virgins to live in sin with him. These maidens were not given a choice. I would assume that Mordecai could have said no to his cousin being taken, but maybe he could not do that. That may have been one of the dangers of choosing to remain in a pagan nation rather than moving back to his homeland when God gave him the opportunity. As we have noted, Daniel did not choose to be a compromiser in a foreign land, but Mordecai seemed to accept that just to try to get along. He was concerned for what would become of his cousin, but not concerned enough to keep her from being defiled.
Life is about making choices. Some of those choices can be difficult. Sometimes we put ourselves into a place where we need to make difficult choices. It is important to know the Lord and be sure we are following His lead. He is able to guide us in the way that will bring glory to His name and blessing to us.
Pastor Bartel