Women with a Story to Tell. Esther, 3.

What does God have in store for the woman Esther, a captive Jewish slave in one of the strongest and most extensive empires to ever exist? 

”Now there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai … a Benjaminite who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with King Jeconiah of Judah … (by) King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon…. He had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the young woman was fair and beautiful, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter” (Esther 2: 5-7). 

 Esther was a Jew, an alien in the land of the Persians. She was born a slave in captivity which we know because the text does not say that she was ‘carried away’. It was Mordecai’s generation, which included her parents, that was carried away. Her parents have died, so she was an orphan until adopted by her cousin, Mordecai. Look at her status: a girl, an orphan, an alien, and a slave. The odds are stacked against Esther in this patriarchal imperial society, and it is not Esther’s fault. The Persian king, like the Egyptian pharaoh, is at the top of a society that is corrupt. How will such a lowly person bring about God’s plans?

”When the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed and when many young women were gathered in the citadel of Susa … Esther was taken into the king’s palace…. The young woman pleased (the eunuch in charge) and won his favor, and he quickly provided her with her cosmetic treatments and her portion of food…, and he advanced her … to the best place in the harem. Esther did not reveal her people or kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to tell. Every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared” (Esther: 2: 8-11). 

 So far, Esther is not in control of anything. God is biding his time. Like Joseph, she seems to have charmed her jailor and thus is treated well in captivity. Unlike Joseph, she has someone on the outside who is looking after her well-being. As a dutiful adopted child, she has followed the directions of Mordecai. 

 After a year’s worth of health and cosmetic treatment, Esther, among all the harem, most pleased King Ahasuerus. The king made her the queen, replacing Vashti, and a great banquet was thrown for her. 

 Now the spotlight shifts to Mordecai. Mordecai spent some time at the king’s gate and there he overheard two of the guards discussing a plot to assassinate King Ahasuerus. Mordecai passed this information along to Queen Esther, and “Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.” An investigation followed and the plot was determined to be true. The guards were executed, and the case was “recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king” (Esther 2: 21-23).

 Esther is secure in her position, and the king still does not know that she and her adopted father are Jews. After all, the Persian empire of the time had 127 provinces and thus several hundred ethnic groups under its control. Jews would not stand out among other conquered and enslaved people. Unless….

 Unless there is trouble for the Jews and Esther has a further test to meet. Are people in God's hands tested? As Jesus who, right after he was baptized, was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested. God is preparing Esther for his service. What happens next?