2 Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his real to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the King’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 She pleased him and won his favor. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.
10 Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
Esther 2:2-11 (NIV)
Esther’s life seems to demonstrate an outline of events that God has applied to many people in the Bible, but also in our own lives. First, Esther had a purpose and God had providence over her life. But before that was fulfilled, Esther went through a waiting period before becoming queen and even after becoming queen. God then calls Esther to action! She is called to live out God’s will, and she has a choice to either do as God says, or not. Esther demonstrates humble obedience to God’s command, and eventually she lives out fulfilment in her role as the queen and saves God’s chosen people. Our focus for Episode 2 and this post is to really hone in on Esther’s purpose and God’s providence. As we look at Esther’s life it’s important to understand the history before the above referenced passage.
Esther is one of only two books in the Bible named after women, the other being Ruth. Esther is also the only book in the Bible where God’s name is actually not mentioned. As we’ve heard it put before though, God’s name might not be mentioned, but his “fingerprints” are all over Esther’s story. The setting in Esther was roughly 483-473 B.C. The Jewish people had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar for over 70 years. Ezra chapters 1-6 describe the conquering of Babylon by the Persian Empire. After being conquered, King Cyrus allows the Jews to go home – back to Jerusalem. Only 43,000 Jews chose to go back to Jerusalem and the rest remained in Persia. Esther and Mordecai are two of the Jews still left in Persia under King Xerxes rule. King Xerxes decides to have a big party for 6 months as he is trying to get support for Persia to go to war with Greece.
The party is biblically described as having a lot of spirits and alcohol. King Xerxes’ wife, Queen Vashti, is also having a banquet for the women. The King calls his wife to him so he can look at her with his friends, but Queen Vashti refuses. Because King Xerxes is embarrassed that she would not come to him, his advisors suggest that he make a decree to remove Vashti from the throne. King Xerxes does as told and removes Vashti to set an example. After eventually going to war with Greece and losing, King Xerxes may have been feeling a little lonely so he decides to search for a new queen. That is where we pick up in Esther 2:2 (see the passage above).
Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? How about what is God’s plan for us? Danielle and I have certainly asked ourselves these questions before. As we dig deeper into the life of Esther we started to see a clear difference between what our purpose is, and what God’s ultimate providence is. Although purpose and providence are often used synonymously, they actually have different meanings. Purpose is defined as the reason for which something (or someone) exists. While providence is actually defined as the protective care of God. The book of Esther is often referenced by many pastors to learn or teach about God’s providence.
A well-known theologian, Dr. Jay Vernon McGee, describes providence as “the means by which God directs all things, both animate and inanimate, seen and unseen, good and evil, toward a worthy purpose which means his will must finally prevail.” He also said, “you can be in the providence of God without being in the will of God.” Esther and Mordecai are good examples of this. We see them being disobedient in ways, but God still carried out his providence in their lives. First, Esther and Mordecai were out of the will of God because they were still in Persia. The prophet Jeremiah told the Jews they were to return home, but yet Esther and Mordecai didn’t follow this. They stayed in Persia, a place where the faith was likely not respected and was not the designated land God had set aside for his holy people.
Second, Esther participated in a beauty pageant which really is more like a sex competition. Verse 2:12-14 describes the process Esther went through to be selected as queen. She had to abide by strict beauty treatments and saw the king once. If he liked her or was especially attracted to her she would be selected to come back. Of all the women, the king selected Esther to be queen. Had she not been selected she could have been a concubine instead. Concubines were women who were not married to the king, but that he was intimate with. Genesis describes marriage as being between a man and a woman, indicating one man and one woman. Although concubines are not explicitly condemned by God, this type of relationship was likely not what God had in mind for marriage.
Last, Esther and Mordecai were lying about her identity and even went so far as to change her name. Esther’s original Hebrew name was Hadassah, but she changes it to the Persian name Esther. From a secular standpoint this was wise of her to do because she would not have been selected as queen had her nationality been revealed, but this effort was a cover-up of who she truly was in God.
Although Esther wasn’t really living according to God’s will, as we see in these three examples, God was still carrying out his providential plan. This certainly applies in my own life, and probably many women’s lives. We may choose to be outside of God’s will, but yet he still carries out his providence. God’s providence was so great in Esther’s life that it was enough to change her heart towards him. Ultimately Esther saved God’s people although her path to the position of influence as queen may have not been according to God’s will. This is biblical evidence of being outside God’s will, yet he still can use you for his glory. Even nonbelievers are affected by God’s great providence. In fact, many people who were once nonbelievers but now are Christians can look back over their lives and realize even at times when they didn’t know God, he was working things together for them.
It’s common for Christian women to wonder what God’s purpose is for our lives. Especially when we feel like we aren’t doing enough for him. We feel like we aren’t successful enough, aren’t working hard enough, aren’t studying hard enough, aren’t spending enough time with our families, and the list could go on. But the truth is, if you’re struggling to find your purpose, don’t. If you’re struggling to fulfill your purpose, don’t. Providence means that God will provide in the purpose that he has created for you. He is directing all things. He is alpha and omega, beginning and end. He holds the world in his hand, but knows every hair on your head. He knows the names of every person that has ever been or ever will be born, and he has still chosen you to be a part of his story.