Queen Esther

The story of Esther is about an orphaned Israelite girl who rose from being a former exiled prisoner to becoming a Queen of Persia. Esther’s name was originally Hadassah, a Hebrew name, meaning myrtle that is an evergreen shrub used for its violet flowers and for perfume; it was close to before she was crowned queen that her name was changed to Esther that is derived from the Persian word satarah, the name for the star Venus that indicates beauty and good fortune.

Before Esther was crowned queen there was another that had been crowned queen, Queen Vashti; Vashti’s queen ship was taken from her for being disobedient to her husband King Ahasuerus. After removing Vashti’s place as queen, Ahasuerus regretted the action; his counselors saw this and were concerned; they counseled their king to begin searching for another to succeed Vashti.

In the Bible’s book of Esther chapter 2, we are told that the king’s servants advised him to command a search be made throughout the empire for fair young virgins; they also counseled that he should appoint officers to the providences, which were over 127, in the realm to gather every young virgin to bring before their king; not only did these women have to be virgins but they had to be fair of beauty.

In the countries of the East at this time, custom had that once an order was sent out for young women to be brought to the royal palace the women nor their families dare refuse; they were made to yield silently and to obey submissively. It was considered an "honor" to be "chosen"; after a woman was taken from her family and placed in the royal harem, once there, they knew they would never see each other again. Each one of these women was brought before the king; the one who pleased him the most would be crowned the next queen.

In the king’s palace at this time, there was a Jew by the name of Mordecai who held an office inside the court; Mordecai was a cousin to Esther and had raised her as his own daughter because she had been orphaned at a young age. Esther was now a woman who the Bible describes as being one of beauty; after the king made the decree that all young virgins or maidens, who were fair to look upon, be brought to the palace, Esther was taken and on arrival at the palace, placed under the custody of Hegai, the king’s chamberlain. Hegai was the "keeper of the women"; he was the chief eunuch, who is typically a castrated person who performs a specific social function, this was very common among many societies from the past.

One author describes a eunuch as "usually a repulsive old man, on whom the court ladies are very dependent, and whose favor they are always desirous to secure". Hegai was in charge of the king’s harem which Esther became a part of. The word harem refers to a group of women who normally live in a polygynous household or in this case a palace, where the lodging is enclosed and banned to men.

Thankfully, the Bible records that Esther gained delight with Hegai who showed only kindness towards her; because of Esther’s sweet and good-natured appearance she became not only Hegai’s favorite but that of all who looked on her. He quickly gave her all she would need to prepare herself to meet the king; this included items like costly and fragrant cosmetics and food. Esther also received seven maids to wait on her; Hegai moved her and the seven maids to the finest section in the harem. Every day Mordecai inquired of the eunuchs how Esther was doing and what was to become of her.

For an entire year Esther and the many other women had to prepare themselves to meet the king. The Bible tells us that for six months the women had to purify themselves with oil of myrrh and for six months to purify themselves with sweet odors and many other items. The Bible records that each woman would present herself.

When the time came for Esther to present herself before the king she asked for nothing special to improve her appearance; what Hegai selected she wore. Esther came before her king, and he "loved" her above every other he had seen; she "obtained grace and favour in his sight"; the king placed the royal crown on Esther and pronounced her as Queen.

Esther was a Jew in a time when Jews were being persecuted; before Esther was taken, Mordecai warned her to let no one know who she was; Esther remained silent and God took care of her. He had a plan for Esther . . .

Maybe it is the time we all asked God about His plan with our lives, He might surprise us!