When you read Esther 2 you might be able to imagine a lurid Hollywood movie. You also might think negatively of Esther. First, your imagination does not need to go there. We don’t have to fill in the “blank spaces” of every story in Scripture. We always have enough from God to do what He wants to have done in our lives.
Furthermore, the point here is not so much what kind of person we find Esther to be. We are not told that she had a choice in the matter. She was apparently beautiful, not her fault. The king’s goons didn’t ask her if she wanted to be in the beauty contest. Again, this is just the way it was in the days of Ahasuerus. He had the power to lock up all the gorgeous women in his harem. It was expected.
The question really is: how is God going to work in this situation? All that is in the world is “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life” and what we see in this story is full-on worldliness. Undoubtedly, in Israel, there had been the same types of situations going on (David and Bathsheba? Solomon and his 900 wives and concubines?). But at least in Israel there was such an understanding as “righteousness” and kings were supposed to toe the mark. In Shushan, there were fewer boundaries, though there were some, as the story reveals. So now, if there is going to be a rise in antisemitism, and the Jews will face annihilation, what can God do about it given the wickedness of the king and the kingdom? The answer is always the same two possibilities with the Lord: stand back and watch what I do (Ex. 14:13), or I am going to use you, so get ready to be used (Ex. 3:8-10). It is always God working, but sometimes (usually?) He uses humans to fulfill His will.
In Esther 2:10-11 we see that Mordecai told Esther not to reveal her Jewish lineage. I have heard some criticize Mordecai for this, that the role of the Jewish people was to be God’s witnesses, as God told Isaiah (Isa. 43:10, etc.). Again, you can hold this viewpoint if you want because we are not told that this was good or bad. I do have a story to tell, about a wonderful young man who worked with us at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. This man was Jewish in that his mother was a Jew. The man himself was an American citizen with Paraguayan lineage. He always hoped to live in Israel and become an Israeli citizen, which was possible given his mother’s identity. But when he was being questioned by the authorities, he boldly proclaimed that he was a “Messianic Jew,” not wanting to be silent about it. The result was that he was denied entrance to Israel as a Jew and was only able to get temporary permits to be in Israel. Today, to my knowledge, he is back in the United States and unable to return to Israel. He told me that he realized he had been unwise. To me, Mordecai was wise. And he was also a good guardian for Esther as he was regularly keeping an eye on her (2:11). Here is a devotional thought. We need to be subject to the leading of God in our witnessing, never fearful, but always wise, walking circumspectly (Eph. 5:15-16; Col. 4:2-5).
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