Esther
2:1-11 Esther
and Mordecai
After
these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti
and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. Then the king’s
servants who attended him said, ‘Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for
the king. And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his
kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the citadel
of Susa under the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the
women; let their cosmetic treatments be given them. And let the girl who
pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’ This pleased the king, and he did
so.
Now
there was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair son
of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite. Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem
among the captives carried away with King Jeconiah of Judah, whom King
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried away. Mordecai had brought up Hadassah,
that is Esther, his cousin, for she had neither father nor mother; the girl was
fair and beautiful, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai adopted
her as his own daughter. So when the king’s order and his edict were
proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in the citadel of Susa in
the custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in
the custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. The girl pleased him and won
his favour, and he quickly provided her with her cosmetic treatments and her
portion of food, and with seven chosen maids from the king’s palace, and
advanced her and her maids 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 around in front of the court of the harem, to learn how
Esther was and how she fared.
****
Quite a few popular novels have the
main character as an orphan child such as Anne of Green Gables and Harry
Potter. In biographies we read of people such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Eleanor
Roosevelt and Babe Ruth, all who were orphaned at an early age .We feel and see
the loss they suffered early in life and marvel at how they grew to adulthood
without the loving care and guidance of their parents. As in most cases there
is a person or persons who steps in to care for the child and the influence of
that caretaker can make all the difference in how well a child grows and
matures. Esther is such a child and since her parents had died her cousin Mordecai
had raised her as his daughter. Esther is only 14 years old when she along with
many other young virgins are taken into the harem of King Ahasuerus in order
for the king to choose who will be his new queen. Mordecai had warned her not
to disclose her Jewish ancestry because the Jews were not a favored people.
Esther had been placed into a situation not of her own choosing and soon
learned of a plot by Haman to destroy all the Jews of the kingdom. She summoned
her courage and with Mordecai’s guidance played a pivotal role in saving her
people. What we do in life has consequences that reverberate down through the
ages too. We can depend and live our lives trusting in God’s commandments and
guidance from our parents, caretakers, church, family and friends.
Prayer:
May we pray today
and everyday for the Holy Spirit to guide us in all we do and give us the
courage and strength of character to live our lives as Jesus taught us.
No comments:
Post a Comment