Part 4: Esther- A Rising Star

May 28, 2020 by Cee Maria in Esther:The Story of Purim

Esther 2:2-4

But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made. So his personal attendants suggested, “Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments. After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect.

Today we continue with Part 4 of our series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”. Our fourth blog, “Esther- A Rising Star” is about her life journey from childhood to becoming the Queen of Persia. The question we will address is, what kind of woman was Esther?

Four years later...

It is 4 years after the infamous 7 day extravaganza of Susa and finally, Xerxes’ anger subsides. Only then did Xerxes miss Vashti. As far as sexual relief, he had a harem. Enough said. Something very troubling was on his mind. In the past, he was able to trust and confide in Vashti. But, Vashti isn’t there.

The solution to Xerxes misery:

Well, there’s always his “Think Tank.” However, you will find that in the rest of the Book of Esther, these specific men are never mentioned by name again. Xerxes finally realized that his “Think Tank” never had his best interest at heart and now he lived with the bitter regret of taking their advice and banishing forever his most trusted confidant.

Xerxes must have been miserable and probably took it out on everyone around him, especially on his personal servants. In order to avoid the brunt of his anger and positively redirect his attention, his servants reminded their king of his decree to replace the queen. They suggested a beauty pageant enrolling only the most beautiful young virgins throughout the entire kingdom, a brilliant plan to keep King Xerxes pleasantly occupied and out of his servants’ hair. Naturally, King Xerxes agreed.

Who is Hadassah?

Esther 2:7

This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her into his family and raised her as his own daughter.

Introduced in verse 7 is Hadassah, a Jewish name given to this very beautiful little girl by her openly observant Jewish parents. Raised in a very spiritual culture, her training would include the study and memorization of the Old Testament, which is filled with God’s wisdom concerning every subject matter and every area of life. Now orphaned and adopted by Mordecai, he hid her true ethnicity by giving her a Persian name, Esther, meaning “star” and “hidden”.

Esther is recruited for the beauty pageant:

Esther 2: 8-9

As a result of the king’s decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the king’s harem at the fortress of Susa and placed in Hegai’s care. Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

Meeting all the markers that qualify her for this pageant, she was recruited by the palace scouts. Along with all the other young women chosen for this contest, Esther was removed from her home forever and relocated into the king’s harem.

Hegai is impressed by Esther:

Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the virgins, must have evaluated all of the women put under his care. It would be safe to say that he thoroughly interviewed each contestant to assess their intelligence level, emotional maturity, strengths and weaknesses, and their philosophy on life. Of all the hundreds of women to choose from, it was Esther who impressed him as the most qualified candidate for Queen.

Once he determined Esther to be the most worthy candidate, he assigned her seven maids. Seven stands for completion which indicates that her every need was met. She was given a special diet of the best foods. There is another person who asked for a special diet in the palace of a king (Nebudkednezzar of Babylon, a hundred years earlier) and his name was Daniel. Being raised as an observant Jew, it would stand to reason that she asked for a very similar menu. And, she was provided with the optimal beauty treatments. Esther had such favor with Hegai, that he situated her and her maids in the most comfortable and private area in the harem, hidden from her competitors, so they wouldn’t be harassed or disturbed.

Esther keeps Her secret:

Esther 2: 10

Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so.

But this young, beautiful, orphaned girl kept a secret. Mordecai warned her not to mention that she was Jewish. I am sure that he feared that she would suffer persecution and the opportunity for advancement would be snatched out of her reach. Mordecai may have even feared for her life.

Esther is clothed with humility:

Esther 2:13

When it was time for her to go to the king’s palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem.

Esther 2:15

When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her.

As far as her outfit and accessories, she allowed Hegai to choose what she needed to wear and depended on his expertise. It was a great choice because everyone who laid eyes on her had their breath taken away. She wasn’t acting in blind obedience, but she had a submissive and compliant spirit, first to her parents, then to Mordecai, and now to Hegai. I also believe that symbolically, she was clothed in humility which produced God’s favor because God gives grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:5 (parenthesis added)

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace (favor) to the humble.

Esther’s night with King Xerxes:

Esther 2:16-18

Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther’s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone.

Now, Esther is ready and is presented to King Xerxes in the seventh year of his reign, and he was crazy about her. Seven, the number of spiritual perfection and as far as Xerxes was concerned, she was his perfect intellectual and spiritual mate. As we noted in our previous blog, (King Xerxes), Xerxes knew how to extract information from everyone he knew, so he probably considered himself a good judge of character. I would think that he presented her with probing questions and that she responded with amazing intelligence. Her sincerity and words of wisdom must have surpassed that of any woman he had ever met. Remember, she knew the Scriptures, and like the prophet Daniel, was trained in the wisdom of God.

Esther is crowned Queen:

She had such favor with the king that he crowned her queen before he finished sleeping with the rest of the other virgins. It was an seemingly impossible task, but he actually found someone that exceeded the beauty, intelligence, and wisdom of Vashti.

Esther 2: 19-20

19 Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official, 20 Esther continued to keep her family background and nationality a secret. She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home.

Esther- A Rising Star:

After submitting to her elders her entire young life, Esther was blessed with great authority of her own. Very soon after her coronation, she promoted Mordecai to palace official. She trusted him and he would keep her informed about what was going on. Although she officially outranked him, Esther continued to submit to her adoptive father. And as Mordecai commanded her, she kept her Jewish nationality a secret, and depended on his expertise, and followed his directions.

Let’s pray:

Father,

What a beautiful lesson to learn. True humility is not blind obedience but it does mean that I will not be difficult or have an “don’t tell me what to do” attitude. True humility acknowledges that others have more knowledge and experience than myself, and that it would be to my benefit to follow their advice. It is Your will that I treat others with respect and be compliant to authority. As I demonstrate to You my respect and compliance to others, You will bless me with authority of my own to use for Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

References:

Part 3: Mordecai- The Soldier

May 19, 2020 by Cee Maria in Esther:The Story of Purim

Esther 1:5-7

At that time there was a Jewish man in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai, son of Jair. He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Shimei and Kish. His family had been among those who, with King Jehoiachin of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her into his family and raised her as his own daughter.

Today we continue with Part 3 of our series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”, and our third blog will be about one of the main characters of our text, Mordecai: The Soldier. The question we will address is, what kind of man was Mordecai?

A Jewish Man:

Here, we are introduced to Mordecai and the first descriptor of him is that he is Jewish. This is very important to the narrative because at this point in the story, no one in Susa knew of his origin and assumed that he was a Persian.

Also, the scriptures recorded his ancestral line dating back from the time of Babylon conquering Jerusalem, approximately 100 years prior. During this raid, his great-grandfather Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, was captured along with King Jehoiachin of Judah. One can assume that after the 70 years of captivity were complete, Kish’s son, Shimei, or grandson, Jair, moved to one of the 127 Persian provinces and concealed their Jewish identity. At least several generations have lived in Susa and assimilated into the Persian culture for Mordecai to successfully hide his Jewish roots.

Lived in the Fortress of Susa:

In order to live in the fortress, you had to be a soldier or related to a soldier. The Fortress of Susa is in fact a military post located in the capital city of Persia. Military posts had warehouses for battle equipment, buildings and fields allocated for training, stalls for horses and other animals used for battle, and base housing for the soldiers. Mordecai and his family lived in the equivalent of base housing on the Fortress of Susa Military Post, which would be considered the most secure fortress in the world at that time.

Mordecai was a Soldier:

What did the life of a Persian soldier under the rule of King Xerxes entail?

Training & Battle

“Training for the army began at the age of 15. Youths were divided into 50 classes for military training under instruction included horse grooming and horsemanship, hunting, running, swimming, archery, javelin-throwing, swordsmanship, martial arts, military discipline (such as forced marches, long watches, battle drills, living off the land). Trainees were also expected to contribute to the community by developing agricultural skills. Sons of the king and nobility were also taught to cultivate administrative skills. Military service began at the age of 20 and professional soldiers were allowed to retire at 50; conscripts served for the duration of an engagement or campaign and then, if they survived, could return home until called up again.” (1)https://www.ancient.eu/Persian_Warfare/

What does all that mean? It means that Mordecai could kill a man with his thumb! He was a highly skilled soldier in the Persian Army.

Meaning of “Mordecai”:

The name Mordecai is considered a hypocorism, in other words, a word with a double meaning. Since Mordecai never revealed his Jewish origins, we can assume that the Persian translation of his name would apply, which means “Marduk is their lord”, and the nickname or hypocorism would be “little boy” (2). Marduk was actually a Babylonian deity, which is interesting because verse 6 informs us that his family was exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. Evidently, it was the parents of Mordecai that named him after a Babylonian deity. It would stand to reason that his father, Jair, taught his son that, in order to avoid persecution and advance in life, it would be best to keep their Jewish identity hidden. Mordecai was a brave warrior, but when it came to the God of the Hebrews, he was like a little boy keeping secrets.

Mordecai adopts his cousin:

When his cousin died, it was probably prearranged to leave their only daughter to him because he was the next of kin. This would indicate that he had close emotional ties with his cousins who did not live in Susa. The girl’s name was Hadassah, but only the people from the area she was born and raised knew that. Hadassah means “myrtle” which is the Hebrew emblem of marriage (3 & 4). When Mordecai relocated her to Susa, he changed her Jewish name to a Persian name, Esther, which means “star”. Interestingly, “in the Hebrew, the first three letter root of Esther is s-t-r (סתר), and it means "hide, conceal".” (5)

Just as Mordecai’s parents hid his identity with his name, he hid Hadassah’s identity by providing her a Persian name so others would presume she was a Gentile.

Hadassah’s family:

Hadassah’s family were more than likely observant Jews. They called their daughter a very Jewish name so there was no doubt about their ethnicity, their beliefs, their Hebrew God, and their customs. Very aware of their religious stance, Mordecai ordered the girl not to reveal her origin.

Esther 2:10-11

Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so. Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her.

Everybody knew Mordecai:

Esther knew Mordecai as her adopted father. She had great love and respect for him, trusted his wisdom, and followed his instructions. Just as her name implied, she hid behind her new image and allowed everyone to presume that she was one of them. Her dad was a big deal in these parts. When Mordecai walked the palace grounds, all of the servants knew who he was and informed him of her daily progress. As Mordecai's daughter, Esther would be elevated in the eyes of the servants who attended to her.

Mordecai, the man:

Mordecai was Jewish, a race of people who worshiped God. His great-grandfather, a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin, was exiled to Babylon when Jerusalem was besieged. Eventually, probably in the last 30 years after the 70 years of exile was completed, most likely his father, Jair, moved to Susa and assimilated into its society. Given a Gentile name, Mordecai was taught that in order to avoid persecution and to advance in this world, he was not to disclose their ethnicity. Mordecai was a skilled, brave soldier in King Xerxes' army who was recognized by the people of the palace as someone of status. He lived in the fortress of Susa with his adopted daughter, provided for her, and raised her as his father raised him. Though they were model citizens of Persia, they were both secretive about their Jewish identity.

Let’s pray:

Father,

Give me the courage never to deny You. I am Your child, and I will not be afraid to let the world know that I belong to You. In Jesus name, Amen

References:

https://www.ancient.eu/Persian_Warfare/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordecai
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1919&t=KJV
Dream Encounter Symbols, Barbie Breathitt Ministries, www.BreathoftheSpiritMinistries.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_(given_name)

Part 2 - Queen Vashti

May 09, 2020 by Cee Maria in Esther:The Story of Purim

Esther 1:9-12 NLT

At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas— to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.

Today we continue with Part 2 of our new series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”, and our second blog will be about Queen Vashti. There’s not a lot of information about her. What I have extrapolated from the Scriptures is what is presented in this blog. The question we will address is, what kind of woman was Queen Vashti?

Queen Vashti:

While King Xerxes hosted his male guests, in a designated section of the palace, another feast was being held for all of the women by Queen Vashti. Vashti means “beautiful”, and can also mean “that drinks” and “thread” (1&2). She was considered a woman who was beautiful in countenance, highly intelligent, logical, and reasonable. But, like her husband, she also knew how to make others comfortable by use of alcohol.

She would have been held in high esteem by the King, since he elevated her up to be the role model for all the women of Susa. Evidently, he trusted her completely and allowed her to take the women of the city under her wing. She was probably one of his main advisers. Like her husband, she wined and dined her guests. Like threads on a loom, she would weave her conversation to collect data from the wives of the princes to later share and compare notes with her husband. When wives are separated from their husbands, they are not so guarded in their dialogue. Also, for the security of the women, it would be sensible for them to party away from the men who were drinking to excess in order to avoid potentially dangerous confrontations.

Mistake #1- Xerxes demands Vashti to be put on display:

On the last day of the feast for the city of Susa, King Xerxes was crazy drunk. It wasn’t enough that he ruled and reigned over the most powerful and influential men in the world. It wasn’t enough to display his enormous wealth. It wasn’t enough to prove that he was secure in himself by ruling in his unique sophisticated and collegial style. To prove his alpha dominance over all, he decided to put his wife on display. Naturally, she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she belonged to him! So he sent seven very capable eunuchs to order Vashti to pose naked on stage in front of all of these intoxicated men.

Tastefully, Vashti refused to comply:

Vashti refused! She did not want to place herself in harm's way and she probably figured that the king would come to his senses once he was sober. Naturally, she would explain to him how undignified, disrespectful, and dangerous it would be to model herself in front of hundreds of drunken, leering, and unstable men. Of course, when he sobered up and came to his senses, he would agree that she took the correct course of action. Her reaction proves that she had a relationship of mutual respect with her husband and that in the past, he was usually a reasonable man. If she had a fear of retaliation, she would not have refused his request. Unfortunately for her, this would not be the case on this particular day.

Esther 1:13-18

He immediately consulted with his wise advisers, who knew all the Persian laws and customs, for he always asked their advice. The names of these men were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan—seven nobles of Persia and Media. They met with the king regularly and held the highest positions in the empire. “What must be done to Queen Vashti?” the king demanded. “What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king’s orders, properly sent through his eunuchs? ”Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger.

The 7 Nobles of Persia:

Let’s take a look at the men who comprised King Xerxes’ “Think Tank”. He was totally dependent on them to craft and execute the laws of the land.

Carshena means “illustrious” (3). He was evidently known for his past achievement

Shethar means “star” (4). He was someone famous in his field and possibly in the area of astrology.

Admatha means “a testimony to them” (5). This man’s life was a testimony of his belief system and achievements.

Tarshish means “yellow jasper” (6). Yellow jasper was considered a very valuable stone and is considered to contain healing properties. It is probable that this person owned quarries and was a wealthy businessman.

Meres means “lofty” (7). This could refer to someone who is very tall and considers themselves superior to everyone else.

Marsena means “worthy” (8). This is a man who is considered deserving of respect.

Memucan means “dignified” (9). This is someone who is considered distinguished among his peers and has earned the respect of others.

That’s quite a group of men Xerxes had surrounding him. Yes, they were intelligent and probably attended the equivalent of military or ivy league schools. Yes, they were considered “Princes among men”. However, they were also competitive, jealous, misogynistic and self preserving.

Mistake #2- Xerxes follows the advice of his “Think Tank”:

King Xerxes is beyond humiliated because Vashti defies him, so he turns to his princes and nobles for advice. First of all, they were probably disgusted at King Xerxes’ “progressive ways” and it could never be accepted as a good idea to elevate the wife’s position as a confidant and role model. They certainly suspected that Vashti was assisting the king by sharing and comparing conversation between the wives and themselves. Honestly I believe that they could have deescalated the situation by reasoning with Xerxes explaining “how respectful she was towards the king by being so discreet and not sharing herself with the other men”. Sheepishly, he would have dismissed his command as a drunken whim and could have been pacified, even commended for having such a devoted wife! But, they were involved in a power struggle. Vashti was their most dangerous weapon and his most valuable asset. An opportunity to depose her had presented itself and she had to go!

Spinning their story with the angle of “how much women hate their husbands’”, this “Think Tank” provoked King Xerxes' anger. These advisers took advantage of Xerxes emotional melt down and immediately pointed out that his first mistake was to make her “the” leader among the women. Obviously, her vanity prevailed and they were terribly concerned how her example would influence their own wives and alter their own marriage dynamic. Also, the lower classes would no doubt hear how Vashti stood up to her husband the king, thereby giving them the courage to follow her example.

Ranting the sentiment of the time, they weaponized their words to target their prey. What! A woman leading other women? Women thinking for themselves? Women having self respect? A woman defying her husband when they don’t agree? A queen refusing the command of her King? Outrageous! Such disorder cannot exist in the kingdom! The family unit as they knew it would be destroyed forever! This “Think Tank” had decided that Vashti must be punished so severely that no other woman in the kingdom would ever dare defy any of their husband’s orders, no matter how egotistical, disrespectful, or dangerous. Not only will Vashti be deposed, but they twisted her position to be used as an example of what women ought not to do.

Esther 1:19-22

“So if it pleases the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked. It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she. When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!” The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel. He sent letters to all parts of the empire, to each province in its own script and language, proclaiming that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases.

Mistake #3- Banishing Vashti pleases the King… for now:

Offended and inebriated, King Xerxes cared more about the approval of his princes, than he did about his own wife. He especially needed the approval of Memucan, the most dignified and respected of all the Persian princes. He must have felt that if he placated Memucan, the other princes would be satisfied with his judgement. Filled with self righteousness, he followed the guidance of his advisers and wrote a decree that could not be reversed. Vashti was banished from his sight forever, never to be in his presence again. Because of the humiliation she caused the king to suffer, she would suffer double the humiliation by being replaced by someone deemed better than herself. To keep in good standing with the men of his kingdom, King Xerxes sent out dispatches to every province stating in their own distinct dialects that men were the rulers of their households and that any demand that he roared would be instantly obeyed.

The woman, Queen Vashti:

Vashti had won the love and admiration of King Xerxes. He married her and crowned her queen because of her beauty and intelligence. She shared the same philosophy in life that congeniality and wine loosened tongues. His approval of her was demonstrated by her promotion to be the role model for all of the women of the kingdom. Xerxes knew that Vashti was savvy and his most valuable confidant. Unified with the same vision for their kingdom, she would share the information extracted from the wives of his colleagues to prevent the king from being deceived. There was no need for her to curry his favor, she already had it. There was no need to step on others for self promotion, because her throne was at the king’s right hand. King Xerxes’ good standing and preservation was also in her best interest and she faithfully performed her role. In fact, she was so truthful in her response to him, she did not hesitate to refuse his order, indicating that she felt no fear of retaliation, at least up until that point. Vashti must have been absolutely crushed when King Xerxes banished her from his life. This was not the response she expected. She deemed herself as irreplaceable and never dreamed that he would choose the respect of his colleagues over her loyalty to him.

Vashti was a true partner to her husband, used her shrewdness for their benefit, and became the victim of this very flawed man.

Let’s pray:

Father,

I ask for grace never to depend on my own savvy to manipulate circumstances or partner with other people who are manipulative. When others disappoint me, help me forgive them for wrong doing. In Jesus name, Amen.

REFERENCES: