Reading: Esther Chapter 2
(See optional commentaries in attachment)
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Reflections:
Think of a time when anger subsided and you were left with nothing but regret as you "remembered" those you've hurt.
The women who were receiving beauty treatments were already young and beautiful. No one feels more pressure to look good than those who already do. Beauty can come with insecurities. Thoughts?
How does the idea of gathering beautiful young women to fill a harem make you feel? Is it really any different from reality TV shows such as the Bachelor or Top Model? In our culture, how much of a woman's value do you think is tied up with physical appearances?
Esther must have had more than sex appeal to please Hegai (the eunuch), what might that have been? What's strange about that the fact that even other girls liked Esther? What kind of qualities does a woman need to not only attract men, but inspire admiration and respect in other women instead of jealousy and insecurity?
What is the difference between being given kindness versus actively gaining kindness in the style of Esther?
Christ gives women dignity rather than take it from them, He clothes them with purity rather than perversion and expects his sons to do likewise. If the girls spent 12 months in preparation for a one night stand with an earthly king, what kinds of preparation are you to go through in this lifetime in preparation for an eternal marriage to the heavenly King?
As the girls (many of whom were virgins) gathered in that second harem after "spending the night" with the king, what do you think was running through their minds?
How do you think Esther might've felt at the end of chapter 2? On the one hand, relief that her husband was safe; on the other hand, frustration that her father's deed went unrewarded. Have you ever struggled with the frustration of a husband/man not acting the way you expected him to?
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Commentaries: (Optional)
v1: There is a gap between ch 1 and 2 that spanned the years Xerxes attempted to conquer Greece. He failed not only in marriage but in war as well and returned defeated. The Hebrew word for "remembered" has a compassionate/regretful undertone. In other words, he felt bad for what happened with Vashti. The king's edict was irrevocable, even for the king himself, and her banishment was declared by royal decree.
v2: The king's attendants were those closest to him; if anyone were privy to the king's melancholy it'd be these guys. Their reactions further hints at the king's remorse. Their solution? Find the king another woman. Typical men. =P
v3-4: Xerxes is not one to play by the rules, the next queen should have come from one of the noble families of Persia. Instead the search was broadened to essentially find the prettiest face in the kingdom. This was unheard of. Thus came another royal edict to "gather" all beautiful women and herd them to the capitol. Not all were willing volunteers. Even if many might've been caught up with excitement at the prospect of being crowned queen, lives were ruined as thousands of young women were literally pulled from their families and, one might imagine, fiances.
v5-8: Enter our protagonist, Esther. In the book of Ezra Cyrus, Xerxes' grandfather, permitted the Jews to leave slavery in Babylon/Persia to return to their homeland. Some of the Jews chose to stay instead, Mordecai's family is one such.
v8-9: Eunuchs were servants who were castrated for service in the royal courts, usually as attendants of harems, in the ancient world. It was to ensure nothing "went on" between the king's wives/concubines and the men who attended them. The fact that Esther "won" her favours implies that she was not a passive recipient of Hegai's favour (i.e. special treatment for a pretty face) but rather she actively earned it as a result of her character, demeanour, and/or actions.
v10-11: That Mordecai would advise Esther to hide her Jewish heritage tells us two things. First, that Jews are discriminated against (somewhat foreshadows events to come); and second, after 100 years the Jews were assimilated well enough into Persian culture that Esther could hide her Jewish heritage with relative ease. Esther was also advised to hide the fact that she's an orphan. In a culture where family pedigree means everything, it's one thing for the king to offend the nobles by not picking his queen from amongst them, it's quite another for him to marry a second class citizen orphan girl. Remember Mordecai saw Esther as his own daughter, v11 paints a rather sad scene of a worried parent. =(
v12: God Almighty....12 months of beauty treatment to get ready.. I need to lie down, estrogen overload.
v13-15: The girls were given anything they wanted to draw the kings eyes to them and to attract him in this one night stand. Esther asked for nothing except what Hegai told her to bring, demonstrating restraint and also humility in taking advice. Also note that by now Esther won the favour of not just Hegai, but "all who saw her," which one must assume, included the other women. Interesting. This is how we know Esther wasn't merely sucking up to Hegai to win his favour, but that she possessed genuine charm. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a brown noser could never win the hearts of every other women (See Top Model)
v16-18: It's interesting to note this contrast, back in v4 the attendants suggested the next queen be whoever "pleased" the king, and in v14 only the girls who the king "delighted" in were summoned for a....second interview. Yet v16 EMPHATICALLY says that the king "loved' Esther. (See Proverbs 21:1)
v19-20: Note that despite becoming queen, Esther is was still humble enough to listen to the advice of Mordecai, her adoptive father/much older cousin. Even as a queen she knew the value of obedience to one deserving of it.
v21: Commentators speculate that for Mordecai to be at the palace gates might've implied that he was a government official or even a member of the king's secret police on the look out for precisely what he witnessed. In light of the Jewish oppression, how ironic that a Jew would jump to save the Persian king. (See Jeremiah 29:7)
v22: Scripture never outright tells us that Esther loved Xerxes, certainly he would be a very difficult man to love. Yet the urgency with which she handled this conspiracy hints (perhaps?) at some sense of affection, if not responsibility, towards her husband.
v23: Despite the lengths Esther took to give Mordecai the credit, his heroism was merely recorded in the king's presence and forgotten. Persian rulers were historically well known for rewarding those who serve them well. Xerxes commits yet another breach of protocol. For such a deed, Mordecai should've been rewarded with promotions, tax exemptions, even exemption from the need to bow to Persian nobles. Instead, as we'll discover in ch 3, a less deserving man was promoted in his place.
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