King Ahasuerus was in need
of a new queen, and he received advice from his servants that fair
young maidens should be brought to the palace, kept in the care of
Hege the chief chamberlain, and prepared for royal selection. We left
our story with Esther being gathered among those fair maidens from
all over the Persian empire, and we saw that she gained special favor
of Hege who immediately gave her the best preparations, seven maidens
to care for her, and the best place in the house of women located in
the palace at Shushan. In chapter two and verse ten, we learn that
Esther had a secret that she kept to herself. We read:
Esther
had not showed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged
her that she should not show it.
Our
verse begins, “Esther had not showed her people nor her
kindred:” If we recall, we were told earlier in this chapter
that Mordecai was among the Jewish captives who were taken out of
Judah and exiled to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. We also remember
that Esther was his orphaned younger cousin whom Mordecai brought up
after the death of her parents. In other words, Esther was a Jew and
not a Persian. She told no one of her nationality or familial line.
We might wonder, why not? The answer is in the next portion of our
verse.
We read, “for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show
it.” We gain insight into two different aspects
within this portion of the verse. First, we see the wisdom of
Mordecai. Mordecai was wise enough to know that should Esther tell
anyone about her people or kindred there might be disadvantage for
her. She might not even be able to stay among the fair maidens at
all. If we use our imaginations just a little we might be able to
picture when Esther was chosen to be one of the fair maidens, and we
can see Mordecai telling her, “Now Esther, do not tell anyone who
your people are, and do not tell them about your family, relatives or
from where you came. You keep that as our little secret, and
everything will work out for you.”
Secondly,
we see the obedience of Esther. Esther was wise enough, strong
enough, brave enough and smart enough to know that what Mordecai told
her was true. She obeyed him, and she took to heart the wisdom that
he gave. We shall see how her secret works its way into our story as
the book continues, but for now we shall just know that the secret is
being kept.
Wisdom
in its basic form is the application of knowledge. It is one thing to
know something, and it is quite another to implement what is known.
Mordecai knew there could be a disadvantage for Esther if she
revealed her people or kindred, and his wisdom applied that knowledge
to the situation. However, let us not forget that God was working His
plan in this story behind the scenes, and it was He who gave Mordecai
the wisdom and knowledge for these things in the first place. We are
most advantaged in our circumstances when we seek God's knowledge and
wisdom for whatever we incur, and as Esther we will find that
obedience to our Heavenly Father is second to none.
Next time we see how Mordecai continued
his watch over Esther, so read ahead, and we shall join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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