The decree has been sent
out, and fair maidens are being gathered together all over the lands
of Persia. King Ahasuerus desires a new queen, and young ladies from
all over the empire are to be gathered together to be housed and
cared for by the king's chief chamberlain for a time of beauty
treatment. We were introduced to Mordecai and his young cousin
Esther, and in chapter two and verse eight we discover more about how
Esther enters this mighty plan. We read:
So it came to pass,
when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many
maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the
custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house,
to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
We begin
our study of this verse with these important words, “So it came
to pass,...” It is always beneficial for us if we realize that
the events in our lives “come, to pass”. Let us keep this in mind
as we consider what we have learned about Mordecai and Esther thus
far. Mordecai was taken away from his homeland along with the others
in Judah, and Esther lost both her parents and was now in the custody
of her older cousin Mordecai. Both of these traumatic events “came
to pass”.
The
verse continues, “when the king's commandment and his decree was
heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the
palace,...” We have imagined in the past what a huge
undertaking this must have been. One hundred and twenty-seven
provinces were notified about this venture for the king, and any
“fair young maiden” was invited to participate. We might think
about it like a beauty contest. Men of such great power as the king
were expected to have a beautiful queen, and now that Queen Vashti,
whose beauty was the impetus for this event in the first place, is
now banished. Can we imagine the excitement and trepidation there
must have been among the young ladies as they were brought to the
winter palace in Shushan?
The
verse goes on to say, “ to the custody of Hegai, that
Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of
Hegai, keeper of the women.” All
of these young ladies are brought to “Hegai” which is just
another spelling for “Hege” whom we learned about in verse three
of this chapter. His job was to give them beauty treatments, proper
diet, manners, and preparations for being the new queen. In other
words, he was to to keep watch and ward, have charge of,
protect and save their lives if needed. “Esther” was among
all the young maidens who were gathered.
Can we not see the mighty
hand of God working through difficulties at this point in the story?
Did it really just so happen that the king held a feast? Did it just
so happen that the queen refused his request to appear? Did it just
so happen that she be banned from the throne, and did it just so
happen that there needed to be a search throughout the kingdom for a
new queen? Did it just so happen that Mordecai was exiled to a new
country and was chosen to be the one who raised Esther? Did is just
so happen that Esther is gathered among the group of fair young
maidens? If we ponder these questions for a while, we may begin to
look at our own “just so happenings” and conclude that if God had
a plan for Mordecai and Esther, perhaps He has a plan for the events
occurring in our lives as well.
Next time we see the favor Esther
gained with Hege, 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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