Esther asked for little and was given much! The Word doesn’t say that after a period of time King Xerxes decided he “liked” Esther. It says when Esther was taken into his presence, he “loved her above all other women.” And not only that but she also “won his favor (grace) and approval more than any of the other virgins!” (Esther 2:17). To show his affection and approval, the king elevated Esther from a lowly position of a concubine (for that’s what she would have become had he not chosen her; Esther 2:14) to be his queen, and gave her a royal crown so no one would mistake her position in the kingdom.
Our author, Darlene Schacht, has us reflect on Hannah’s prayer of praise in I Samuel 2:4-8, which comes after years of barrenness and humiliation. As background in I Samuel 1: 1-28, we read the story of Hannah and Elkanah. In the eyes of their society, Hannah was “a nobody” and a disgrace to Elkanah since she hadn’t borne him any children. But Elkanah didn’t see her that way. No matter what…he loved her for herself. And God loved her and had a plan. In His timing, God took a humiliated, barren woman and honored her by blessing her with Samuel who would serve the Lord in the temple all the days of his life. Hannah saw first-hand how God would “lift the needy” in His timing, and she raised her praise to Him in prayer. From barrenness to blessed. From humiliated to honored.
Esther was one of the Jewish exiles who lived as a common citizen of the community surrounding the palace, even though Mordecai, her cousin, sat at the king’s gate and had responsibilities in the palace (Esther 2:5-7). She was lowly with nothing to offer the king—but her submission and trust. The king saw that and more in her, and he lifted her up and blessed her. The king presented her before his people and celebrated with a great feast in her honor. From “barrenness” to blessed. From humbleness to honored. With grace and honor, he set her among his royalty and crowned her to share in his throne and kingdom! And perhaps, Esther prayed Hannah’s prayer of praise, especially I Samuel 2:8,
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.
From my perspective, I’m like Esther was—just a common citizen with nothing to offer the King of kings, but my submission and trust. Ephesians 2:4-7 tells “the rest of the story”:
But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in Heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Wow, what an honor—what a celebration! And I praise my King!
Did you notice in Esther 2:18-20, that even in the midst of all the honor and celebration, neither Esther nor Mordecai forgot their relationship and responsibility to each other? Even though Esther was now in a pretty secure position, she still respected Mordecai’s wisdom and submitted to him because, I believe, she knew he loved her and had her best interests in mind. God has our best interests in mind, too. And, like Mordecai, the Holy Spirit of God is standing close by watching over us, loving and guiding us in all His grace and wisdom.
One other point from Darlene about this relationship: Esther was an orphan and Mordecai had taken her in and cared for her as his own. As we follow this story we see that Mordecai continued to watch out for her best interest. Darlene points us to James 1:27, “Pure and genuine religion (unstained devotion) in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” Mordecai demonstrated pure religion as he watched over Esther. He “walked his talk.” In the Book of Ruth, Ruth demonstrated pure religion by caring for her widowed mother-in-law (Ruth 2:17-18). God wants us to demonstrate our pure religion by living out our faith. Perhaps we should check ourselves each day with this question, “Am I walking my talk?”
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Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord,
We thank You, Lord, that when we were “a nobody,” like Esther, we were a “somebody special” to You. We have nothing to offer You except ourselves; and, come to find out, that’s exactly what You are looking for! You are looking for our obedience and courageous submission so that we can come into Your Presence, as Esther came into her king’s presence. You are eager to lift us up “from the ash heap” and seat us with You, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Help us to remember that You have our best interests in mind. You have promised us that Your Holy Spirit will be close to us to guide and comfort us. Please Holy Spirit, help us daily to “walk our talk” so others will see You even when we don’t speak Your Name. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
