We are finally told that in Susa there was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin by the name of Mordecai. Mordecai was a cousin to Hadassah who was also known as Esther. We are also told that Mordecai takes Esther in because she has no father or mother, so he was gracious enough to take her in and care for her as his own daughter.
I think that it is important to look at what Esther's name means, because they often give us insight into that person, especially in the Old Testament. Esther's name means star. We will soon see that she is the light that saves her people from sure destruction, becoming the star of the day.
Modecai knew how beautiful his niece is and so he sends her off to the harem. He told Esther not to reveal her nationality or family background. Esther is taken into the harem and put into the care of Hegai, the kings eunuch. (Just as a side note, I've always wondered what a eunuch was and I recently found out. Let me just warn you now, it isn't a pretty thing. Eunuchs were castrated males that were close to the king. They were castrated so that they couldn't have offspring and then over throw the king. See not so pretty, huh.) Esther immediately won Hegai's favor and he provided her with beauty treatments, special food, seven maids from the king's palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem. Talk about first impressions!!! Keep in mind these beauty treatments lasted a whole year. She spent 6 months learning about oil of myrrh and 6 months learning about perfumes and cosmetics.
I have to tell you the beauty treatments portion really intrigued me, so I tried to do some research on the net t see what I could find out about these and what life in harem might have been like for our soon to be queen. I was soon confronted with issues of human trafficking, the slave trade, and abuse of all kinds. I can't tell you how saddened I was to see proof that these things are still happening today all over the world. Innocent girls being sold by their own families into brothels just so their family can put food on the table for another month. As a victim of child abuse myself my thoughts and prayers go out to every young child and woman having to endure these kinds of situations.
In those days, probably much as in today's Persian society, the king collected vast amounts of wives and jewels. The concubines lived separately outside the palace in the harem and only got to see the king when he summoned them from sexual pleasure. Esther's life would have been restricted and some what boring. Although, as any woman knows, if you are living with a bunch of women, there is bound to be some sort of drama or another. Also, it says that Mordecai walked by the harem's court yard daily to find how how she was doing and what was happening to her. I'll bet that Esther looked foreword to her uncle's visits!
Esther wouldn't have been able to see the king much so she would have to make a big impression in order to get his attention, especially being surrounded by all these other women. The Bible says that she would only be called back to see the king if he was pleased with her and called her by name. He did call her and moved her into the palace. The Bible says that this happened in the 10th month of Tebeth, in the 7th year of King Xerxes reign.
The king was so taken by Esther and favored her above all the virgins that he made her queen instead of Vashti. The threw another big banquet in honor of Esther for all his nobles and officials and proclaimed a holiday through out his kingdom. He also gave out gifts with "royal liberality".
Keep in mind that Modecai and still told Esther not to reveal her identity. On one of his daily trips to the gate, he over heard two of the king's officers plotting to kill King Xerxes. Mordecai told Esther about the plot. She in turn, told the king. The report was investigated and found to be true. Both men were hung on the gallows. Esther gave all the credit to Mordecai, and he received very little fan fair.
So here we have the sum of chapter two. When I first started reading this chapter I really didn't expect to walk way feeling the way I did. It is amazing what God can choose to reveal to you when you least expect it. Stay tuned for chapter 3.
