Esther: Coincidence or Intentional
There are a series of events that happen in our lifetime. A lot of these events happen to us without our consent. They do not seek out our permission, but their impact on our lives is so clear that it is practically impossible to narrate our life’s story without giving them their due acknowledgement. And when we do, we cannot help but ask if their presence in our lives was purely coincidence or intentional. And so it is with the story of Esther. This visionary leader who was thrust into royalty by a series of seemingly unrelated events.
I. Death
Esther was an orphan. We do not know how old she was when her parents died. But it is safe to assume that she was young.
The death of her parents triggered a chain reaction that can be directly linked to her throne. For it is through their death that Esther found herself under the guardianship of her cousin, Mordecai. Was this a coincidence or was it intentional?
Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
Esther 2:7
II. Exile
Esther was a Jew. She presumably was meant to live in Jerusalem, as this is where we trace her cousin’s lineage. However something happened that forced her family to relocate to Persia.
Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.
Esther 2:5-6
Esther had a rough start to life. Not only did she lose both her parents but she also had to find her way in life a foreign land whose culture and God was different from her own. Was this a coincidence or was it intentional?
III. Queen Deposed
On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him […] to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
Esther 1:10-12
To give context to the above mirror, King Xerxes, a very powerful king who ruled over 127 provinces, gave a banquet that lasted 180 days. The purpose of the banquet was to display his splendour. The banquet was hosted in the citadel of Susa. After the 180 days, he gave another banquet that was open for all the people of Susa. This banquet lasted seven days. His wife, Queen Vashti, also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace.
While all this was happening, Esther was going about her normal life.
Meanwhile in the royal palace:
Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times […] “According to the law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked […] “Therefore if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.
Esther 1: 13-19
Just like that, Queen Vashti was deposed because of her own personal decision to disobey the king. Was this a coincidence or was it intentional?
IV. Beauty
Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king […] Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, who is in charge of the women[…]Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
Esther 2:2-4
Beautiful, young and a virgin. Esther met that criteria, as did many other women. Yet, her beauty stood out among them all, for her beauty was not just physical. Unlike Vashti, Esther had a submissive spirit.
i) Mordecai
Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
Esther 2:10
ii) Hegai
The girl pleased him and won his favour. Immediately he provided her with beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven maids selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem[…] When the turn came for Esther […] to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her.
Esther 2:9,15
Time proved the beauty of her character:
At the time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet […]
Esther 1:2-3
Before a girl’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.
Esther 2:12
She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Esther 2:16
There was more than enough time for any cracks in her character to appear. But she was still looked upon with favour by everyone, including the king. Was this a coincidence or was it intentional?
IV. The Reveal
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Esther 2:17
The dots that made up her life no longer seemed haphazard. They revealed a queen. However greater than that, they revealed the purpose of her title – to save the jews from total annihilation.
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:12
Suddenly her life was no longer a series of coincidences.
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Esther 4:15-16
Though a queen, Esther submitted once more to her uncle. She submitted herself to God and to His vision for her life, to the extent that she was willing to die.
Needless to say, the will of God prevailed and the Jews were saved from death.
Your Turn
A sad start, a glorious end.
A lowly beginning , a glorious end.
And all through, a beautiful character.
The vision of God for our lives is rarely smooth. It ebbs and flows through mountain tops and valley lows. But in the end reveals a story so beautiful, that only He could write.
And all He asks is that you would trust Him through the process. Trust Him through the threats to your life. Trust Him through the sadness that envelopes you. Trust Him through the catastrophies that make absolutely no sense. Trust Him through the victories that can blind you with pride. Trust Him through the many coincidences that are really not coincidences. And intentionally submit to His vision for your life, just like Esther did, when she had the option to sit back or stand for her people.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Even with all that is happening, God is still God. He has something to say about what the world is experiencing and what you are personally going through. His vision for your life will still come to pass. Remain submitted to Him. Remain trusting in Him. Remain hopeful of the future that awaits you.
Be blessed.