Esther 2 Commentary
The world enjoys stories where vulnerability becomes greatness. Those with very humble beginnings who become great are admired for their endurance, hard work, and persistence. We are mistaken when we think this book is about a ‘nobody’ becoming a ‘somebody’ because of human effort.
This book is well known for its lack of any direct reference to God. In fact, the word ‘God’ doesn’t appear at all in this book. Very strange. Just like the identity of Esther is kept hidden, the identity of the Creator God is kept hidden in these lines. But the reader knows exactly who Esther is. The reader also knows who is behind the events in these pages.
Esther becomes queen; first and importantly because of her beauty. No one chooses their appearance. It is a gift from the LORD. She gains the favor of Hegai, the King’s Eunuch. Again we suspect the LORD is pulling strings here. Mordecai happens to work at the palace complex of Susa. It can be called a good coincidence but the saints know exactly the right term for it.
This chapter also gives us historic material for context. Mordecai came to Babylon during the first deportation when the teen King Jeconiah was taken captive. The Book of Ezra-Nehemiah mentions a Mordecai returning to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. It could be this Mordecai or a different Mordecai or a son of this Mordecai but regardless, Mordecai is a real person who had taken the orphan Esther as his own daughter. Esther was the daughter of Mordecai’s uncle. There were actually cousins.
Mordecai’s role in foiling the assassination plot against King Xerxes is recorded in the annals of the King. The chapter ends with this statement. It is a ‘watch this space’ statement. There are many other spaces we need to watch. This book is inviting us to investigate the many spaces of life for the Creator God, whose identity remains hidden, even in this Book.
The saint may also want to appreciate that every good work they do is recorded in the annals of the King of kings, the Immortal God. It is the most important space ‘to watch’ in the context of eternity.
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