Lessons from Esther: Part I - The Lap of "Luxury"

Confession: Although I am a woman who has been studying the bible for 8 years now, I had never read the book of Esther until this week.  

Whew, ok. Now that that's off my chest, I would like to state for the record that Esther is a new favorite of mine.  If there are any other women (or men) out there who have not ventured over to those pages of your bible, I suggest you do so very very soon.  Only 10 chapters, packed to the brim with action and drama and life lessons - which is why this post is "Part I."  Esther is officially added to my list of people that I would like very much to have dinner with in Heaven.  Maybe even coffee.  I feel like we could be friends.  So, I want to focus on her and her character.

Esther is an orphan who has been adopted by her cousin Mordecai (who would be another amazing character study!).  We know that she is an extremely beautiful young virgin.  She and Mordecai are Jews living in Susa, a citadel of Persia.  Susa held a magnificent fortified acropolis and palace complex for the king.  The king at the time is Xerxes, who ruled from 486-465 BC.  Historically, he's best known for his invasion of Greece (and his eventual loss).  When Esther meets him, he's about 40 years old.  The law of the land was that no one could approach the king without a summons - ever. Any offenders would promptly have their heads removed from their bodies, unless the king lowered his scepter and allowed them to proceed, which was rare for him to do.

Lightning fast summary of chapter 1: Xerxes throws a massive party for all of Susa.  He becomes drunk and asks his eunuchs to bring him his Queen, Vashti, so that he can parade her in front of his guests as eye-candy.  Vashti must be another woman of some strength and character, because she refuses even though she surely knows the consequences will be severe.  In his anger, the king banishes her and plans to find a "better" queen.

Chapter 2 opens 4 years later, after Xerxes has returned from his battles against Greece.  For him, his homecoming is not so warm because he no longer has a wife!  So his attendants basically propose a competition, like a Bachelorette reality show of epic proportions.  They round up many young girls to be Queen candidates.   Enter Esther!
Es. 2:9 ...Esther also was taken to the king's palace...
Esther had no choice in this matter as she was taken away from her father and protector and whisked into the palace.  She was removed from everything and everyone she knew and lost all of her hopes and dreams she likely had of meeting a nice Jewish boy, marrying for love and bearing his children.  Now the man she had to look to was the king of the empire!  Quite literally, the king of her known world.

And here's what was ahead of her:  12 months of beauty treatments, 6 months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.  She would then choose anything she wanted to bring with her when she went for her one single night with the king. After that she would be sent to the king's harem with the concubines where she would remain unless the king summoned her by name (Es. 2:12-14).  So there were two ways this could turn out, she would be Queen or she would be one of likely hundreds of concubines living out their days in vain awaiting the call of king.

Can you imagine being a commoner suddenly thrust into such a spectacle? For a taste of the lavish lifestyle which she found herself in, look back in chapter 1 verses 4-8 where the king's city-wide party is described.  Words pop out like: enclosed gardens, linens, marble pillars, couches of gold and silver, gold goblets, mother-of-pearl, and an open bar to the entire population of the city!  Add in all those months of beauty treatments, and we don't have to think too hard about what this could mean for all these young women.  A similar parallel today could be those who are suddenly made famous by a hit song or a movie.  We know how those stories turn out. We see them splashed all over our check out lanes on a daily basis.  How easy it would be for our heads to inflate and our pride to run away with us, taking our hearts and our rational minds with it.  Imagine the drama, the envy and jealousy, the snide remarks, the cliques that would crop up within days in such circumstances.

So, Esther was put under the charge of Hegai, the eunuch who was head of the harem.  And, The girl pleased him and won his favor.  Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food.  He assigned to her seven maids...and moved her into the best place in the harem - Es. 2:9 emphasis mine.

Hegai, who sees hundreds of these young women, immediately takes notice of Esther.  She must not have been crying her eyes out, flaunting herself, or gossiping with the others.  She must have had an inner peace, humbleness, and grace, that emanated from her.  We know that Esther does not reveal her nationality and continues to obey all of Mordecai's teachings (Es. 2:10, 20).  In this, she remains true to herself, her family, and her faith.

Sadly, we don't get to hear about her 12 months of preparation and beauty treatments.  How I would love for more insight into that time of her life and how she kept her head and her heart intact!  The story skips straight to her night with the king and we are told, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai...suggested.  And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her - Es. 2:15 emphasis mine.  It kills me that we don't know what this item was, and when I meet her it will be one of my burning questions!  But we can presume that while the other girls are probably throwing on as many impressive pieces of jewelry and extravagant gifts for the king that they can think of, Esther keeps it simple.  She does not presume to be a know-it-all.  She humbles herself and asks for help and advice, and then she takes it!  The other girls must have thought she was nuts.  I imagine them saying, "Represent yourself!  How will the king ever remember you with so little?"  But, Esther isn't just bringing her body, she's bringing her whole self to the king. And that is part II.