LAST DAY WARRIORS
Throughout the book by her name, Esther was consistently obedient to Mordecai, her uncle who raised her. Esther was among many beautiful young women in the realm that were chosen as a potential replacement for deposed Queen Vashti. One by one many of the young virgins spent a night with the king. Then it was Esther's turn and she is the one who pleased him. A great mystery in her story remains: Why did King Ahasuerus choose Esther above all the other virgins to be his queen?
That answer may be found in Psalm 45:10-17:
"Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father's house; then the King will desire your beauty. Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him. The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; the virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King's palace...I will cause Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give You thanks forever and ever."
Verse 10 calls for Esther's obedience one more time to show her how to win the King's favor: "Forget your people and your father's house."
When Esther entered the harem under Hegai, she kept secret that she was a Jewess just as Mordecai had instructed her to do. To keep such a secret must have been very difficult, but she did it anyway and did it well.
When it was her turn to go to the King, she took with her only what Hegai said would appeal to the King. Perhaps other girls brought mementos of their family, birth nation, language, their cultural dress or their artifacts. Not Esther. Nor did she cling to Jewish traditions and practices. They would have forbade her keeping company with pagans or sleeping with a 'womanizer' of sorts!
Recall that she had told no one her true roots and identity. That night when she entered the King's chamber, she carried only what pleased him. He did not care about her nationality nor the history and inheritance of the Jews. He would not wish to hear about her adoption and kind uncle. He was selecting a queen who cared only about him, his authority and his rule.
"Then the King will desire your beauty" (verse 11). Esther made King Ahasuerus curious about who and what she was by not drawing attention to herself. The King absorbed all her attention. Consequently, he was drawn to HER as she lavished respect and honor on him. She did nothing to offset his enchantment with her person.
The verse says further, "Because he is your lord, bow down to him."
Could it be that the other virgins who came to the king's chamber before Esther brought underlying resentment into Ahasuerus' chamber? When it was their turn to come to him, were they so proud of their bloodline and heritage that they failed to give themselves over completely to the heart of a foreigner who had conquered their country? It's impossible to hide such an attitude from an astute ruler!
The king chose Esther, a Jewess, to rule over a realm of mixed nations that were Gentiles! When she finally was forced to reveal her blood line to him, it mattered little to Ahasuerus. He trusted his kingdom to her hand and thus to Mordecai's.
Esther is the example for the Last Days remnant to follow:
1. "We must "forget our people and our father's house." This includes our human family and its beliefs, blood ties, traditions, etc. It includes our religious or nonreligious affiliation and practices and relationships. It includes our present practices and habits and actions. We cannot cling to or let stand in our way anything that interferes with an unobstructed oneness with the Holy Spirit. We need to be so drawn and absorbed with God Himself that nothing else takes precedence.
2. We must bow down to God in absolute humility and submission. Nothing at all may stay between our heart affection and God. John Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Obedience is the key to walking in all the fullness of God. Looking at another Bible great, we see in the life of the patriarch, Abraham:
He took the first steps from Mesopotamia toward Canaan in accord with what God had told him to do. He did not know where he was going or what lay ahead for him. We know now that it was great. He only knew he trusted God and moved forward. That is what we must do. Obey what His voice tells us to do. God will take us where He wants us to go!
As frightened as Esther may have been, as puzzled as Abraham may have been, they obeyed God and put Him first in their lives. What examples they are for us to follow!