Commentary - Esther 2:1-4

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we see the machinery of God's providence beginning to turn in a most remarkable way, using the most unlikely of materials. The great pagan king Ahasuerus, having made a fool of himself in a drunken rage, now finds himself with a queen-sized vacancy in his palace. His solution, cooked up by his flattering attendants, is as carnal and worldly as one might expect: a kingdom-wide beauty pageant. It is a plan born of regret, pride, and lust. And yet, this foolish, godless scheme is the very vehicle God has chosen to bring a young Jewish orphan named Hadassah to the pinnacle of power. The book of Esther is famous for never mentioning the name of God, but His fingerprints are all over this chapter. He is the master chess player, moving the foolish pawns of the Persian court to accomplish His own inscrutable and glorious purposes for His covenant people.

This section serves as a stark contrast between the ways of man and the ways of God. Man's way is to solve problems with power, sensuality, and bureaucracy. God's way is to work quietly, behind the scenes, elevating the humble and orchestrating events so that His plan of salvation unfolds perfectly. What looks like a sordid tale of a despot's harem is, in fact, the overture to a great story of deliverance.

Outline

Context In Esther

Chapter 2 directly follows the debacle of chapter 1, where Queen Vashti was deposed for refusing to be paraded before the king's drunken courtiers. That event, driven by male pride and fortified by an unalterable Persian law, created a political and personal problem for the king. This chapter presents the world's answer to that problem. Having banished one queen by the counsel of his nobles, he now seeks a new one by the counsel of his young attendants. This sets the stage for the central character, Esther, to enter the story. The entire narrative is being prepared for the great crisis that will be introduced with the rise of Haman. Without the foolishness of chapter 1, there is no vacancy for a queen. Without the carnal plan of chapter 2, there is no mechanism for Esther to be chosen. Every step, however mundane or profane it appears, is a necessary part of the setup for the great deliverance God will work for His people.

Key Issues

The Harem and the Hand of God

It is crucial that we read this story with sanctified eyes. On the surface, what is described here is ugly. It is a state-sponsored program of human trafficking for the pleasure of a single man. Young women are to be gathered from across a vast empire, treated as property, and entered into a competition where the prize is to become the king's favorite concubine. There is nothing righteous about the process. But this is the point. The book of Esther shows us that God's holy purposes are not thwarted by man's unholy actions. God is not the author of sin, but He is the author of the story in which the sin occurs. He writes straight with crooked lines.

The paganism of the Persian court is on full display here. Their solution to a problem is entirely horizontal. They consult one another, they devise a plan that appeals to the flesh, and they execute it with bureaucratic efficiency. There is no prayer, no seeking of wisdom, no concern for justice or righteousness. And yet, in the middle of this godless carnival, God is at work, preparing a deliverer for His people. This should be a profound encouragement to us. We often live in societies that operate on the same pagan principles, but we must never despair, for our God reigns over the Ahasueruses of our day just as surely as He did then.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 After these things when the wrath of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided against her.

The party is over, the hangover has set in, and the king is left with the consequences of his actions. The text says his wrath had "subsided." The rage that fueled his foolish decision is gone, and in its place is a kind of melancholy regret. He remembers Vashti. Perhaps he missed her. Perhaps he simply remembered the humiliation of the whole affair. But he also remembered "what had been decided against her." He was trapped by his own law, the vaunted "law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." Here we see the impotence of the world's most powerful man. He can command a vast empire, but he cannot undo his own stupid decree. This is a picture of sin. It promises power and freedom but delivers only bondage and regret.

2 Then the young men of the king, who attended to him, said, “Let young virgins, beautiful in appearance, be sought for the king.

The solution comes not from the wise old counselors of chapter 1, but from the king's personal attendants, his "young men." These are the sycophants and flatterers who are closest to the king's ear. Their proposal is perfectly tailored to the appetites of their master. The problem is a missing woman; the solution is more women. The problem was caused by pride; the solution is a grand display of his power to acquire any woman he wants. Notice the criteria: they must be "young virgins, beautiful in appearance." This is the world's standard, a purely external and carnal evaluation. The suggestion is a distraction, a way to soothe the king's ego and satisfy his lusts, not a way to find a wise and godly queen.

3 And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

Here we see the plan fleshed out. This is not a haphazard affair; it is a massive, empire-wide bureaucratic effort. "Overseers" are to be appointed in every province. Their job is to scout for and "gather" these young women. The language is that of a harvest or a tax collection. The women are then brought to the capital, Susa, and delivered "into the hand of Hegai," the royal eunuch in charge of the harem. A eunuch, a man who cannot have a family, is put in charge of the king's potential family. The whole system is sterile and unnatural. Finally, they are to be given their "cosmetics," or more literally, their purification treatments. This was a year-long process of beautification. It was an institutionalized, state-funded effort to prepare women for the king's bed.

4 Then let the young lady who is good in the eyes of the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the word was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.

The climax of the plan is the king's personal choice. After all the gathering and all the cosmetic treatments, the final decision rests on who is "good in the eyes of the king." The standard is purely subjective and aesthetic. It is not about character, wisdom, or piety; it is about what pleases Ahasuerus. And of course, this plan "was good in the eyes of the king." It appealed to his pride, his power, and his flesh. This phrase, "good in the eyes of," is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, often standing in contrast to doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. The king approves the plan, and the great machinery of the Persian state is set in motion to satisfy the desires of one man. But unknown to him, this machinery is now serving the purpose of the King of Heaven.

Application

The first and most obvious application is a robust confidence in the sovereignty of God. Our God is not a nervous deity, wringing his hands in heaven over the state of the world. He is the one who "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph 1:11). He can take the pathetic regrets of a pagan king, the fleshly advice of his courtiers, and a morally bankrupt state program, and use it all to position His chosen vessel for the salvation of His people. This means we should not fear the headlines. We should not despair when we see folly and wickedness in our own halls of power. God is on His throne, and He is working His plan.

Second, this passage forces us to consider the world's view of women and beauty versus God's view. The Persian court saw women as objects to be collected and judged on their external appearance. This is a lie from the pit of hell, but it is a lie our own culture has bought wholesale. The Bible teaches that while physical beauty is not evil, it is fleeting and secondary. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised" (Prov 31:30). True beauty is a matter of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God's sight. We must teach our sons to look for this kind of beauty and our daughters to cultivate it.

Finally, we see the emptiness of worldly power. Ahasuerus is the master of the world, but he is a slave to his passions and is trapped by his own foolish words. He is a pathetic figure. This is always the end of those who live for themselves. True power and true freedom are found not in being able to do whatever you want, but in joyfully submitting to the good and perfect will of God. The king thought he was getting a new queen, but God was giving His people a deliverer. His plan was for a night of pleasure; God's plan was for the salvation of a nation and the continuation of the line through which the Messiah would come.