Esther 2:16

ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN OF PERSIA

"So Esther was taken unto king Ahashuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave girls, according to the bounty of the king."

Only Almighty God could have brought to pass such a thing as this. "This humble Jewish maiden, an orphan, dependent for her living upon the charity of her cousin Mordecai - this girl became the first woman in all Persia, the wife of the most powerful living monarch on earth, the queen of an empire comprised of more than half the world of that time."[7]

It was always thus when God in his infinite wisdom laid his plans to preserve the chosen people from destruction. He sent Joseph to be seated next to the throne of Egypt; he brought up Moses in the palace of Pharaoh and made him an heir to the throne; in the land of their captivity, he made Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom; and now, when Satan would again make a move to destroy Israel, God placed Esther in a strategic position to prevent it; and it happened again with both Ezra and Nehemiah who had earned and received the respect of Artaxerxes; nor can we rule out the very great probability that it was the influence of Esther that, in part at least, had resulted in the honors that came to them.

"He made a release to the provinces" (Esther 2:18). It is not known exactly what this was, but it may have been merely a holiday.

Esther 2:19-23

MORDECAI SAVES THE KING FROM ASSASSINATION

"And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate. Esther had not yet made known her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, two of the kinifs chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahashuerus. And the thing became known to Mordecai, who showed it unto Esther the queen; and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai's name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king."

"And when the virgins were gathered together the second time" (Esther 2:19). This indicates the time when Mordecai discovered that plot against Ahashuerus. There were two gatherings of virgins for the king, the one mentioned in Esther 2:8, and a second one after that. "It was at that second collection of virgins that Mordecai had the good fortune to save the king's life."[8]

It is incorrect to view any of these amazing events as mere coincidences. The hand of God is evident in every one of them. Esther's obedience of Mordecai reflects the Fifth Commandment of the Decalogue; and Mordecai's saving the life of the king reflected the Sixth Commandment. It would have been quite easy to agree with Bigthan and Teresh, for Ahashuerus certainly deserved to be murdered, a fate that he indeed suffered about thirteen years later. Who would have wanted to kill him? Any one of the fathers of those countless women the king had forced to leave their families might have killed the king if they had a chance.

Esther's continuing to conceal her identity as a Jewess was vital to what happened. If Haman had known she was Jewish, he could never have decided to kill all the Jews. Her making the plot known in Mordecai,s name enrolled Mordecai's name in the chronicles of the king; and then the king forgot all about it - all of these things were absolutely vital for God's saving his people from the wrath of Haman; and not one of them was a mere coincidence. God was at work in history.