And it came to pass when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the fortress, unto the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was brought into the king's house, unto the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
A royal order goes out across the empire, and one orphaned Jewish girl is taken with the rest into the king's palace in Susa, into the care of Hegai, the man in charge of the women. God is never named anywhere in this book, so the verse raises a question — is anything here more than palace routine, and who is really moving events?
Commentators read this book as the record of God acting behind a curtain. The command goes out, the girls are gathered, and one of them happens to be a Jew.
God can work where He cannot announce Himself. Here is a striking example. When the command went out for young women to be sought for the king, so that he could take his choice, among the others in Susa the citadel there was a certain Jew named Mordecai.
Her very name carries the theme, and it fits the state of the nation she belonged to.
Esther means "I will be hidden." The book deals with the Jews during their captivity, outside their own land, hidden among the nations. Yet God was caring for them behind the scenes — the same God they had disobeyed. And God's name is not found in the book: He is hidden too. He cannot link His name openly with them, because their scattering is discipline for their disobedience. What is more, they had chosen to stay in Persia, even though God had opened the way for them to return to Israel.
Esther does not volunteer. She is taken. Writers do not soften what that meant for a Jewish girl.
We see the Jewish wife handed over by force to the Gentile king, like a slave whom someone disposes of, without ever being asked! Her will counts for nothing in this union. She is forced into it. Such a position might be highly desirable to all the other young women in the empire, but it could not be desirable for Esther.
Should Mordecai have hidden her? Should Esther have gone? The text does not say, and commentators point to that silence instead of filling the gap.
Whatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter — and Scripture is silent here, neither accusing nor excusing — we do not wait long before the vital question is raised. The Jews must either die or be delivered beyond all outward hope, and that without sign, wonder, or miracle.
Once she is inside, something happens that no royal order could arrange.
It was fairly certain that one young woman would win the king's favour. But Esther won more than that. She also won the favour of the king's chamberlain, and indeed of everyone who looked at her. So she was lifted all at once into a position of extraordinary influence.
Hegai's whole job is to make a woman ready to stand before the king. Writers see in that a lesson that reaches past Persia.
Esther goes through a time of preparation before she can meet the king. In the same way, there will be a time of preparation for the remnant. The true Esther will be prepared under the guidance and teaching of the Holy Spirit, pictured here by Hegai, and her beauty will be brought into display. This also applies to Christians today: the Spirit needs to show us the way. We cannot reach beauty by our own thinking.
The long beauty treatment in the palace draws a sharper comment.
So the unbelieving world thinks it can improve on the beauty of those whom God has created, by various artificial means. Very likely the king would have been just as impressed with Esther if there had not been this long delay.
Queen Vashti has been put out, and a Jewish girl takes her place. Commentators read that exchange as a picture of something still ahead.
Esther is a picture of the Jewish remnant. The King of Israel, our Lord, will call that remnant when Gentile Christendom has been disowned and set aside for its unfaithfulness, just as Vashti was set aside. So Vashti and Esther illustrate the parable of the good and the wild olive tree in Romans 11.
- Hidden. Her name means "I will be hidden" — hidden girl, hidden nation, hidden God whose name never appears in the book.
- Taken. She is gathered by decree, disposed of like a slave, her own will counting for nothing in the arrangement.
- Unjudged. On whether she or Mordecai should have complied, Scripture is silent, neither accusing nor excusing.
- Favoured. She wins the king's favour, the chamberlain's, and that of everyone who looks at her — and is lifted at once into extraordinary influence.
- Prepared. Hegai gets her ready for the king. That preparation pictures the Spirit's work, which still applies to believers now.
And the maiden pleased him, and obtained favour before him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, and her portions, and the seven maidens selected to be given her, out of the king's house; and he removed her and her maids to the best [place] of the house of the women.
Esther is an orphan from a people carried off into exile. She is swept into a foreign king's palace with crowds of other young women. At once the official in charge takes to her and moves her to the front. The book of Esther never names God. So this verse raises a question: is such kindness luck, taste, or something else at work behind the scenes?
Commentators read this book as the record of God at work while staying out of sight. That is the setting in which Esther wins Hegai's kindness.
Now I return to explain a little the facts traced in it. They are the grand development of secret providence, at a time when God's name cannot be named. God can work where He cannot proclaim Himself.
The kindness is not an isolated piece of good fortune. It is one move in a sequence that will matter later.
In all this we see the hand of the Lord. Step by step He is preparing the help His people will need to be kept safe and delivered in the coming crisis.
The favour was concrete, not sentimental. It came as supplies, staff, and a better room.
Hegai was pleased with her. So he gave her everything needed to enhance her beauty. He also gave her seven maidens to help her get ready to meet the king. In fact, Hegai was so impressed with her that he gave her the best place in the house of the women.
Everyone who saw her reacted the same way, and it changed her standing.
The corrupt customs of those days brought large numbers of beautiful young women to Shushan for the king. Out of them all, Esther won universal favour. One of them was sure to win the king's favour. But Esther won more than that. She also won the favour of the king's chamberlain, and indeed "of all who saw her." So she rose at once into a position of extraordinary influence.
Commentators link this moment to two earlier exiles who also pleased the men who held them. Daniel, carried off to Babylon, met the same warmth from the official over him.
We now read, as explaining what follows, that "God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs" (Daniel 1:9). Again we are reminded of the similar case of Joseph. Sold into Egypt, and becoming a member of Potiphar's household, "he found grace" in his master's sight… He was later thrown into prison, where the Lord also "gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison."
So who is really at work in the man holding the power?
The Lord was not only with Joseph, but He was for Joseph, disposing the heart of the master in favour of his servant.
Why did she, out of all the women there, come out on top?
Did she have advantages that set her apart from all her companions? Certainly her origin would have excluded her from the start, and Mordecai, who knew how low his people had been brought, was well aware of it. So Esther is a hidden wife, but her grace and her beauty attract the sympathy and love of all. She pleased Hegai, the keeper of the women, and finds favour before him. Everyone who sees her feels the same. She pleases the king "above all the women." In her still secret character she is lifted up to the dignity of queen of the nations, in place of Vashti.
One writer treats Hegai as a picture of the Holy Spirit, preparing a people to meet the King.
Esther goes through a time of preparation before she can meet the king… The Holy Spirit, pictured here by Hegai, will guide and teach the true Esther in the same way. He will prepare her and bring her beauty into display. By the way, this still applies to Christians today: the Spirit needs to show us the way. We can't attain beauty based on our own thinking.
Readers ask whether Mordecai and Esther were right to go along with this. The account gives no verdict, and the crisis comes fast.
Whatever may be thought of Mordecai or of Esther in the matter, Scripture is silent here. It neither accuses nor excuses. We do not have long to wait before the vital question is raised. The Jews must perish or be delivered, beyond all outward hope, yet without sign, wonder, or miracle.
- Source. God's name is absent from the book, but His work is not: He can work where He cannot proclaim Himself.
- Gift. The favour arrives as ordinary things — supplies, seven attendants, the best place in the house of the women.
- Reach. The same favour reached everyone who saw her and lifted her into great influence.
- Pattern. Joseph in prison and Daniel in Babylon met the same welcome. The Lord was moving the heart of the man in charge.
- Purpose. Every step prepared the help His people would need in the coming crisis. Scripture stays silent on whether those involved acted rightly.
Esther had not made known her people nor her birth; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
Esther enters the king's house with one thing kept back. She says nothing about her family or her nation, because Mordecai has told her not to. Two questions follow. Was the silence right? And why does Scripture stop to record it?
Behind the silence stands Mordecai. Esther had grown up in his house, and his word still ruled her.
Mordecai brought up his cousin Esther in his home as though she were his own daughter, and between them there was a very close and loving relationship. Esther was marked above all else by her obedience to Mordecai's orders, whether or not she understood what they were for. He had forbidden her to declare her people or her birth, and Esther obeyed. She did what Mordecai told her, just as she had when she was brought up in his house (v. 20). The time had not yet come to declare her origin.
Commentators differ on whether the silence was right. Some call it plain providence. Others refuse to clear it, and question the marriage itself.
On Mordecai's advice, Esther had not revealed her nationality (v. 10). Some have thought this was deception. Without taking sides in the matter, we know that God used the whole situation to bring great blessing to the Jews, even though He would not let His name be tied to all that was done. In fact, we may well ask whether a Jewish woman should think of marrying a Persian, king or not, and whether Mordecai should encourage such a match.
The account itself passes no verdict, and the crisis is already near.
Whatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter, Scripture is silent here. It neither accuses nor excuses. And we do not wait long before the vital question is raised. The Jews must either perish or be delivered beyond all outward hope — yet with no sign, no wonder, no miracle.
One writer weighs the motive behind the order.
Mordecai was not content that the Jews should be despised in this foreign land. He had ambitions for his adopted daughter, who might be a means by which the Jews would receive more honor. We cannot say that God ordered Mordecai into this project, for Mordecai's object was not the honor of God, but the blessing of the Jews.
One writer sees God's hand in it, starting with a fact about Esther's parents.
This has been called deception, unusual cleverness, and cowardice. It was none of these. God's providence ordered it. Esther's parents were dead, so hiding her nationality was not hard. Had her parents lived, it would have been next to impossible. If people had known she belonged to a foreign race, plots to destroy her would soon have started. Haman's wicked plan may even then have been taking shape.
The secret covered Mordecai as much as Esther, and it paid off at the palace gate.
If Esther had revealed the connection, and it had become known that Mordecai at the gate was her uncle and she his adopted daughter, he would not have stayed in that unnoticed place at the gate. The plotters would then have been careful. They would not have spoken where someone so closely tied to the queen could hear. Mordecai learned of the planned attempt on the King's life because nobody knew who he was, and so nobody took any notice of him.
The hiding reaches further than one secret — into the queen's name, and into the book itself.
Esther's name means "I will be hidden." Her identity stayed hidden even after she became the wife of Ahasuerus. God too is hidden from view in the book of Esther.
One writer reads the hidden queen as a picture of what is still to come — a people not yet owned before the world, but already loved.
Although she is acknowledged as queen, what she really is has not yet been shown. Mordecai, who in fact had all authority over her, had commanded her not to make known her birth. It will be the same at the time of the end. Before the Lord openly acknowledges the origin of His Jewish wife, He will have His wife in the form of a despised and persecuted remnant. She will not yet be shown to the world, yet she will still find grace in the eyes of many. Her beauty will be known to her Husband before He can present her to the world.
- Hidden name. Esther means "I will be hidden." She stays hidden as queen, in a book where God's name never appears.
- Hidden obedience. She keeps silent because Mordecai told her to. Obedience marks her, whether or not she knew his reason.
- Hidden danger. Her parents were dead, so the secret was easy to keep. Had her nation been known, plots against her would have started at once.
- Hidden advantage. The same secret left Mordecai unnoticed at the gate. There he overheard the plot against the king.
- Hidden verdict. Scripture neither accuses nor excuses the silence. Writers differ over it, but agree that God used it all to bless His people.
And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
Esther has been taken into the king's harem, and she keeps her Jewish background quiet. Her guardian cannot follow her inside, so he walks outside the women's quarters every day for news of her.
Esther is inside the women's quarters, and Mordecai can only pace outside. That small, repeated action tells us what she meant to him.
Mordecai walking daily before the court of the women's house proves his great concern for his adopted daughter.
Another writer notices that Mordecai's care ran in two directions at once.
Mordecai himself secretly watches over Esther with touching care. This does not stop him from also watching over the person of the king, whom God had given him as master through the fault of the people. All this is very lovely, and shows that Mordecai had a great understanding of the mind of God and a rare submission to His will.
Esther's silence about her people has been judged harshly. One writer answers those charges.
This has been called deception, extraordinary cleverness, and cowardice. It was none of these. Divine Providence arranged it this way. Since Esther's parents were dead, hiding her nationality was not difficult. If her parents had been alive, it would have been next to impossible. If people had known that she belonged to the foreign race, plots to destroy her would soon have started.
Commentators differ here. Another writer is willing to question Mordecai's motives in the whole project, while still holding that God was at work in it.
Mordecai was not content to see the Jews despised in this foreign land. He had ambitions for his adopted daughter, who might become a way for the Jews to receive more honour. This is not to be the Christian attitude, and we cannot say that God ordered Mordecai to take on this project. Mordecai's object was not the honour of God, but the blessing of the Jews. On the other hand, God was concerned about the Jews too, though He could not associate His name with them at the time.
The verse tells us what Mordecai did, and passes no verdict on him.
Whatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter, Scripture is silent here, neither accusing nor excusing. We do not have long to wait before the vital question is raised. Then the Jews must either perish, or be delivered beyond all outward hope — yet without sign, wonder, or miracle.
Mordecai acts in plain view. One writer points to two more actors the book never names.
God was acting for Israel behind the scenes, and Mordecai was acting for God before the scenes. Notice that neither Israel's best Friend nor their worst enemy is named even once in the book of Esther. Yet the whole book is full of the actions of both.
The missing name is not a sign that God had stopped caring.
God does not show Himself. But God holds the reins by His providence, behind the power and the mistakes of that throne to which the government of the world had fallen. He watches over the fulfilment of His purposes and over everything needed for it. And He cares for His people, whatever their condition may be or the power of their enemies.
One writer follows this background figure forward to what he will do next.
Meanwhile Mordecai is there, in the background but full of interest in Esther's well-being. At the right moment he carries out a deed of tremendous value to the king: he discovers and stops a plot. This deed will turn out to be the basis for Esther's salvation and for that of her people. It reminds us of the greatest deed ever carried out by the true Mordecai: the work of Christ on the cross.
- Hidden — Esther hides her people, and the book never names God. What is hidden in this verse runs through the whole story.
- Watching — his daily walk outside the women's court proves how much he cared for the girl he had raised.
- Behind — Mordecai acts for God in front of the scenes. God acts for His people behind them, holding the reins by His providence.
- Silent — Scripture neither accuses nor excuses Mordecai and Esther here. Commentators differ on whether his ambitions for her were right.
- Revealed — the man pacing in the background will later stop a plot against the king, and that deed becomes the basis of his people's rescue.