And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them.
A king has banished his queen, and his advisers propose how to replace her. It is palace policy with no mention of God in it — yet it is the door through which a Jewish girl walks into the throne room of the empire.
Fear behind the advice
The men who proposed this plan were protecting themselves, not planning anything for God's people.
William KellyGod's providence was moving to protect the Jews from the destruction hanging over them and to punish their enemies. Nothing could have seemed less connected with that than the Persian story of the chapter before, which ended with the king sending Vashti away. A further step was now taken. A lofty one was put down, a lowly one is exalted. But God alone worked in this secretly. The king's servants had no outcome in view, any more than the king himself. They were afraid that Ahasuerus might overturn the policy of the empire. They were afraid too that bringing the queen back would put them in immediate danger. So they propose that the king choose as his wife the most beautiful young woman in his kingdom, whoever pleased him best.
The custom behind the decree
This plan was not invented for the occasion.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThen the courtiers made their suggestions, and they fit perfectly with the customs of Persia, still practised by rulers in the East. The king was well pleased with this suggestion.
What the cosmetics say
The verse ends by ordering beauty treatments for the women.
Leslie M. GrantAll of the women applicants were given 12 months of preparation! (v. 12). So the unbelieving world thinks it can improve by artificial means on the beauty of those God has created. Very likely the king would have been just as impressed with Esther without this long delay. Hegai gave her the best place among the women right from the start.
A hand nobody in the story could see
God is never named in this book.
J. N. DarbyIt has often been remarked that the name of God is not found in the Book of Esther. This is characteristic. God does not show Himself. The government of the world had fallen to that throne. But behind its power and its mistakes, God holds the reins by His providence. He watches over the carrying out of His purposes and over everything needed to fulfil them. And He cares for His people, whatever their condition may be or the power of their enemies. Happy people!
The cost to the woman herself
Esther had no say in any of it.
H. L. RossierThese ways of divine Providence toward Israel were secretly preparing the future reign of His people over the nations. Yet look how humiliated Israel was in her actual condition! We see the Jewish wife handed over by force to the king of the Gentiles, like a slave someone disposes of, without anyone asking her! Her will counts for nothing in this alliance; she is forced into it. Every other young woman in the empire might have wanted such a position. Esther could not want it.
Whether Esther should have gone
Commentators differ. One sees Esther as free from blame, because the whole nation was out of its proper place:
J. G. BellettThe people of God were not in their proper place when those strange events happened, and that is what justifies them… Esther is no more blamed for going to the king of Persia than Joseph was for marrying Asenath in Egypt, or Moses for marrying Zipporah in Midian.
Another questions the whole project while still tracing God's care through it:
Leslie M. GrantWe may rightly question whether a Jewish woman should think of marrying a Persian, king or not. We may also question whether Mordecai should encourage such a union. But the Jews were in such a state that they had nearly forgotten what suited Jewish character… On the other hand, God cared about the Jews too, though He could not associate His name with them at the time.
A picture drawn ahead of time
Some read this long preparation as a picture of a future time for the faithful remnant of Israel.
Michael HardtEsther undergoes a time of preparation before she can meet the king. In the same way, there will be a preparation time for the remnant. The Holy Spirit, pictured here in Hegai, will guide and instruct the true Esther in her preparation and bring out her beauty. This still applies to Christians today: the Spirit needs to show us the way. We can't attain beauty based on our own thinking.
Summary
- Hidden God. God's name never appears in this book. He does not show Himself, but He holds the reins behind a throne that has forgotten Him.
- Hidden motive. Frightened courtiers proposed the search for a new queen to protect themselves. Not one of them had God's people in view.
- Hidden custom. An ordinary Persian practice — officers, a house of women, a keeper, a year of beauty treatments — became the road by which a Jewish girl reached the crown.
- Hidden cost. Officers took Esther; no one asked her. Providence was at work, but her position was a humiliation, not a prize.
- Hidden future. Commentators differ on whether she should have gone at all, yet agree God's care ran through it. Some see in Hegai's work a picture of the Spirit forming a beauty we cannot produce ourselves.