God’s hand is all over Esther’s story of promotion from an ordinary Jewish orphan girl, to the queen of the mighty Persian empire.
To replace Vashti, a beauty pageant was to be prepared and conducted, to see which young woman would win the king’s heart.
“So it came about when the king’s command and his decree were proclaimed and when many young women were gathered together in the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace [and placed] in the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace; then he transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.” (ESTHER 2:8-9 AMP)
Many young women were entered into the pageant, the competition was intense. With so many beautiful women gathered together in the same space, tensions, jealousy and envy must have burned at an all-time high.
However, the Bible does not depict Esther as being caught up in any drama or palace politics.
It feels like she just minded her own business and was restful about the whole thing.
The favor that she received from the eunuch Hegai appears to be supernatural too—God’s hand in this is evident in the “seven choice maids”, as 7 is the number of God’s perfection.
Are you in a situation where there are lots of competitors, many of them just as talented as you, and you need an edge over them?
Rely on God to grant you favor like He did for Esther.
God can turn the heart of a person of influence in your favor if you will trust in Him.
I personally believe that Esther was a believer in the God of Israel, that she would have prayed for her needs.
She would most likely have prayed for God’s favor in the beauty pageant, and her faith in His provision can explain why she never seems to participate in any scheming or politicking.
Look at the opulent way in which each young woman in the beauty pageant was prepared for the king:
“Now when it was each young woman’s turn to go before King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women--for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with [sweet] spices and perfumes and the beauty preparations for women-- then the young woman would go before the king in this way: anything that she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem into the king’s palace. In the evening she would go in and the next morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and she was summoned by name.” (ESTHER 2:12-14 AMP)
12 is the number of covenant relationship (twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples of Jesus) and 6 is the number of man (Man was made on the sixth day of creation, and 666 represents a man [antichrist] in his most depraved form, alienated from God’s nature).
In our covenant relationship with God (12-month beautification process), we depend on His favor, but that doesn’t mean that we do nothing and just sit there waiting for God to drop what we need from the sky.
There’s still a part where we have to walk, believing that His favor will flow in our lives as we are on the go.
His favor causes what we do to prosper and succeed.
Hence, the 6 months of oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfume.
Depending on God’s favor doesn’t mean that you only wait for the supernatural and miraculous and totally abandon the natural.
Esther still went through the beautification process like everybody else.
I’m sure she didn’t say “God is on my side and will grant me favor to win even without all this. I’m not even going to bathe or brush my teeth to prove that it’s all God’s favor!”
No, God can also use natural things to accomplish His purposes. The key is to be led by the Holy Spirit—do what He tells us to do. That’s godly wisdom.
So please carry on brushing your teeth, using moisturizer, whatever beauty products, and if your doctor has prescribed you medicine, carry on taking it unless God has clearly spoken to you that you don’t need to.
Now, read the following passage carefully because it reveals Esther’s secret of receiving God’s favor:
“Now as for Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her in as his [own] daughter, when her turn came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch [and attendant] who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal palace in the tenth month, that is, the month of Tebeth (Dec-Jan), in the seventh year of his reign. Now the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the [other] virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in the place of Vashti.” (ESTHER 2:15-17 AMP)
The name of Esther’s father Abihail means “The Father is Might”.
Esther relied on God as her might. She didn’t request for anything except for what Hegai the king’s eunuch advised.
In this part of Esther’s story, the eunuch represents the Holy Spirit.
True sons of God are led by the Holy Spirit and not by the Law which requires their own strength and ability.
Esther didn’t rely on her own smarts or understanding, but fully trusted in God to grant her favor:
“Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” (PROVERBS 3:5-6 AMP)
By submitting to God’s authority, she was demonstrating true humility, qualifying her to receive grace:
“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34 NKJV)
Esther’s original name is “Hadassah” which means myrtle. The myrtle flower is star-shaped, having five petals.
The name she received later on, Esther, means star.
By relying on God’s favor, the star on earth (myrtle) was elevated to the heavens—from a common foreigner, to royalty in the palace!
In Chinese culture, we love to hear palace stories about how the protagonist goes through storms in life with lots of drama, using his or her intelligence and skills to defeat evil and attain happiness.
Such stories inspire us and make us feel like that person truly deserves the happiness that he or she received in the end.
This is fleshly because it champions man’s own abilities and methods. Oftentimes, such protagonists use underhand strategies that God would frown upon.
However, Esther’s story shows us that it is still possible for a story to be restful, smooth-sailing and still wonderfully inspiring.
It was none of her own smarts or efforts, and all of God’s favor.
You may begin as a star-shaped flower on earth, but when you rely on God’s grace (unmerited favor), the Lord will greatly exalt you in the sight of all—you become a rising star in the heavens to shine for His glory!
This devotional is just one issue from my ongoing Bible Study series for patrons on Patreon.
It’s called “New Beginnings with God” because the Holy Spirit wants to show us how to navigate this new year to go from a small beginning to a greatly increased end.
It’s not too late to join in now. You’ll receive the past 8 issues of “New Beginnings with God” and a new one every weekday in our GEM WhatsApp Chat Group when you become a “God Every Morning” tier or above patron on Patreon.
Additionally, my new ebook “Messiah’s Miracles—The Power of Having Faith in Jesus Christ” is almost ready. All GEM tier and above patrons will receive it too once it’s ready.
Here’s what a beta reader said about it:
“Thank you, Milton for the anointed sharing of the 37 Miracles of Jesus. Right from the 1st miracle, God dropped fresh revelations of His heart to me. It wasn't head knowledge that I experienced, I felt His personality, His loving heart's intents towards me. On top of that, there's also revelation of His healing power. Praise Jesus for transforming my heart and bringing me closer to Him through Milton's sharing.” - Ann Tan, GEM tier patron from Singapore
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