Esther 2:12-18 — Behind the Scenes

READ THIS: Esther 2:12-18

12 Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13 And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name. 

15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
 
After a long process, King Xerxes has finally made a decision on who his new queen will be… and surprise, surprise, it’s Esther! Yesterday, we talked about how Esther had gained the favor of everyone around her, ultimately because God was with her. Today, we see that ultimately leading her to the spot of queen! Because Esther had gained the favor of Hegai, he helped her know what to say to the king and how to win over his favor. Because Esther won over Xerxes’s favor, she became queen!

Because we don’t see God speak and don’t see His name mentioned in Esther, it can be easy for us to look at this book and think God isn’t at work… but passages like these show us just how much God’s hand was over His people! Of all the women who could have been chosen, Esther somehow found herself placed in the prime position to be chosen as queen, and throughout this book, we will see why Esther was chosen to fill this role!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Xerxes may think that he was the one in control of this entire queen-picking process, but who is really the One working to bring Esther up to the role of Queen?
 
2. Where in your life have you missed out on seeing God at work behind the scenes?

TRY THIS:

Tonight, before you go to bed, take some time to think about how God could have been working behind the scenes of the big and small things you were up to today!

SONG OF THE WEEK:
 
The song of the week is called King of Humility. This week, we will learn about a not so humble king who does what they want whenever they want to. Our king, Jesus, is quite the opposite! Listen to this song this week and reflect on how Christ humbled Himself before us even when He didn't have to, then think about how we can live humbly this week! Here are the links to listen on YouTube and Spotify!

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