#EstherChallenge – Day 2 Chapter Two

Hello Beautiful People!

Time for Day Two! Please remember to hashtag #EstherChallenge when you tweet about it. In addition, email estherchallenge@outlook.com with your notes for each chapter, or a summary and I will put it up on this blog page.

DAY TWO- CHAPTER TWO

Again, I read this chapter in the New International Version and in The Message bible. I preferred The Message just because it was ‘reader friendly’ without losing the key bits of information and the context 🙂

Main People in this Chapter:

King Aha,
The king’s advisors (the BEGS)
Hegai (The guy in charge of all the women aka PIMP),
Mordecai (Esther’s cousin) and
Esther (Hadassah)

CHEEKY SUMMARY by Kanayo So King Aha finally sobered up and wanted to know what to do about His wife. Yet again we see that it was the people around the king that influenced his decision to find a new wife ASAP! So He appointed Hegai who was the guy in charge of all the women…something like your modern day PIMP loool but He wasn’t the bad type. The prerequisites of this new Queen was that she must be a virgin. Mordecai heard of this and immediately thought Esther would be a perfect candidate, so he instructed her to be amongst the women of Hegai and gave her clear instructions NOT to reveal her background. Esther was obedient and Hegai took a liking to her.

All the women that were to go infront of the King had to undergo a 12 month beauty treatment…(and we complain about spending 30 mins dolling ourselves up :P). The women were also given the privilege to take one thing of their choice when they went to see the King. Esther decided not to take anything, she just carried herself. Esther, just as she was, won the admiration of everyone who saw her, including the King who fell in love with her and favoured her above all. The King made Esther the Queen, without even knowing her background and he organised a big party for her! On the day of the party, Mordecai heard two of the kings men plotting against the king and told Esther, who then reported this to the King giving credit to Mordecai. It was confirmed that these men were ready to commit treason so they were hanged…*GASPS*

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS CHAPTER:

Even bad men want good women. The King desired his ‘new’ queen to be a ‘virgin‘, for me this says something about the trait associated with being a virgin, such as purity, although I must say in this present day and age and probably back then, being a virgin does not automatically mean you are pure in heart.
The King was the temperature and not the thermostat…yet again. Always influenced by others, never really was the initiator of any action or decision, he’s kinda like the guy that just ‘stamps a seal of approval’ and takes no part in making a decision. I don’t think this is something we should emulate at all.
Esther was an orphan and a Jew. BUT HER BACKGROUND DID NOT STOP GOD FROM FAVOURING HER WHY? BECAUSE SHE WAS OBEDIENT. Your past/background/ethnicity will not stop God from favouring you, the only thing that is a hindrance is disobedience.
Esther was OBEDIENT. She showed obedience time after time to Mordecai and Hegai.
Esther was FAVOURED. Esther didn’t need anything else, she didn’t have to carry any extra thing to the King like the other women. She was good just the way she was (verse 15). The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his >>favour << without doing anything, ‘FAVOUR AIN’T FAIR’ because you honour God through your obedience He will make what people will work and toil for so easy for you!
Esther was LOYAL. Some golddiggers who hear that someone wants to kill their husband would lead the pepertrators to his home in order to claim his wealth. Esther could have easily done this, but she was loyal so was Mordecai!
Esther had another name…Hadassah (verse 7). I did my research and found out a few things which I will share below.

The name Hadassah is derived from the Hebrew word ‘hadas’, a myrtle tree. Just as a myrtle has a sweet smell and a bitter taste, so too Esther was good and listened (“sweet”) to the righteous (e.g. Mordechai), and was adverse (“bitter”) to the wicked (we will see this further on in our Challenge).

The righteous are also called myrtles. As it states in Zechariah 1:8, “and he was standing among the myrtles, [the righteous prophets Chanania, Mishael and Azarya].”

According to Kabbalah (early Judaic teachings), the name Hadassah represents righteousness. As such, it corresponds to a heavenly sphere representing God’s infinity. The name Esther is derived from the Hebrew word ‘haster’, which means “hidden,” and corresponds to a spiritual plane representing hidden Godliness.

Interestingly, she is referred to by both names – seemingly opposites. According to Chabad philosophy, calling Queen Esther by both names represents the self-sacrifice she displayed in order to save the Jewish nation. A righteous woman, she brought Godliness down into the physical world where Godliness is concealed (remember in the two chapters we have read so far and even throughout the book, God is not mentioned once).

We too can connect Godliness with our world when we choose to do something righteous instead of following our desires.

WHAT EVERYONE DOING THE ESTHER CHALLENGE THINKS:

For me, this chapter radiated the themes of obedience, the importance of wise counsel, the imapct of Gods favour and most importantly(for me ) how to become the perfect bride of Christ. The opening of Chapter 2, sets the scene for the aftermath of Vashti’s disobedience and King Aha’s rash decision making. Under the counsel of his advisers, King Aha is on the prowl for a new Queen to take the place of the former Queen Vashti. And so the competition begins! It’s almost like a Persian version of ‘Americas next top model’ featuring Tyra banks- The diva of a King- Ahaserus and our very own Miss Jay- aka Hegai!

Below is a summary of the main points I drew.

1) The importance of wise counsel/obedience: Throughout Chapter 2, numerous refrences are made to this. The kings officials advised him to hold a competition, which lead to him finding the virtuous Esther (Reward of Obedience). Esther listened to Hegai when he instructed her on how dress before the King. As a result, she was chosen as a queen! (Reward of obedience). Often times we feel to proud to take on advice from other sources.However, Even though we should always discern between good and bad counsel, Prov 11:14 says ‘where there is no counsel, people fall, but in the multitude of counsel there is safety’ and I feel that it’s important for us to always seek and accept good counsel in all endeavours we decide to make.

2)The importance of Gods favour/God can use anybody! : AS explained in Chapter 2, Esther had faced severe adveristy in the past (death of her parents). Her background was humble and on top of that she was a Jew (nothing wrong with Jews, but as Gods chosen people, they’d always faced persecution in the bible), yet with the favour of God and wise counselm she was exalted amongst her peers. This goes to show that God can use anybody and everybody, irrespective of their past/background!

3)The final and most important for me, was the beautifying of ourselves for our bridegroom Jesus. Verse 12 narrates the extensive beautifying process the girls had to undergo before being presented to their potential husband, King A. I felt that this was reflective of how we as Christians should also go through an extensive refining process with the aim of becoming a beautiful bride for our Lord Jesus Christ! – Sophia, @Guvnaaa/@GuvnaaaHAB

We can see in the chapter 2 that the king gives almost all his attention to the “pretty face” girls before all. Here we see Esther, contrary to the queen Vasthi she seemed very obedient. Indeed, like Mordecai tells her, she didn’t say what nation she was from I assumed if she said it she could certainly not become queen. Her obedience earned her to be chosen by the king himself. I imagine that Esther obeyed blindly to Mordecai, didn’t know why she had to do that or what she was even doing either. But she did it! I think that God wants us to be obedient women because obedience is a kinda wisdom. He wants us to trust Him,no matter what He asks us to do. Women of wisdom 🙂 – @___simplyglody

I read this chapter in the New Living Translation.

verse 4 “After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect.” I find that the king could not make decisions such as “how to get the new queen” What I learnt from this is that when we are in a dilemma and need to make important decisions, we should speak to God and not man because he is the only one that knows that which will profit us.

verse 20 “She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home.” I was really astonished by her behaviour even when she became the Queen. This reminded me of Daniel and the 3 Hebrew men when they moved to Babylon. They refused to do what the people of Babylon were doing, and remained faithful to their God and did not defile themselves (Daniel 1:18) “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way” What I learnt from this is that as students going to university or moving away from home, we should not say ‘my parents are not here now so I can do whatever I like’, ‘yolo’ or try to be someone you are not. Stay true to the person you are, and God will honour that; the people around you will also respect that. And through this, we can even win souls into the Kingdom. – Oyin, @OyindasTweets

Regret, Humility, Love & Past. These are the main concept I got from reading the book of Esther Chapter2.

Regret: Think before you act. Think before you speak.

Humility: I like the lesson on humility here. Esther had a choice to take whatever she wanted to when going to see the king but…’she asked for nothing except what he suggested and she was admired by everyone who saw her’. I have decided to look at it this way… I want nothing but what God has suggested. When people admire me, let it be because I ooze the glory of God through my words and actions, my character… Let him be my makeup, my fancy clothes, my perfume, my Brazilian weave (lol, let me stop…you guys get the point).

Love: The fact that the king fell in love with Esther the moment he saw her, makes me believe that when you ‘know’ the one, you know. It doesn’t take years to spot your rib.

Past: I was a bit confused with this one. Where Esther doesn’t spill the bean on her being a Jew. It is right to lie? Or is she withholding information that is irrelevant? – Chinaza,@NwataMiss

12 months of beauty treatments, WOOW these women must have smelt and looked immaculate by the time they were ready to see the King lol. The time of purification took a year and was a custom in those times that all young maidens went through before being presented to the King. Imagine, if we were invited to meet the Queen, I’m sure we would go all out to look our best. In relation to us, there must also be a time of purification before we are presented to our King and we should do this by heeding Gods Word.

Esther was an orphan and Mordecai had raised her as his own. She was extremely beautiful and had a lovely figure. She showed obedience towards Modercai and didn’t reveal her family background. This is so key and teaches us that obeying our parents is a blessing to us. Esther’s obedience towards Modercai paved the way for her, eventually leading her to the throne. Who knows what would have happened if she had revealed that she was a Jew. Children of nowadays feel that when they get to a certain age, they don’t need to pay attention to the counsel of their parents. But no matter how old we get, our parents still deserve our respect, because at the end of the day we don’t know it all. ‘’..Honour thy father and thy mother, so your days may be long…’’ – Larape, @LoveLarape

Chapter 1 & 2 of Esther, for me so far, have been symbolic metaphors of Gods nature as well as a comparison of Esther’s opposing natures/ name meanings (as Kanayo clearly explained in her blog). In chapter one the king reminded me of God when he commanded for vashti to come and his reaction when she refused. I am not fully clear on why she refused but the event fully emphasised the fact that God doesn’t need us, rather we need Him. vashti was quickly replaced with Esther (later in chap 2) and it hits home that when we do not obey God when he wants to use us as a vessel, He will just s easily recruit someone else happy to obey and they will bear even more fruit than you, the original potential, would have- due to disobedience. Chapter two however, reminded me of Gods accepting nature. Esther was loyal, obedient and listened to instructions. She came to the king “just as she was”..no extras unlike the other women in line, yet she found such favour. We see her obedience bears her fruits even when it could be argued she didn’t really ‘deserve ‘ them. #EstherChallenge – Sheena, @shortyylikeme

Esther – A Remarkable Character : One thing we see that Esther and Vashti have in common, other than being queens, is that they have both been given instructions.. Vashti’s disobedience cost her her crown but Esther’s obedience to Mordecai enabled her to keep her true identity quiet and as a result, allowed her to continue to be favoured and of great influence.

Esther continued to respect Mordecai even though she no longer lived under his roof and she was placed in a higher position of influence than he was. She didn’t allow her title to get to her head. The way Esther respects Mordecai leads me to believe that she was respecting and in a sense submitting and serving him from before! It was not foreign to her and as a result we can presume that she would be much more obedient than her predecessor.

The Preparation Period: We understand that Esther and the other virgins were actually prepared for 12 whole months before being able to go into the King. They could not be entering into a potential total marriage any how. They had to appear top notch and ready before they were presented to the King.

Those of us who are single can take this and apply it to ourselves and those of us who are engaged or married can guide the single ladies about the importance of the preparation period. Although we are not going to be complete packages when we meet our spouses, there is a level of preparation that needs to be fulfilled in our singleness. This is the time to be completely serving God wholeheartedly before entering the ministry of marriage. There is no point seeking to be presented if we are not ready!

Favour : Esther winning favour in all eyes who saw her is such an amazing thing she just stands out amongst all the other women.. Are we too busy trying to blend in with the others or is there something in particular that sets you apart and allows you to be favoured from everyone else?

Mordecai was used as a vessel without him even realising that he was going to be. We need to understand that we maybe led to take an impromptu direction that will put us back in track for the plan God has for our lives… So lets be prepared for them!

PS: How would it make you feel to be a wife but know your husband has concubines? Although he is king and this was the norm for that generation this just reaffirms the kind of character this king was – one who was seemingly quite selfish yet we must bear in mind the culture they lived in. – @GenieBaybee

The favour of God and man is evident in Chapter two. We worship a God who brings about change and a sudden turnaround her name went from Esther toQUEEN Esther in one chapter. We shouldnt be too deep and disregard her physical beauty which played a key role for QUEEN Esther gaining favour. Being beautiful is a blessing and taking care of one’s body is honourable as we know its the temple of God. Her obedience and discipline to look after that which God had given her (as verse 7 says she had a beautiful figure. This is before the beautification process) and simply being a child of God he favoured her. Im looking at it more in the natural sense that what you may overlook or think its too vain to bring about a change is the very thing that may just bring a change to you and generaions to come after. ❤ ❤ ❤ – @EGHOSAOSUNDE

#EstherChallenge .. 4 words: Favour, Humility, Obedience and submission.

Esther not only GAVE the king her beauty which “was admired by everyone who saw her” (verse 15), she also surrendered her time and her virginity. She spent 12 months preparing herself just to meet the king so he could lay with her. She wouldn’t visit the king unless he requested her by name. She was obedient unlike Vashti, submitted herself to the king and never asked for anything. ” She asked for nothing except what he suggested” (verse 15).
However this was not in vain as in the end she RECEIVED; favour became hers, she stood out amongst the others not just because of her beauty, I believe her good upbringing by Mordecai played a huge part and she may just have been a likeable, ‘respectable’ woman. In the end she was crowned as queen.
Knowing the beauty she possessed, she was yet so humble, not boastful and did not use it as a way of getting into the palace just for its wealth and riches.
Additional note:
If women today understand the power of their beauty, they could also shine above the others and find their king. #EstherChallenge

P.s: Absolutely love how you established the Esther challenge! God obviously created technology for a reason.

From Georgina,
Twitter: @Georgieee_ca

Chapter 2 begins with King Ahasuerus regretting his drunken decision to divorce his wife. The king’s servants suggested beautiful young virgins from all the provinces of his kingdom be gathered to the capital city Shushan. The virgin who pleases the king be chosen queen in place of the dethroned Vashti. This was a pseudo-beauty contest with the king as the sole judge.

King Nebuchadnezzar, the former king, captured Jeconiah – king of Judah along with so many other Jews from Jerusalem. Mordecai was a descendant of the captured Jews brought to Persia. Mordecai brought up his uncle’s daughter Hadassah, also known as, Esther.

Esther was an orphan. She had neither father nor mother. Her father died whilst her mother was pregnant. Her mother died at her birth. Mordecai became his spiritual guide. The Bible described Esther as lovely and beautiful.

All the women were taken into the king’s place in the care of the king’s enuch – Hegai – the custodian of the women. Esther pleased Hegai and obtained his favour. He gave her beauty preparations above the normal allowance. Seven choice maidservants were provided for her. Esther and her maidservants were moved to the best place in the women’s quarters.

Esther didn’t reveal her identity (her nationality as a Jewish) as instructed by her uncle Mordecai.

After 12 months of beauty preparation consisting six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes, each woman went to the king. Each woman was given the option of taking whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace.

When it came to Esther’s turn to go in to the king, she requested nothing, as advised by enuch Hegai, this delighted the king. Esther obtained grace and favour in King Ahaseurus’ sight more than all the other virgins. The king crowned her his new queen – Queen Esther.

Mordecai overheard two of the king’s enuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, anger and intention of killing King Ahasuerus. Mordecai made it known to Queen Esther. The queen informed the king giving credit to Mordecai as her informant. An investigation was made into matter. Bigthan and Teresh were found guilty and hanged.

Lesson Learnt:

Wise counsel will make you prosper. Esther obeyed the instruction of Hegai which subsequently won her the admiration of King Ahasuerus. Hegai was one of the king’s trusted men and probably knew the king’s taste in regards to women. Esther’s obedience of Hegai got rewarded. Who you take advice from matters and much as the advice you take. Take yours from a trusted source, like Esther did.

Prejudice blinds people. Esther hid her identity from everyone in the king’s palace. This is very important. We live in the world were people can easily dismiss you just because your external identities such your name, age, culture, appearance, nationality and religion. Hidding your identity isn’t synonymous with lying about your identity. She hid her identity for a purpose: so it doesn’t get in her way of progression.

Virginity was and is still a choice asset. Virginity is a sign of purity. Had Esther not been a virgin at the time, she won’t have been chosen among the other virgins thereby missing her chance of becoming a queen. Have you ever wondered how the Bible describes the Church as virgin or bride adorned for her husband? Chastity isn’t outmoded as soap operas make it seem.

Prepare for your marriage. The virgins were prepared for 12 months before meeting the King. For six months, they were treated with myrrh oil. Myrrh oil has so many great benefits to the respiratory tract, the digestive system, oral hygiene, skin care, as well as urino-genital and gynecological system. After that came six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. Extensive preparations, perhaps, more than this should go into marriages.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s absolutely fine to care for your body and beautify it. Feel feel to pamper yourself. Treat your mouth, nails, hair and your body well. Feel good and smell good. But as you do that, work on your character too. More importantly, more thought and grooming should go into preparing to meet our King.

Loyalty is it’s own reward. Esther Queen was loyal to her husband. She made sure she blew the whistle on the plot to kill her husband. She was also loyal to Mordecai by giving him as the informant. Esther didn’t stop listening to Mordecai after she became a queen. Her uncle continued to be her guide as he had always been.

Physical beauty is a gift. Esther was lovely and beautiful. Physical beauty, just as any other gift, is from God. Like all gifts it should be used to the glory of God. Just as it isn’t wrong to to engage in intellectual contests, I don’t think, it’s not wrong to engage in beauty contests. Beauty shouldn’t be dismissed just as being superficial. Like all other talents, humility and fear of God when added to it will take the talent holder places.

The humble are favoured. God gives grace to the humble. [Proverbs 3:34] Esther’s humility made her to find grace in the sight of God and men. Her continuous obedience to Mordecai is noteworthy. – @Dowusem

As the King why didnt he speak to God to show him his wife instead of bringing all those virgins to the palace.
They made sure all the virgins were pampered up before coming before the King but its not always about outward appearance for all we know these woman could be pretty on the outside but evil on the inside.
There was something special about Esther thats why she was chosen to be queen i believe she had that inner beauty aswell as outside.
I think for her not to tell them who her people were is significant, plus they didnt exactly ask her where she was from and i think she thought if she had told them maybe she wouldnt be queen. I dont think it was important to them where she was from anyways because if it was they should have asked. – @beccatemitope

With great joy I comment on this forum,first of all, I would like to point out a fault in king Aha..it appeared he was drunk last night and seemed to pass a judgment. which he later discovered was harsh on ex-Queen vashti,but however,the words of a king are final and required no reconsideration,vashti had to leave.
Verses1-3,we find out the qualifications which were required,living the young and beautiful. Part. I’d like to emphasize on the ‘VIRGINITY’ part. Even the so called men knew the importance of purity so does the Manufacturer God… Esther had a good figure and beautiful face as the Message bible translation would say..but she was also PURE in heart and body. Women should. Know immorality disqualifies them from been vessels of honour of the king our Lord. Jesus Christ…We all looking forward to being the perfect bride. Of christ on that glorious day but its impossible with a spotted garment,purity is required!!!
Hadassah,oh yeah I love the name..lol!! She had to go through certain processes and treatments before. She could go into the presence of the king!! Dear ladies we need not rush our fairy tale..God is writing our scripts and believe me he’s good at it..Esther waited a YEAR!! To get ready and get rid of certain flaws which could boost her confidence.. God has prepared a king for each of us,our own knights in shinning armour,so we need to allow Jesus get us ready so that we can be reckoned with. Royalty…heavenly one at that..true Queens that we are
Esther. Found favour in the eyes of her arch-enemy Hegai the Agagite,God’s work yh!!!..he was by her all the way…she was obedient and ready to do whatever he directed her to do..Hadassah excelled tremendously patience,endurance and obedience are vital lessons I learnt in this chapter..She. Went into the presence of the king as she was…naturally she came…and the king was smitten…..you have to be yourself…God is working is working out something for us his ladies in waiting..no matter how long it takes,Esther rose to stardom,she became a Vessel of honour,it was from zero to hero………………..From
GRASS TO GRACE!!!! @saved_nicolee

6 thoughts on “#EstherChallenge – Day 2 Chapter Two”

Eghosa-x- (@EGHOSAOSUNDE) says:

09/02/2013 at 10:10 pm

The favour of God and man is evident in Chapter two. We worship a God who brings about change and a sudden turnaround 😀 her name went from Esther to QUEEN Esther in one chapter. We shouldnt be too deep and disregard her physical beauty which played a key role for QUEEN Esther gaining favour. Being beautiful is a blessing and taking care of one’s body is honourable as we know its the temple of God. Her obedience and discipline to look after that which God had given her (as verse 7 says she had a beautiful figure. This is before the beautification process) and simply being a child of God he favoured her. Im looking at it more in the natural sense that what you may overlook or think its too vain to bring about a change is the very thing that may just bring a change to you and generaions to come after. ❤ ❤ ❤

Anonymous female :) says:

09/02/2013 at 10:45 pm

I believe that the second chapter of Esther provides a lesson to ladies that being ‘flashy’ does not increase your worth AT ALL. When you stay true to yourself, your grace and your beauty will shine through.

Also, Esther embodies what society undermines. She was a (Jew) and she was an orphan. However, through Esther, God shows that even the minority can ‘shine bright like a diamond ;)’.

God is always with us, no matter our situation. In Psalm 68:5 the bible says that he will be a father to fatherless x

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Gods Glory says:

17/03/2017 at 5:56 pm

I love it, my ladies group is studying Esther.. you might like the one Cassandra marriage mints wrote as well.. Thank you for blessing us with your insight.