Woman Warrior

Esther was a heroine in the making that God used to rescue His people from an evil plot to annihilate them. Set 100 years after the Babylonian exile, Esther was first introduced to the story after a decree had been made for all eligible beautiful virgins, of the 127 provinces in the Persian empire King Xerxes ruled stretching from India to Ethiopia, to be brought to the palace to beautified over a 12-month period and afterward presented to the king for one night. This process for selecting a new queen and Esther being brought to the palace would have never taken place if not for Vashti’s refusal to come before the king at his request during the last day of a banquet he was hosting.

Yet, behind the king’s drunken decision to exile Vashti and Esther entering the beauty pageant, God was working behind the scenes even though ironically, His name was never mentioned once in the narrative. Esther, seamlessly won the King over and in the process gained favor with those around her. In this way, God used not only her outer beauty, but inner beauty to save His people. Let’s take a closer look. 

Esther naturally found favor with everyone around her because she found favor with God. That’s not to say that she was perfect according to Jewish customs of the time. During around this time in 5^th century BCE, the Jews had been permitted to return back to their home land, Jerusalem. Although some left, many chose to stay behind. Esther and her cousin and adoptive father, Mordecai, who had raised her since the death of her parents, were part of the small Jewish community in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, who chose to stay behind. 

The Jews who decided to go back looked down on them for not honoring their traditional heritage by living and worship together in their homeland. They also frowned upon them for allowing themselves be surrounded by people who worshiped pagan gods and who were immoral in several other ways. Although Jewish by birth, Esther mingled with people outside of her Jewish community during her time in the palace and may not have followed all the Jewish laws and customs to the letter, given that those in the palace believed that she was of Persian descent.

There is also a possibility that, though keeping her nationality a secret, followed from Mordecai’s advice, she was able to maintain following the Torah and traditional Jewish practices. Either way, the condition of her heart was what God measured, not how often she followed the Jewish practices of the time.

Finding favor with God is not a matter of outward appearances but of inner transformation. Our rightness with God can never be based on outward works but is based on the inner work of the Holy Spirit when we choose to yield to Him and accept Jesus Christ as Lord over our lives. Whatever we do outwardly then only becomes a representation of the revelation we have of God’s righteousness through us. When our identities and how we individually perceive ourselves become one with how God views us, that is when we will be able to walk in the fullness of all that Christ has for us.

So tying this in with Esther, the fact that she was, in the natural, a descendant of God’s chosen people, or that she may not have followed the Israelite law by the letter, or that she mingled with other peoples and cultures not her own, which at the time was very frowned upon by other Jews,  shows that God can use anyone despite their perceived shortcomings and does not consider our outer works and appearances as prerequisites for His favor.

So in a sense, although the book of Esther does not mention God and even today some Jewish sects do not consider the book of Esther worthy to be a part of their religious texts for this reason, I believe that God was behind the scenes and used someone whom no one would have ever expected to accomplish His plan to save His people from death. Even though Esther did not live outwardly as other customary Israelites, this does not mean that her heart was not set on God.

Those whose hearts are turned towards God are the ones who find favor with Him and I believe that through various ways, Esther’s words and actions indicated the presence of inner beauty cultivated by having her heart turned towards Him.

As a woman of her time, she would not have had much authority or enjoy the same freedoms and privileges as her male counterparts. Yet despite this, she appeared to have honored authority in her life not necessarily because she had to but because she wanted to. When Vashti was called by the king to come in her crown to present her beauty to his male attendants during the banquet, she refused and as a result was banished from his presence forever. Esther, too, did something unprecedented by appearing to the King uninvited, yet the King honored her promising that even up to half the kingdom he would give her if need be. Could it be that Esther knew the dynamics of authority and carried this knowledge with wisdom that Vashti did not?

From the time Esther was first introduced to the story she was shown as submitting to the instruction of Mordecai even after she had been taken to the palace and was technically no longer under his supervision. She followed his guidance to not reveal her nationality and also changed her Jewish name from Hadassah to Esther. She made sure to continue communication with Mordecai and shared what was going on in her life at the palace. Esther respected him such that she was willing to risk her life under his council to go to the king unsummoned as queen for the purpose of preventing the planned massacre of her people.

Note here how Vashti did not come to the king when summoned and Esther went to the king unsummoned. Whatever Vashti’s reason for not going, although seeming to preserve her dignity considering the context of having to go before a large party of inebriated men, she refused and paid heavily for this. I believe that her consequence was harsh not necessarily because she said no to the king, but because her refusal most likely, according to the king’s response, humiliated him before his guests making him look like he had little authority over his wife, much less an entire empire. The decree set, from this incident, to reinforce that men be head over their households, hints at the attempt to save the face of the Persian Empire from having the authority of the king undermined by a woman.

Yet, based on action alone, what Esther, coming in his presence unsummoned, could have just as easily been seen to undermine the king’s authority as well. However, the king did not see it as such and eagerly extended his scepter over her to pardon and let her live for doing something clearly and strictly prohibited by law. The king was captivated by her inner beauty and favored not necessarily what she did but how she presented herself to him, in humility, and fully submitting to his authority.

When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

Esther 5:2

Therefore, in the area that the king was displeased with Vashti, he was very pleased with Esther. Esther knew the power of authority and the importance of submitting to it. Many times, we may feel powerless when we are subject to authority above us that we don’t agree with or negatively impact us such as an unfair boss or parent. Nevertheless, when we use wisdom and truly honor them, like Esther, regardless of what they’ve done, it’s possible to still find favor with them and even influence them to do the right thing!

Respecting and honoring authority in Esther’s case meant deferring to them in matters that she could have chosen to make the decisions herself. She didn’t necessarily have to follow Mordecai’s advice since technically she was now no longer directly under him, but she chose to because she respected him as the one who raised her. This, no doubt, by showing other people that their opinions mattered, was probably what helped her gain favor with them.

Another example is her she choosing to follow the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the chosen virgins’ preparations. While all the other girls took from the treasury all that their hearts desire, possibly driven by greed, to appear with on their one night with the king, Esther did not allow herself to be consumed with all the wealth and possession she could have gained. Her eyes were set above material things and beauty, and instead of being inclined to follow her own instincts and desires, she chose to humbly and wisely seek and follow Hegai’s advice, respecting his authority as head over King Xerxes’ harem.

With this too, she technically did not have to follow anyone’s advice on how to please the king, especially since she was already considered very beautiful in her own right, but she chose to. By acknowledging authority and eagerly submitting to it in various areas, even when she was not necessarily required to, she showed people honor, respect, and validation that ultimately made them favor her. 

I believe that Esther had cultivated a respect for the king’s authority similar to that of which she showed Mordecai and Hegai by willingly submitting to his authority not because she had to, but because she wanted to which showed through the way she treated and responded to him. This probably enhanced their relationship in ways Vashti may have never experienced with the king.

Even though the king was clearly enamored by Queen Esther, Esther was humble in how she saw herself before approaching the king. She did not let her well known beauty and favor she already curried with him and everyone else get to her head or make her believe that she could just waltz in his presence unsummoned without the possibility of major repercussions. When she submitted herself to the mission of going before him unsummoned, she did it relying on her own strength, beauty, favor, or ability but rather she completely submitted herself to the will of God and relied solely on Him to enable her to find favor with the king. This is seen by her approach to fast and pray in preparation for this mission.

Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.

Esther 4:16

Essentially, she submitted herself to God’s authority, by decidedly doing His will without knowing the outcome while willing to sacrifice her life for the chance to spare her people from annihilation. In the midst of this trial she exemplified humility and selflessness and most importantly that her heart was turned to God. Ultimately, her finding favor with the king was ultimately because she found favor with God.

With all that’s been said, I am convinced that her inner beauty complimented, if not outshined, her outer beauty. Adding to this, her desire to submit to authority, though encompassing other virtuous attributes, is not the only sign that proved her inner beauty and heart turned towards God that enabled her to find favor.

Along with humility she showed by submitting to authority and following advice when she could have indulged what rights she had to do things her own way, she demonstrated wisdom in this as well. Both before her time as queen and during it, she knew the value of this which enabled her to make wise decisions as well as maneuver and adapt to her environment.

Even though she was taken from all that she had known and would have to live in and serve in the palace for the rest of her life, especially after all heard what had happened to Vashti, the Bible never hints that she was resentful or fearful at all. With the awareness of Vashti’s banishment, there may have been some women coming into the palace afraid that what befell Vashti would come upon them or worse. It’s also possible that some dreaded and resented the indignity of being pampered in the palace only to continue go be treated as property, objectified, and hyper-sexualized as women. Surely, some considered the distaste of having to compete for one man, be willing to lose their virginity to him, and yet most likely never get to be a part of his life or enter his presence.

On the flip side, since this was a time when women were already treated as property, objectified, and not guaranteed nearly as many rights as men, it’s also possible that they felt that coming into the palace was a better life than they already knew, with far more wealth, recognition, privileges, and opportunity. Who knows, maybe it was a very happy day for several of the virgins entering the palace as they wanted to take as much advantage of it as possible.

Either way, these women, whether they realized it or not, went through a lot, and it’s possible Esther stood out among them by not letting resentment, or the height of recognition and wealth get to her head. Instead, she maintained virtue and inner beauty that showed her heart was set towards God. In this she found favor with God and thus with everyone around her.

Before she was ever chosen by the King to be Queen, she was chosen by God. She not only willed, but desired submission to authority and, with wisdom, sought council and advice, never solely doing things her way without the consideration of others. Her humility as well as her following through to do the will of God despite her not knowing the outcome or whether she would live or die will always be remembered as a reflection of her inner beauty and favor with God.