Whenever you hear or read about the name Esther, what comes to your mind? That Jewish orphan who was lucky enough to get picked by a rich and famous king in a beauty contest to become the queen in place of the dethroned queen Vashti. Should we blame Esther for Vashti's downfall? No way! In literature, there is something called tragic flaw, tragic flaw is that thing that ultimately leads to the downfall of the hero, not appearing before the King was Vashti's tragic flaw and neither Esther, nor God have the blame, that however is a story for another day.
Ever heard people pray for favour, using Esther as the point of contact? 'Oh yea! God of Israel, do what you did for Esther in Shushan for me too, bring me out of oblivion and make me a star, yes Lord, a star'. While it is okay to pray for favour using Esther as a case study, disregarding the things Esther did will result into praying amiss. God did not perform a magic for Esther, therefore, there are some things Esther did that we rarely mention today, should we use ignorance as an excuse? No way! For the scripture admonished us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that has no shame, rightly dividing the Word of truth.
What did Esther do to make her stand out? The competition was tight, i can't imagine just any girl going forward to compete, it must have been the gathering of the beautiful and the bold. Not just that, they had to stay in the palace for 12 months for purification and grooming, yea, an entire year away from home, all in order to be worthy of the sight of the King. While all the other girls were trying to out do one another to win the King's affection, Esther was seeking out the one who knew all about the King's taste of women- Hegia.
'When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. (NIV)Esther 2:8'.
Hegai's name was mentioned a few times in the book of Esther, but who was this man? He was an eunuch, the King's servant in charge of the King's harem, a harem of the King's concubines. Hegai must have been in the palace for a while, he must have seen the king approving some of his concubines while rejecting others, Hegai knew what the king wanted in a woman, what he get attracted to, this made him qualified for the responsibility of grooming the girls for the pageant.
All the girls under the care of Hegai were given a free hand to do whatever they liked, they were to make demands and request for things at will. Like most of the girls Esther must have been a novice in such matter, in fact, she was an orphan, being taken care of by her uncle in a strange land.
But while other girls were indulging in their freedom, while they were trying to out do one another to see who the king will choose, Esther decided to submit her freedom to one man that knew the heart of the king - Hegai.
She allowed Hegai to direct, to teach and groom her, being a woman, Esther must have known some basic things about fashion, but she laid down her knowledge and took up Hagai's, she refused to depend on her self effort. Will it be proper to say she used Hagai? Of course she did. Esther was humble and she thereby found favour before the king.
'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.' (NIV)Esther 2:15
Note that part, she requested NOTHING! Esther, unlike other girls, she did not depend on her own efforts to succeed, Esther was submissive and this turned out well for her. Notice that Esther did not find favour only before the king? She won the favour of ALL who saw her. Her humility made her attractive, so attractive that she became everyone's favorite.
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