Esther: Favoured and Groomed for the King

As we continue our discussion on Hadassah, also known as Esther, we should understand that things didn’t just happen in Esther’s life without the appropriate systems. First, we understood from the previous post that Esther understood the importance of training and mentorship. Esther was willing and ready to be mentored by Mordecai. Esther did not use her lovely figure as an excuse to foolishly mess around. She was obedient and kept her purity. She passed the initial qualifications of beauty and purity because she subjected herself under an authourity to be mentored. Esther was among the many young women who passed the first stage of “Persia’s Most Beautiful Young Virgins”. The real competition was inside the citadel. The king’s order and edict resulted in many young women taken and brought to the citadel of Susa. These young women (including Esther) were put under the care of Hegai who had charge of the harem (Esther 2:8).

She pleased him and won his favour. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem. (Esther 2:9)

The number of the young women could be as many as a hundred and above. All these maidens were taken to be groomed for just one position: the Queen of Persia. The young women knew that the stakes were very high and whoever wins that enviable position becomes the second most powerful or maybe popular figure in the kingdom. Each and everyone of these women would have tried to go the extra mile in the grooming process in order to be the best. Something happened in the harem. Esther pleased Hegai and won his favour. Hegai immediately provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem (Esther 2:9). It is obvious that Esther was destined for greatness. However, she did take her obedience to authourity very seriously. If there was anything that made her obedient to her uncle Mordecai and to Hegai, it would have been the fear of God. She was willing to learn and ready to be taught. Winning the favour of the man who grooms women for the king is a big thing. 

Being in the harem was just a step towards greatness. The young women were systematically prepared for twelve months before a turn to go in to king Xerxes. In these twelve months, the young woman would complete beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics (Esther 2:12). It was a period of intensive beautification. Twelve full months of body treatment just for a night with the king. I am sure that if I were among these young women, there would have been times that I would be tired and stressed about all these. How can I spend a whole year preparing my body for just one night? The thought of it would be stressful. But, these young women knew the reward of being chosen as the Queen of Persia. They were consistent and dedicated. Esther had won the favour of Hegai but that was not enough to make her the Queen of Persia. For a whole year, Esther listened to Hegai and prepared herself for her turn to be with the king. 

Was Esther favoured? Yes, absolutely! Was Esther prepared for the task? Yes, absolutely! From all indications, Esther did not just sit in the harem fantasizing about being the Queen of Persia. She was very much involved in making her body and mind ready for the task. She was definitely chosen for a specific assignment as we will later see, but she was not a passive participant. She was actively involved in making her calling a sure one. She didn’t leave anything to chance. The whole destiny of the people of Israel hung on her shoulders. If Esther had failed her call, it would have automatically affected the people she was destined to save. The entire life of Esther was just for that task. Esther was proactive and determined to be mentored. She listened to Mordecai and Hegai as they groomed her for her call. Don’t close your ears to the voice of the people God has positioned in your life to train you to the palace. If you fail to listen to the teachers of your destiny, you groom yourself for perpetual failure. The way to the throne is humility. Be humble enough to learn. Favour is the crown of the humble. Dishonour is the ridicule of the disobedient.