The book of Esther: A study of God in action
when nothing appears to be happening!
by Patsy Norwood (c) 2023. All Rights
Reserved.
Chapter 2: 19-23
The king now has a queen, but drama springs up in a different
area!
Let’s see what happens ….
19 When virgins were gathered together a second
time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate.
‘when virgins were gathered together a second
time’: some time after
Esther was made queen (one source said less than 5 years after her marriage to
the king), there was a second collection of virgins at Susa … we simply do not
know why but given what we know about the king it does not reflect well upon
him.
‘Mordecai sat within the king’s gate’… did Mordecai
have some sort of job as a gate keeper at this time? Some sources say he did while others
attribute Mordecai’s being at the king’s gate simply as him trying to get news of
Esther.
20 Now Esther had not revealed her family and her
people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of
Mordecai as when she was brought up by him.
Esther is still holding on to her secret as Mordecai had told
her to do.
21 In those days, while Mordecai sat within the
king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became
furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
“In those days” … likely
refers to the time period during the second collecting of virgin girls.
“Two of the kings eunuch’s” … it appears Bigthan and Teresh are really furious with the king about something … they have been offended to such a degree that they plan and plot his demise! Notice that they are doorkeepers (doorkeepers guarded the entrance to the king’s sleeping apartment) and apparently were discussing their plan ‘on the job’ or at the very least where they could be overheard, which wasn’t very wise! (Spoiler alert: some 13 years later the king actually lost his life through a conspiracy formed by Artabanus, the captain of his guard, with Aspamitras, a eunuch and chamberlain.) This position of doorkeeper was one of highest trust and gave conspirators a terrible advantage, hence, Bigthan and Teresh were in prime positions to do harm to the king.
22 So the matter became known to Mordecai, who
told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name.
Somehow Mordecai learns of the plan, did he overhear them
discussing their plan, did someone else hear them and mention it to
Mordecai?
Josephus says that a slave of one of the conspirators,
Barnabazus who was a Jew, betrayed them to Mordecai; another source contributes
Mordecai’s discovery to his knowledge of languages. We don’t know how Mordecai learned of the
plot, but what we do know is that Mordecai told Queen Esther and Esther told
the king in Mordecai’s name. In other
words, Esther told the king where she got her information but didn’t reveal
that he was related to her.
23 And when an inquiry was made into the matter,
it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the
book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
There’s a lot to unpack in this verse:
"The king made an inquiry" … in
other words he made effort to find out if Esther’s information was correct.
"It was confirmed" … this
confirmation is a pivotal point for the future of the Jews.
"Both were hanged on a gallows" … no
long-drawn-out courtroom trial, no second chances and no explanations. If the king’s life was in danger, then the
punishment was swift and deadly. Persian
law was very clear on protecting the king. Some sources say Bigthan and Teresh were
crucified or impaled as traitors commonly were.
I found this bit of information about 'gallows' by doing a quick Google search online ... The Hebrew term translated “gallows” in Esther is the word for tree. It is frequently suggested that tree should be understood as “stake” and that those executed by the Persians were impaled rather than hung.
"It was written in the book of the chronicles in
the presence of the king" … this is a very important
detail and it’s done in the presence of the king. Events were not always recorded in the king’s
presence; but when the matter was very important the king supervised what was
written. This obviously was one of those
times.
Persian kings were particularly diligent in rewarding such
acts, so the king’s omission was a serious thing that he would rectify in a
most astounding way once he realized the oversight.
Sidenote: Josephus says
that the king ‘bade Mordecai stay in the palace, as an intimate friend of the
king.” However, nothing more was done
for Mordecai. This though, would have given
Mordecai freedom to move about the palace, making getting news on Esther
easier.
The book of chronicles was a daily record of the events in the
king’s court and life and is going to be instrumental in saving the Jews in the near future. The fact that Mordecai was not rewarded for
coming forth and ‘saving the king’ went unnoticed. This was not ordinary Persian practice and
one commentary I read said the reason Mordecai was not rewarded could have been
because the court as a whole didn’t like him because he was a Jew. If Mordecai was not liked because he was a
Jew and he knew it, then this might be a reason he told Esther to keep her
heritage quiet.
I see God’s providence in that Mordecai was overlooked in
being rewarded for saving the king’s life.
What we might see as 'unfair' could, as in the case of Mordecai, really be God working behind the scenes for something far greater. In this case, God used this ‘oversight’ in His plan to save the Jews!
Do you see God’s providence at work in today’s lesson?
Next week we’ll begin
chapter 3 and look at verses 1 – 3.
I hope you’ve enjoyed
today's lesson, what are your thoughts?
Don't forget to leave a
comment and if you're enjoying this class, please share the link with other
ladies who you think might enjoy it as well.
Links to previous
lessons:
Until the next class ...
patsy @ From This Heart of
Mine
(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood
~ All Rights Reserved.
It seems to me that God allowed Mordecai to have what he did 'on account' for when it would be needed most. It is faith building to see God work like this even today.
ReplyDeleteThe king seems to be deeply involved in sexual sin at this point since we know the sad ending for all those young women. Since he still found favor with Esther, ugh, I don't even want to say. Legal sex trade is what he had going on there.
I would think that the eunuchs would have been more mindful of acts against the king when they knew how swift and harsh the punishment would be. It would certainly make me pause and consider. Perhaps this was just a long time in coming though since they seem to have gotten reckless. Sin is like that, just a little sin seems okay and so the next one doesn't seem so bad and it builds until we do something that we know we should not but we have become immune to the consequences.
Lana, it seems God was giving Mordecai what he would need one step at a time and yes, it is faith building. We are living this very concept right now as God is not only walking with us through our dry well saga, but providing what we need every step of the way ... not before we need it, but as we need it! Faith building indeed!
DeleteYour conclusion that 'just a little sin seems okay and so the next one doesn't seem so bad and it builds until we do something that we know we should not but we have become immune to the consequences' is a powerfully accurate statement. I wish people would recognize this tactic of satan and walk away from temptations before sinful 'immunity' sets in. Great comment!