Bibledoorajar Watches God begin to work

     We are about to embark on some amazing events. God is going to elevate Esther to Queen, reward Mordecai for his wisdom and loyalty to Him, providentially rescue His people and undo and reverse the works of evil. This story is amazing. No wonder it is such an encouragement to Jewish people. I just wish more people could see that God is still performing this kind of unbelievable actions through the works of Jesus Christ and His Spirit.
     The story continues with the virgin candidates being taken forcefully to the palace. It was done with force, but they were not in chains. They were not prisoners. They were brought to Hegai whose name means "meditation". He was the keeper of the women and his job was to provide a quiet place for the women to reflect, to realize they might be queen one day. Our heroine was among them. Esther was her Babylonian name and it means "beautiful as the moon" or "light". She was from the tribe of Benjamin. Years before this, Moses had prophesied over the tribe of Benjamin: "The BELOVED of the Lord shall dwell in SAFETY by Him, and the Lord shall cover him all day long, and he shall stand between His shoulders." This Benjamite girl had been born in exile in the city of Shushan in Persia. Shushan means "lily city". Now just how is God going to consider the lily, Shushan? What beauty would he bring there? Esther was orphaned at an early age and was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai who was a descendant of King Saul. Mordecai had been taken captive from Jerusalem during the Babylonian captivity led by King Nebuchanazzar. Mordecai was a righteous Jew and he loved Esther and guided her in God's ways.
     Jesus told his followers that His kingdom would be taken by force. He did not mean that we would be brought to him in chains as prisoners. He meant that through the power of His Spirit we would be brought to Him, into the light. He, our great "Mordecai", guides us into our adoptive Father's kingdom with great wisdom and loyalty. Praise Him!