the Third Week of Advent
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 2 of 5
Esther 2:12-23
The invisible hand of God has directed affairs and disposed hearts. Without either Mordecai or herself having contributed anything towards it, Esther, the young Jewess, has become queen of the mighty Medo-Persian empire. She is presented to us as a reserved young girl, modest and respectful of authority (in contrast to Vashti) and thus ready for the extraordinary role which she is going to be called to play. These rare qualities have contributed to her being singled out from amongst the other candidates for the throne. You young women from Christian families should never think that by imitating the manner, modes of dress and liberated behaviour of worldly young women, you are paving the way for a future of earthly happiness. Quite the opposite! The whole point is to know whom you desire to please.
Looked at as prophecy, the narrative teaches us that Christ, having denied all relationship with nominal Christendom (represented by Vashti, the wife from among the "Gentiles") will raise up in her place Israel (represented by Esther) to be chief among the nations. But this will not take place without the Jewish people first having to go through deep afflictions, which we will see terrifyingly prefigured in the following chapters.
