Let’s start with the beginning of the book. There was a King who had a queen named Vashti. His queen refused to appear before him which made him mad and cause him to banish her from his presence and take her role as queen away from her.
But lets look deeper. It was because Vashti was banished from the King’s presence that gave Esther the opportunity to be Queen. Which she may have not had before.
Now let’s go deeper than that.
The Bible states
“Later when King Xerxes' fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about he.” Esther 2:1
Once the king’s anger subsided he remembered Vashti, remember that he had no queen and he was regretful that he sent her away.
This is where the kings attendants suggested that the King find another queen better than Vashti. But if you look carefully the King learned an important lesson in sending away Vashti. He learned that he acted too much in anger and he learned that perhaps he should not make a decision in his anger that can have permanent effects.
This lesson I am convinced had a direct influence on his interaction with Esther.
The Bible states
“Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” Esther 2:17
The king loved Esther even more than Vashti. So when Esther decided to go before the king uninvited and could possibly get her head chopped off I think several things went through the king’s mind. He could kill Esther the woman he loved and later be sad about how he acted in his emotions, and then would have to find another queen. (Like he did with Vashti) Or he could take time to think about what he was doing, how much he loved her, and not make the same mistake twice by getting rid of another queen to save face.
And so he chose to extend his golden scepter to her and save her life. He chose to soften his heart and even grant her whatever she wanted up to half the kingdom.
The point that I am getting at is if Vashti did not get banish, Esther (a Jew would not have became queen). If Esther never became queen then when Haman tried to have all the Jews killed there would have been no one to be able to come to the king on the Jews behalf. And last but not least if the King had not gone through his experience with Vashti and regretted sending his queen away, then Esther may have had a different fate when she went before the king unsummoned.
Even though the King did not know it, God was preparing him how to act when Esther came into his life so that he could play his part in saving the Jews from inhalation Even though we may not understand what God is doing and why God is doing it, He is always working on our behalf behind the scene making a way for us. You cannot lean on your own understanding. You may not know why you are not married yet, but you have to trust that God is preparing the one that you are destined to be with through their life experiences and not try to take things into your own hands.
Esther’s whole life was not some coincidence. Each situation involving her and others, including her uncle Mordecai, was carefully constructed by God. Even though it may have not seemed like it when they were going through it. Mordecai was literally seconds away from being hanged from the gallows by Haman. But God changed that in the matter of seconds because the king (with God’s help) remembered Mordecai had him saved him from being assassinated. And instead of facing death, Mordecai was honored in front of the whole kingdom in the presences of his enemies (Haman). All because God was in it.
It is not our place to understand all that God is doing, what He is not doing, or when He is going to do it. It is not our place to wonder when God is going to bring the one for us, give us what we want, or take us out of our miserable situations.
In the book of Esther the Jews were literally days from inhalation. They had no idea where their deliverance was going to come from or if it was going to come at all. No one knew the Queen was even a Jew. But God was always working overtime in this, making sure that everything was working out according to His plan even though it did not seem like it to everyone else.
That is the beauty of God. We always have to trust that He is not going to harm us but that He wants us to prosper. And even though we cannot see it.
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