ESTHER BECOMES A QUEEN Vashti was dethroned to be replaced by Esther. It is as though the former represents the literality of the law, which should be taken away to provide the free grace, the spirit of the gospel in us; to let Esther, the symbol of the church of the new covenant reign in her place. 1- The need for a new queen 1 - 4 2- Esther the captive 5 - 11 3- Esther the queen 12 – 20 4- Mordeccai saves king Ahasuerus 21 – 23 1- THE NEED FOR A NEW QUEEN: “After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus subsided he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. Then the king’s servants who attended him said: ‘Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of the kingdom, that they gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters, under the custody of ‘Hegai’ the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti’. The thing pleased the king, and he did so” (1 – 3). When the wrath of the king subsided, he remembered ‘Vashti’, and he probably intended to forgive her. But his counselors, fearing that she would probably make revenge against them, because of their counsel to the king, they hasten to provoke him to look for another beautiful girl. It is said that the king used to chose his wife from among the daughters of his officials; but, lest the he would probably think that they provoked him to send Vashti away for the sake of their own personal interest, they attempted to show their good intention by provoking the king to chose a beautiful virgin from any province, and of any race. According to St. Jerome: [The philosophers of the world used to take away an old covetousness through instigating a new one; to take out an old nail through inserting a new one. According to that principle, the seven officers of the royal court acted with king Ahasuerus; they attempted to take away his longing for queen Vashti, through stirring up his lust for new virgin; namely, treating an ailment by another, a sin by another…. It is befitting of us, on the other hand, to overcome our faults through loving virtues, opposite to them; according to the words of the psalmist: “Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34: 14). For unless we hate evil, we would not be able to love goodness; We should rather do good, if we intend to forsake evil; we should seek peace, if we wish to avoid war1]. The officials made use of the king’s weak personality2, and of his love for licentiousness, to put off his longing for Vashti, through providing him with beautiful girls from allover the country, to choose the one who pleases him Following the symbolic or the spiritual interpretation, we consider those counselors who ministered to the king, and provoked him to chose a new queen instead of 1 Ep. 125: 4. 2 Herod. His 9: 108-113. 16 Vashti; to be men of faith in the old covenant: patriarchs, prophets, kings, priests, and laymen, who lived under the shadow of the law (Vashti); and perceived that there was no salvation for men through the law, particularly in its literality; As, according to the apostle Paul: “The commandment which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me” (Romans 7: 10, 11)…. On account of that the law exposed sin, and confirmed man’s death, instead of supporting, healing, or saving him, men of the old covenant anticipated with longing the coming of the Savior “Messiah”, (to set Esther a queen), through the free grace of the gospel; as said by the Lord Himself: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John 8: 56). Seeking beautiful girls from all provinces for the king in Shushan the citadel, the court officials were as though, men of the old covenant, who have seen, by the eye of prophecy, the church of the new covenant gather together in her, members from all peoples and nations, and brought them forth into the virgin’s quarters in the palace of Christ, namely, the church, called “the church of the firstborn” (Hebrew 12: 23), to proclaim her spiritual virginity and her inner beauty, being “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5: 27). Believers have long desired to see this holy virgin reigning as a bride for the King; as according to the apostle: ”For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11; 2). 2- ESTHER THE CAPTIVE: God turned the dethronement of Vashti to the salvation of His people, through setting Esther -- born in captivity, and raised by her cousin Mordeccai – a queen instead of Vashti. According to the book, Mordeccai, who worked in Shushan the citadel, was a Jew, captivated from Jerusalem in the days of ‘Jeconiah’, king of Judah, by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He was the hidden hero in the episode of Esther, on account of his faithfulness in raising his cousin Esther and his guidance to her; beside his faithfulness in his work for the king of a foreign race, and in saving him from an evil plat against him. He has been, as well, a man of deep spiritual behavior, full of faith and trusting in the work of God. As we already said, Vashti referred to the literality of the law, that ought to be rooted out of the heart, to be replaced by the grace of the new covenant, for Esther (the church of the new covenant), to reign as a queen instead. … The features and circumstances of Esther, came conforming to the church of the new covenant, on several aspects, of which are the following: (1) Esther was born in the land of captivity, denied of the promised land and the temple, with all its beautiful rites; as though representing the congregation of the Gentiles, fallen in the captivity of the devil, and denied of the spiritual blessings of God, and of the enjoyment of His temple … But God saved them from that captivity, and made out of them spiritual kings, when the Lord Christ came down to liberate them; as according to Isaiah: “God sent Me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61: 1). According to St. Augustine: [You have taken our captivity away, not through liberating us from the hands of the barbarians; but from our evil works and our sins, 17 through which the devil prevailed on us. For whoever is liberated from his sins, the prince of sinners (the devil); will have no more authority on him]. And: [Confess that you are a captive, to be worthy of being liberated. As he, who does not know his enemy, how could he ever instigate his liberator1?]. (2) “She had neither father nor mother” (7). That is one of the features of the church, when she realized God’scall to Abraham: “Go … from your father’s house” (Genesis 12: 1). Let us forsake our old father, the devil, and our early mother, the love of the world, that the Lord Himself, would become our heavenly Father; and the heavenly church would be our mother. The Lord, demanding from the Jews to get orphaned from their evil father, said to them: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8: 44).; And St. Augustine, talking about the Gentiles, forsaking their old father, says: [The Gentiles came to Faith after denying their sonhood of their old father, the devil2]. (3) “The young woman was lovely and beautiful” (7).The heavenly Groom, seeing in his bride the beauty which He bestowed on her, said: “Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you” (Ezekiel 16: 14). Although our past was ugly through the blackness of sin, Yet, with cherishment, we say: “I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Songs 1: 5). And according to St. Ambrose: [Putting on those garments through the font of baptism, you would say, together with the bride of the song: “I am dark, but lovely (perfect), O daughters of Jerusalem”. I am dark, through my human weakness, but perfect, through the secret of faith3]. (4) “’Hegai’ (the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the house of virgins) … gave her and her maidservants the best place in the house of the women. Esther had not revealed her people or kindred” (9, 10). Hegai moved her to the best place, perceiving that she would find favor in the king’s eyes, and would most probably be chosen as the future queen. … What is that best place, except “the sonhood to God”, which was bestowed on us as a gift from the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son. As in Him, we were exalted to the bosom of His Father, to be counted, together with Him, as His children. “Esther had not revealed her people or kindred, for Mordeccai charged her not to reveal it”. For the soul, enjoying sonhood of God, and becoming a queen, lives on a heavenly level, and comes to have an exalted race, inexpressible by language. She lives in silence, yet not the kind of silence set upon helplessness caused by shutting off the heart, but that of love open to heaven, to meditate in the works of God with unutterable joy. (5) Her spirit of humility, obedience, and submission, to her guardian Mordeccai, even after she was chosen a queen on the greatest throne at that time; “Esther obeyed the command of Mordeccai as when she was brought up by him” (20). 3- ESTHER THE QUEEN: Coming back, defeated from his campaign against the Greeks, the king preoccupied himself with choosing the new queen. It so seems that all the preparations of the virgins, for a whole year for their encounter with the king, were done before, and not 1 On Ps. 85. 2 On Ps. 11. 3 De Myst. 7. 18 after he came back from the battle. The book tells us about the preparations done with Esther, which were: (1)She completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women: “six months with oil of myrrh, and six months of perfumes and preparations for beautifying women” (12). What is the meaning of six months of myrrh, but her acceptance of being buried together with her Groom, Christ, who was buried after being treated with myrrh … The figure 6 refers to the six days of creation; namely, she stays bearing the sufferings, and buried together with her Groom all the days of her sojourn, until she consummates her spiritual perfection, and encounters with the Lord on the seventh day, face to face. Being buried together with the Lord, she will also be risen together with Him; For the fragrance of the oils and perfumes, refer to that of the joyful resurrection…. Let us, therefore, suffer together with Him, be buried together with Him, and be risen, as well, together with Him. That is the way to reach the heavenly crown. As, according to St. John Chrysostom: [It is befitting of you, not to be disturbed by those sufferings, but to be rather rejoicing … It is befitting of us, to walk the way, to partake of His glory and honor… How glorious are the passions, by which we would liken His death1]. (2) “She was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace”(13). The virgin carries with her whatever she desired to take from the women’s (Virgin’s) quarters; For, setting forth to her heavenly Groom, she carries all what she gathered here of the holy things, like love, purity, and heavenly thoughts; she carries them as a sign of her love for her Groom, of what He, Himself, has bestowed on her, along the days of her sojourn on earth; namely, she gives to Him of what He has given her. (3) “Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her” (15). That was her true deposit: the free grace of God that make the soul exceedingly beautiful, and fit for royalty.(Ezekiel 16: 13)..Obtaining favor in the sight of all, is the grace of God that supports man in his strife, which, according to St. John Chrysostom: [No one is stronger than he who enjoys the heavenly help; and no one is weaker than he who is deprived of it2]. (4)“Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign” (16). Esther could not be set a queen except in the tenth month of the seventh year. The tenth month refers to the consummation of the law (10 commandments), which is realized through our unity in Christ, who, alone, has never broken the law. The seventh year refers to the perfection of the gospel. It is as though our enjoyment of the kingdom is realized by receiving the law, spiritually in the Lord, through the grace of the gospel. (5) “The king made a great feast, the feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants, and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces, and gave gifts according to the generosity of the king” (18). In his joy with Esther, he forgot all the troubles, and the great losses he had in his battle against the Greeks; and he gave the people a holiday, and tax relief for one year. . 1 للكؤلف: القديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم، 1980 ، ص 327 2 In Paralyt. PG 51: 51. 19 “With his own hands, the king set the royal crown upon her head” (17). The soul cannot reign except by Jesus Christ, who crowns her with the crown of His glory, and holds a banquet in her name to bring joy to the heart of the heavenly creatures; there will be comfort, as the Lord counts her coronation a blessed Sabbath, and a joyful feast. As to “His gifts, according to the generosity of the king”, it is by presenting Himself a Groom whom we carry in us. He is the both the Giver and the gift, who generously gives Himself to us, and even rejoices when we readily receive Him, and say: “My beloved is mine, and I am His; He feeds His flocks among the lilies” (Song 2: 16). And Meditating in Him, St. Augustine says: [You keep watching on me, as though You have forgotten the whole creation! You give me Your gifts, as though I am alone the subject of Your love1]. 4- MORDECCAI SAVES KING AHASUERUS: Mordeccai has been faithful in his own life, in bringing Esther up, in his service to the king, and in his love for his people. When it came to his knowledge that two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers, sought to lay hands on the king, he told queen Esther, who informed the king. When an inquiry was made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows. It was written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Persia. In the annex to the book of Esther, we read that the king gave gifts to Mordeccai; Yet it so happened that one night the king could not sleep, and reading what he has written in the chronicles concerning that incident, he realized that what he gave to Mordeccai was nothing.(6: 1-11); and he intended to honor him as is befitting to what he has done…. We, as well, while striving here for the sake of the salvation of our brethren from eternal perdition, God, counting it as a debt, although it is He who works in and by us, He grants us grace and blessings; which, however, counting them as nothing, He crowns us with the crown of eternal life; and brings us forth into the fellowship of His glories, to live together with Him, face to face, in the bosom of God the Father.
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