Passage
Esther 2:1-23 (ESV)
Sins of Azariah and Northern Israel
2 Kings 15:1-16
Key Verse: 15:5
Esther Becomes Queen
Date: Nov. 21, 2014
Daily Bread
Key Verse: 2:17
the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
First, Miss Persia of 485 BC (1-4). When the king began to miss the deposed queen Vashti, his advisors suggested that he stage an international beauty contest. The winner would be made queen of his empire in Vashti's place.
Second, Esther and Mordecai (5-23). Mordecai was a Jew who had been taken into exile to Babylon with Jehoiachin, king of Judah. Hadassah (Esther) was his young cousin whom he had raised as his own daughter after her parents died. She was lovely in form and features, and had the inner beauty of a humble and obedient spirit (7,10,15,20). So, she was selected as a candidate to become the next queen. With her meekness and inner beauty, she won the heart of the harem manager, Hegai. When she was summoned to meet the king, Xerxes was drawn to her outer and inner beauty, and chose her to be his queen instead of Vashti. Becoming queen did not make Esther proud. She carefully obeyed and followed Mordecai, her shepherd. Because of their vessel of trust, they could save the king from an assassination plot.
Prayer: Lord, grant this nation women of God who have inner beauty that is not marred by praise, power or success.
One Word: A real queen
