Esther 2:1-11
Ch. 2 takes us out of Ahasuerus’ palace to show us in Shushan and the rest of the empire a downtrodden, suffering people whose humiliation contrasts with the high-living of the court, in much the same way as poor Lazarus’ humiliating state contrasts with the sumptuous life of the rich man (Luke 16:19-21). These people are the Jews of the exile. There they are, far from their homeland, left with neither temple nor sacrifices, nor king nor national unity. They had not seized the opportunity to return to the land of their fathers (Ezra 1:3). The situation is so bad that they seem to have been completely forsaken by the LORD, whose name, remarkable as the fact is, is not given a single mention in the whole book.
There can be times in our lives when, through our own fault, we lose our joy in Christ. We cease to recognise the value of His sacrifice. It is not He but the world which rules in our hearts. What a sorry state! Yet has the Lord forgotten us for all that? The book of Esther is going to show us that He has not forgotten us at all.
At the door to the palace stands Mordecai, an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin. He has brought up his young cousin Esther, who is an orphan, and he watches over her devotedly, even after she has been chosen as one of the candidates to succeed Vashti (v. 11).