An Orphan in the Palace

When the king's wrath cooled, his servants proposed a search for a new queen. Young women were gathered to Susa under the custody of Hegai. Into this pagan court the writer introduces Mordecai the Jew, a Benjamite descended from exiles carried from Jerusalem with Jeconiah. He had raised his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther, taking her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

Esther obtained kindness from Hegai, who quickly gave her what she needed and the best place in the women's house. At Mordecai's instruction she did not make known her people or her relatives. Each day Mordecai walked before the court to learn how Esther did. When her turn came, she required nothing but what Hegai advised. Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked at her.

The king loved Esther more than all the women and set the royal crown on her head. A great feast, Esther's feast, followed. Then, almost as an afterthought, the chapter records that Mordecai, sitting in the king's gate, learned of a plot by two doorkeepers against the king. He told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai's name. The two men were punished, and the matter was written in the book of the chronicles. Christians see the hand of God's providence in each detail, placing Esther and Mordecai where they would be needed.