Showing Up For Others

October 16th, 2024

Esther 2:1-11

After the banishment of Vashti (chap. 1), King Xerxes’ advisors recognized that he would benefit from female companionship, and so devised a plan to find “beautiful young virgins for the king” (2:2). Esther, a Jewish woman in the area because her family had been exiled into Babylon, was selected to enter Hegai’s beauty salon, as Xerxes’s servant enhanced the beauty of the king’s potential companions.

The narrative explains that Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, “had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died” (Esther 2:7). We get a glimpse of what that meant to Mordecai in the final verse of chapter 2, as “he walked back and forth near the courtyard” where Esther was housed. He wanted to know how Esther was doing, and it’s likely she knew he was there—every day.

Life can be difficult, even when we aren’t in the royal harem. Knowing someone is present, looking out for us, and perhaps even whispering our name in prayer, can make all the difference. How privileged we are when we can do the same for another.

Author: Joann Shade