DAY TWO: A Providential Arrangement

Please carefully read Esther 2:5-9 and answer the following questions.

1.  First, we are introduced to one of our main characters, Mordecai.  What are some things that we read of his historical and family background (vv. 5, 6)?

NOTE:  Mordecai actually has three meanings:  “dedicated to Mars;” “a little man;” or “bitter bruising.”[vi]  Carried away literally means “to strip bare and carry away by force,” and is often used to describe being shamed.[vii]

2.  Next we meet the amazing young woman that is the focus of this book, Esther.  What was her original name, and what else do we learn about her in v. 7?

NOTE: As we read in the Introduction, Hadassah meant “myrtle,” and her Persian name Esther meant “star.” Both names reflected her beauty and character.[viii]  Lovely and beautiful (lovely in form and features, niv) means that Hadassah was truly beautiful from the human perspective, with beautiful form and body shape; she had a healthy, good looking appearance.[ix]

3.  The young women of Susa knew this wasn’t a beauty contest they had a choice to enter or not.  They were being taken away from their families, possibly by force, to have one chance to become the queen.  Otherwise they would still be his concubine for life, never returning home.  Yet God was going to work providentially through this in Hadassah’s life.  What happened to her, and how was God with her even in this difficult situation (vv. 8, 9)?