Esther 2 Devotional

Pieces Set in Place

“After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.”Esther 2:23 (BSB)

Esther's story starts with loss and pressure. She is an orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai as his own daughter, among the Jews carried off into exile (2:5-7). When the king's commissioners gather young women for the royal harem, she is taken to the palace (2:8). She spends a year in preparation, keeps her people hidden at Mordecai's instruction, and wins favor with everyone who sees her, until the king makes her queen in Vashti's place (2:10-17). None of this is presented as ideal, and little of it was her choice.

Almost as an aside, Mordecai learns of a plot to kill the king. The plot is stopped, and the matter is written down in the royal chronicles (2:21-23). No one rewards him. But that forgotten entry will matter a great deal later. God is not named here, yet the pieces are being set in place: an orphan on a throne and a good deed in a book. What looks forgotten in your life is not forgotten by him.

To think about: What faithful act of yours seems to have gone unnoticed, and how does it help to know God does not forget?