“Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women” (Est 2:8, 9)

You know the story: King Xerxes needed a new Queen. He had thousands of women in his harem but he needed a special one, a wife to stand by his side. His counsellors advise him to organize a ‘Miss Persia” competition. He will be the judge of the virgins. He can choose the best of them all. He started missing his former wife, Queen Vashti. But his friends have major influence upon his decisions. They propose that he should forget the past and move on into the future. A new Queen shall be selected.

All these events seem crazy to us. But behind the anger, foolishness and lust of a king, God is in control of the events. Thru this strange method of choosing a wife, Hadassah- Esther, daughter of the Most High God, becomes the new Queen of Persia. Let’s see the road she takes, the preparations needed to change her from an ordinary girl into a wonderful strong Queen. It is called ‘The Royal Way of the Cross’. Praise the Lord!

Esther was selected together with many other ‘virgins’ from all the nations. She was just one young woman ‘lost’ in a sea of many beautiful faces. They were all taken to the king’s palace. This is the first time the girls saw the magnificence of a royal home. The winner will become the new queen, ruling over all this wealth. The girls have not seen the king yet. But they have seen his luxurious palace, his property. Can you imagine what went thru the mind of these young women? They were all given into the care of Hegai, the eunuch who was the ‘custodian of the women’. He will train them all for one whole year but only one of them will be the Queen!

The first thing we observe is that Hegai takes a particular interest in Esther. We are told that ‘she obtained his favor’. Because of that, he gave her special beauty treatments, an extra supply of care and counsel, besides her regular allowance. He clearly invested in her more care. He gave her ‘seven choice maidservants’ to attend to her in his absence. He moved her and her maids to the ‘best place in the house of the women’. The secret of this extra care is that Esther ‘find favor’ with him. In Hebrew, the words ‘find favor’ mean to be accepted, to be successful and well dressed; it is to be seen as content, kind, sweet and beautiful in his eyes. Even before Esther becomes a queen, Hegai gives her seven ‘choice’ maids. In the Bible, seven is the number of perfection. By faith, Hegai sees her worthy to be entrusted to have authority over many people. Hegai sees Esther as a queen already! These women servants were called ‘choice maids’. In Hebrew the word ‘choice’ is similar with the word Jireh, from God the provider. The word Jireh means to see prophetically, to be joyful and to provide respect. For six months the women were massaged with myrrh, a bitter spice. For the next six months, sweet oil and sweet perfumes were rubbed on them. Finally, they were ready to meet the king, their potential husband. Each one chose her dress and her jewelry to put on for the one of a time encounter with the king. But Esther chooses nothing on her own. She depends totally on the advice of Hegai who knew the King intimately. Hegai has faith in Esther and Esther has faith in Hegai! That was the secret of her success! That was her advantage. Once you find favor with the Holy Spirit, the road to eternal life, power and success is sure!

One by one, the king rejected all the women. But when he saw Esther, he was impressed with her inside out beauty. He loved the way she spoke, her attitude and her spirit. As with Hegai, she ‘obtained favor’ with him. It was a love ‘at first sight’. He placed Vashti’s crown on her head and Esther became the new Queen. What a story!

What is the spiritual application for us, the believers in Christ? Prophetically, Hegai represents the Holy Spirit. King Xerxes represents the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings. Esther and her seven ‘choice’ maids, represent us, the believers, the Church, the Body of Christ! This is what I see: The Holy Spirit knows you long before you give your life to Christ. He prepares you before you understand and appreciate His help. He gives you His gifts and His strength to believe. He gives you eyes to see in the Spirit realm. He brings good spiritual people to you, to help and serve you. He humbles you so that you can be exalted. You will be able to seat with Christ on His throne in the heavenly places. He convicts you of sin. This is a bitter pill to swallow. It is the massage done with myrrh. After you repent of sin, the same Holy Spirit encourages you. He fills you with Himself, with the sweet fragrant perfumes of His anointing. You will receive preferential treatment. He gives you access to the best place of His house. A special double grace shall be your portion. He prepares you to be a leader of men in the House of God. The other religious unbelievers (the rejected ‘concubines) will be jealous on you but they are powerless to stop your wedding and your promotion. The Holy Spirit teaches you how to worship your future Lord, to serve your King! He helps you to see the future and to yield to God’s plan for your life. You cannot be saved by mistake or by her your own power. Salvation is personal. It cannot be stolen of borrowed. God is sovereign in His choice! Others may be richer or more beautiful, but Christ alone, who foreknew you and chose you before the world began, decides who will be His Bride.

If you feel that you are prepared to be a Lover of Christ, it must be true. For God does not do mistakes and He never fails. Have faith in the God of Esther: the single woman shall marry, the barren wife shall have children, the sick shall be healed, the oppressed shall be free, the weak shall be strong and the poor shall be rich! Prophetically, this is the time when God will move you to the best place of His House! Your future is better than your present! The Lion of the tribe of Judah wants to marry His lioness! Let’s bow our knees now and worship our King! Glory! Glory! Glory!