As I read through the story of this woman and all the circumstances that were involved in her life, I was intrigued by several things:
1 - The process of choosing the new Queen is quite involved. These young women are placed into a harem of virgins and then given 12 months of "beauty treatments." Then when they are ready to go into the king for their "tryout." After that night, if he seems impressed, he can make her the queen. Otherwise, she is transfered to the second harem, and is now apparently one of his wives. What a fascinating ritual, that certainly keeps the king in charge!
2 - The turning point in the flow of the story seems to come when Esther makes her decision about going to see the king and she calls everyone to 3 days of prayer and fasting. What must have transpired during those three days? Did she waver in her decision during that time? What must she and Mordecai have felt as they were praying?
3 - After those three days, it seems like Esther takes control of making the decisions. She is now telling Mordecai and the king what to do. What happened to her during those three days?
4 - Where is God? There is not one instance of the mention of God anywhere in this book! Was that on purpose by the author? What might the author been trying to say by not mentioning God?
5 - There is an amazing amount of irony involved in this story. The way some of the circumstances "work out" seems to set up and create multiple "ah ha" moments along the way. Perhaps this is part of the reason there isn't any mention of God in the book?
Sometimes I am amazed at how much natural drama is involved in the naked scriptures!
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