Esther 2 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Esther 2 Short Summary:
Four years after the events of Esther 1, following a failed military campaign in Greece, Ahasuerus returned to Susa. In order to find a new queen, many beautiful young women were brought to the king for his selection. He decided on a young Jewish woman named Esther. Esther was an orphan who had been raised by her cousin, Mordecai. At the end of the chapter, Mordecai saves King Ahasuerus by reporting on a violent plot he overheard from the king’s guards.
Esther 2 Bible Study
WHEN:
538 BC – Cyrus the Great of Persia frees the Jews from their Babylonian captivity.
516 BC – The rebuilding of the Temple is completed in Jerusalem.
483 BC – The story of Esther begins in the 3rd year of Ahasuerus’ reign.
479 BC – Esther becomes queen of Persia.
457 BC – Ezra arrives in Jerusalem.
444 BC – Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem.
KEY CHARACTERS:
King Ahasuerus – Also known as Xerxes. Reigned as king of Persia from 486-464 B.C.
Mordecai – A Jew who lived in Susa. He raised Esther after her parents died. Mordecai’s family was brought to Babylonia/Persia when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem 100 years before these events.
Esther – A young Jewish woman who was very beautiful. She was raised by her cousin Mordecai.
WHERE:
Susa – The capital of the Persian Empire. The location of the palace of Ahasuerus.
OUTLINE:
ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN (2:1-18):
Four years after the events of Esther 1, following a failed military campaign in Greece, Ahasuerus returned to Susa.
His young men suggested it was time for him to find another queen, and they proposed that young women be gathered from across the kingdom to become candidates for the king’s hand in marriage.
This suggestion pleased the king.
Young women from across the empire were sent to Susa and put in the king’s harem under the charge of Hegai, the king’s eunuch.
The women were beautified for 12 months before spending a night with the king.
The woman he liked the most would be chosen as the new queen.
One of the young women selected to join the harem was Esther. She was a Jew and an orphan who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai.
She must have been a very pleasant person because she quickly won the favor of the king’s eunuch, who elevated her to the best place in the harem.
At Mordecai’s request, Esther kept her Jewish heritage a secret.
When it was her turn to go to the king, “the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen” (2:17).
So Esther, a Jew, became the queen of Persia.
MORDECAI OVERHEARS A PLOT AGAINST THE KING (2:19-23):
One day, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate when he overheard Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s guards, planning to “lay hands on King Ahasuerus” (to do him violence, perhaps to kill him).
Mordecai told Esther and Esther told the king.
After an investigation, both men were hanged, and the king was saved.
This event was documented in the book of the chronicles of the presence of the king (6:1-3).
APPLICATION
In this chapter we observe a powerful truth that can help us work through anxiety and help us succeed in following Jesus’ instruction not to worry about the future.
God often prepares the solution even before the problem exists.
What we’ll find out is that Esther’s ascension to the throne is a major part of the solution to trouble that arises later in this book.
God already had His woman in place to resolve the issue before it arose.
This pre-problem solving on God’s part is not unique to this story. In fact, we see it most clearly in the overarching story of the whole Bible.
Jesus was the pre-prepared solution to the world’s sin problem before the world was even created (1 Peter 1:17-21).
