Esther’s name means star.
Verse 7 describes her as “..lovely in form and features ..”
She is beautiful, but most likely all the girls brought to the palace are beautiful. What makes Esther different? Why does she stand out from the others?
Esther is put under the care of Hegai, the manager of the harem. As a eunuch, he would have been forced to give up much to serve the king. Perhaps many of these girls treated him as a servant or possibly as less than a man. Maybe they even disrespected him or made fun of him behind his back.
But Esther somehow earned his favor. Perhaps just by honoring him with respect and kindness. We can’t know for sure, but we do know from verse 9, She pleased him and won his favor. And from verse 15, “When the turn came for Esther … to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested…”
She followed the advice of Hegai and it paid off. Not only with those looking on…but with the one who really mattered. The King. He chooses Esther above all the others to be his queen.
Esther’s coronation is the direct result of her teachable spirit. She chose to listen and learn from Hegai – the eunuch – someone others would possibly dismiss.
If you want to know how to please your new boss, his secretary is a good source of information. The janitors, the cooks, the housekeepers of this world tend to know way more about what goes on in any organization than some in upper level management. We can learn from all people – not just those in a high position of authority and importance.
The book of Proverbs is chocked full of scripture on the topic of wisdom and listening to advice and learning:
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Proverbs 1:8
Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise. Proverbs 19:20
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. Proverbs 9:9
Our teachable spirits mean we learn from others, we learn from his Word, and we even learn from the decisions we make and life’s experiences – the good ones AND the bad ones. We are to be life-long learners.
The one thing that hinders us from learning is pride. Thinking we know best and we’ve got it all figured out means we don’t learn from the Hegais in our world. Proverbs 11:2 gives this warning:
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
The woman of God has a teachable spirit.
Does that describe you? Would you pray that it would?
You can listen to the audio teaching on Esther by clicking on the links below.
Introduction: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/esther-bible-study-introduction/
Lesson 1: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/esther-lesson-1-laura-macfarlan/
Lesson 2: http://fbcsiloam.podbean.com/e/esther-lesson-2-laura-macfarlan/
