Esther became queen of Persia. I think we all know that. There are all kinds of profiles and perceptions of who Esther was. Here is what I always assumed. I assumed Esther was a lot like me. A good "Christian/Israelite" girl. Appalled at the idea of spending the night with an uncircumcised pagan, forced against her will to become apart of the king's harem -if she didn't get chosen. I always just assumed she was not ok with anything that was happening to her.
Then, it occurred to me that maybe I was all wrong. Maybe she was excited to be picked. Maybe she wasn't a good Israelite girl. Maybe she was just like all the other Israelites of the day and neighborhood who were being assimilated into the Persian culture. Retaining some old Mosaic ways and picking up some pagan practices for good measure and to fit in.
Maybe she was just a silly girl all caught up in the idea of pretty dresses, servants and the possibility of being Queen whatever it took. Maybe she had a weak spiritual constitution like a lot of young people.
I don't know but I liked the idea of seeing her from this different perspective.
If Esther was more of an assimilated teen rather than and hard core Israelite like I always imagined, then God did more than rescue his people through Esther going to the King. He may have also rescued her from a life of mediocrity. Helping her to embrace her heritage and the beliefs of her people and forsaking the assimilation of the Persian culture.
It just goes to show you that you can read the same old stories over and over again and you may think there is nothing new to learn. Then, you happen upon some new perspective that makes you think a little differently. It just shakes things up a little. In the end, Esther did shake things up.
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