What Does Our King Desire?

Today I want to talk a little bit about Esther. Her story has always stood out for me since I was a little girl. I remember as a girl thinking that I wanted to be like Esther. Our baby girl’s middle name is Esther. I pray that one day she also dreams and pursues to have the same passion that Esther had to serve God. Without further ado, I would like to focus on this scripture.


Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house….Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her…..And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:12-17

The time had come, for when the king of Persia was to take a wife to be Queen. All of the Maidens prepared themselves for a year in order to present themselves before the King. The process of purification before coming before the King was quite the process and is a valuable lesson in of itself, however today I want to focus on Esther's prudence.

The bible tells us that when it was time for the maidens to come before the king, anything that she desired out of the house of the women was given to her to present herself before the king with those items. With further study of scripture and with the aid of different translations we can see that the items that verse 13 speaks of refers to clothing and jewellery. The NLT translates that verse as follows “When it was time for her to go to the king’s palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem”. So we understand that the maidens got to choose the clothing and jewellery they would wear to present themselves before the king. It is apparent that the Persian culture was very much into jewelry and all that Jazz, so it is not wrong to assume that the maidens really outdid themselves with all of these things to present themselves in a way they thought would please the king.

Then it was Esther’s turn and this is where I want to focus. The scripture shows us that when it was Esther’s turn to present herself before the king, she consulted with Hegai the King’s chamberlain, as to what she should wear to please the King. Because of this action, her humbleness and willingness to please the king, she obtained favour in the sight of all that looked upon her and the king ended up choosing her as queen.

I once read that Hegai – the King’s chamberlain, could be thought as a symbolism of God’s word. Hegai, knew the king and knew what the king desired in a women, so when Esther looked for his counsel, he pointed her in the right direction so that she could become Queen, because he KNEW THE KING. If we reflect on Esther’s story, we can see that she is an amazing example to follow. Like her, we should always seek the counsel of God’s word (Hegai) to understand God’s character and what it is that He desires of us. In all aspect of our lives, including Clothing and Jewellery. The more we consult with God’s word the more we will understand what it is that pleases him and what doesn’t please him. Esther didn’t want any extras, she only wanted to present herself before the King in the manner that HE DESIRED! She was wise and knew that Hegai would know exactly what the king wanted to see in a beautiful young maiden. Maybe all that stuff available for her use, was attractive and beautiful in her eyes, as is was to all the maidens, after all she was young! However, she made the decision to neglect her desire and decided to only wear what pleased the King.

With this, I would like to encourage all of us to be like Esther, prudent and consult with God’s word to see how it is that He would like us to dress, act and speak in order to, one day, be crowned too! Even in matters as dress and adornments, His word speaks to us! If you haven’t yet been convicted on these issues, consult his word, it’s full of answers. Capture the King’s heart by doing what He pleases of us. If, like Esther, we follow God’s word, one day our King of Kings will put a crown on OUR head. No greater reward than that!

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Revelation 3:11