Esther 2:4

Est 2:4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

Ver. 4. And let the maiden] Herein unhappy that she got her honour with the loss of her honesty; and that so many maids are made miserable for her sake.

That pleaseth the king] Heb. That is good in his eyes. The eye is the lamp and ornament of the whole body; and yet that most lightsome part doth ofttimes draw the soul into utter darkness; while by those windows of wickedness and loopholes of lust Satan windeth himself into the heart, and maketh it impudicitiae cloacam (as Venus’s temple on the top of Lebanon is called by Eusebius), a very sink and sewer of all lewdness and abomination.

Be queen instead of Vashti] This was held a great business, and a sufficient recompense. The bramble held it a goodly thing to reign over the trees: not so the vine and fig tree, Jdg 9:15.

And the thing pleased the king] Because it added more fuel to the fire of his lust, and that he may lengthen out his days in dalliance and wantonness: ut libidine libidinem provocante, nihil nisi muliebris fiat, saith an expositor here, that he might be the right successor of Sardanapalus, who buried himself in the bosoms of his harlots, and left behind him this infamous epitaph: πα φι λι πα λι \φι-Tαυτ εχω οσσ’ εφαγον και εφυβοισα και μετ ερωτος, πα λι φι Tεοπν επαθον τα δε αλλα και ολβια παντα λελειπται

An epitaph fit for an ox, saith Aristotle. The kings of Persia are noted for effeminate, fitter for a canopy than a camp; and affecting such sights, ubi Imperator Apparator, lanx phalanx, acies facies, bella labella, spicula pocula, scutum scortum, &c.

And he did so] According to the counsel of those court parasites (whose word is that of Stratocles, Mihi placer quicquid Regi placet), he walked in the ways of his heart, and in the sight of his eyes, little thinking that for all these things God would bring him into judgment, Ecc 11:9. But such governors the wicked world deserveth, as being itself totus in maligno positus, 1Jn 5:19 When Phocas, that filthy traitor, reigned at Constantinople, Cedrinus saith that a certain honest poor man was very earnest with God to know why such a man, or rather monster, was set up; he was answered again by a voice, that there could not be a worse man found, and that the sins of Christians did require it.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti,.... Have the royal estate, that was taken from Vashti, given to her, the crown royal set on her head, &c.

and the thing pleased the king, and he did so; appointed officers in all his provinces to seek out the most beautiful virgins, and bring them to his palace; so with the Chinese now, the king never marries with any of his kindred, though ever so remote; but there is sought throughout his kingdom a damsel of twelve or fourteen years, of perfect beauty, good natural parts, and well inclined to virtue; whence, for the most part, the queen is the daughter of some artisan; and in their history (e), mention is made of one that was the daughter of a mason.

(e) Semedo's History of China, part 1. ch. 23.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Commanded. Hebrew, "did so."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The verdict of pleasure an untrustworthy basis of action.

If wisdom and goodness sometimes make all profit they can by embracing opportunity, much more often do policy and evil. For the "children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." They most studiously adapt means to end; they most patiently bide their time; they most unerringly, in this disordered scene, this dislocated system, see and snatch the opportunity. Let us observe here the appeal made to the King Ahasuerus

I IN THE LIGHT OF THE OPPORTUNE TIME AT WHICH IT WAS MADE. Meaning much there was in that time. The moment makes often the difference. Now the moment and the man met. A cheerless blank before the king. An aching void within him, as though emptiness were the most veritable existence. We do not indeed read that of this inner vacancy the king said a word or uttered a complaint; he would not make so humiliating a confession. But whether he did so or not, it was no doubt seen, and he was seen through by the minions of his retinue and his court. His own "wrath," and, as we have reason to know, matters of state and matters of war, had helped him tide over several months; but un-ease at heart can be no longer endured, and is bound to betray him. Neither momentary diversion of heart nor months" diversion of mind destroys facts, nor turns back dissatisfaction"s natural tide. The most they do is to arrest awhile, certain to aggravate after a while.

II IN THE LIGHT OF THE SPECIAL INNER PREPARATION FOR IT WHICH THE WHOLE HERETOFORE COURSE OF HIS LIFE HAD MADE. That antecedent course of life might have been judged to be a deliberately-constituted preparation for such a moment as the present. No outward opportunity for good or evil, no outward invitation of gain or loss, is comparable for effect with that opportuneness which is, which is made, which grows within. There is no such ripeness of time as that which comes of ripeness of disposition. If the spark also is to have its fair chance, it must fall on touch-paper, dry wood, gunpowder. If an ill-starred suggestion, or the happiest, holiest impulse, is to have each its own due course, the one and the other must fall, though in time"s briefest instant, upon the material of a character that has been consciously or unconsciously fitting and maturing a long time for each respectively. An instant"s mere hint, whether of good or had, will not mean much, except it come upon the product of months" or years" education; but if it light upon this, it may.

III IN THE UNJUSTIFIABLY READY AND HASTY ACCEPTANCE OF IT. There was apparently no consideration of the proposal contained in it. There was certainly no careful exercise of the judgment upon it. No counsellors are called in as before. The seven "wise men which saw the king"s face, and sat the first in the kingdom," are not called in to consult. Nay, not so much as an hour"s time is reserved before an answer. It seems plainly that all was considered safe, and he acted on a momentary impulse, thinking only of self-gratification. "The thing pleased the king; and he did so. " Self-pleasure is made the basis of conduct. The thing that pleases is the right. The thing that pleases is to be done. Poor learner, Ahasuerus! He has already forgotten what he.was remembering, regretting, only yesterday the hasty thing "which was decreed against Vashti." And that also was at the suggestion of others ratified at his own pleasure. B.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.