And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, [that] she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that [was] in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
Ver. 2. And it was so] God, the great heart disposer, so ordered it.
That when the king saw Esther the queen, &c.] Beautified by God in a special manner, as was Moses, αστειος τω θεω, Acts 7:20, Stephen, Acts 6:15, &c. And some faces we know do appear most orientally fair when they are most instamped with sorrow.
That she obtained favour in his sight] Josephus saith, that at first the king frowned upon her, so that she fell into a swoon before him. Rex autem, voluntate arbitror Dei, mentem mutavit, i.e. but the king, as God would have it, changed his mind, and cheered her up. How true this is I know not; but this I know, that the wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion, which is so terrible, that it astonieth all that hear it, and that omne trahit secum Caesaris ira malum. All drag the evil wrath with Caesar himself. Sir Christopher Hatton, being checked and threatened by Queen Elizabeth, died soon after; neither could the queen, having once cast him down with her word only, raise him up again, though she visited him, and comforted him. Esther here was soon raised and relieved.
Deiecit ut relevet, premit ut solaria praestet;
Enecat, ut possit vivificare Deus.
And the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre ] He did not kick her out of his presence, as some Cambyses would have done, neither did he command her to the block, as Henry VIII did his Anne Bullen upon a mere pretence of disloyalty; neither yet did he cashier her, as he had done Vashti for a less offence: but, by holding out his sceptre, shows his gracious respects unto her. This was the Lord's own work, as was likewise that of old, that Laban should leave Jacob with a kiss, Gen 31:55 Esau meet him with a kiss, Genesis 33:4 , where the word kissed hath a prick over each letter in the original, to show the wonder of God's work in changing Esau's heart from his former hatred. Hebrew Text Note Let a man's ways please the Lord, and men shall quickly befriend him. This is compendiosissima hominum gratiam consequendi via, saith Lavater here, the readiest way to win favour with all others. When David was once a man after God's heart, whatsoever he did pleased the people.
So Esther drew near, and touched the top of his sceptre] With her hand, saith the Chaldee; with her mouth, saith the Vulgate translation. This she did, either in token of submission, or for the avoiding of danger; for, as Josephus saith, He that touched the king's sceptre was out of the reach of evil, O απτομενος, ακινδυνος. Wives should submit themselves to their own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Submission includeth reverence (in heart, speeches, gestures) and obedience to all their husband's lawful commands and restraints. This is no more than is meet, saith the apostle, Colossians 3:19 .