The power of a vast empire is vested in a man governed by lust, a quick temper and wine.
Chapter 2 relates how he goes about replacing his deposed queen Vashti.
It is a sordid read about state-sponsored sex-trafficking.
Beautiful young virgins are forced into the scary world of Xerxes' palace to serve his lusts.
One of those is Esther, a Jewess.
We know little about how she felt about her situation or how she navigated the stark choices she had to make.
But it begs the question: how do we find our way in the scary, sordid world of today? Let's find a distinctly Christian answer to that....