INTRODUCING..... ESTHER. The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Bible No. 29

How do you write a book of theology without even mentioning the name of God? Impossible, you might think, but that is what we get in the book of Esther.

Esther is different from every other book in the Bible. In addition to there being no reference to God, there is no mention of the Law, or anything else to do with faith or worship. It is a book that never gets quoted in the New Testament. For Jews, it provides the background for the Festival of Purim - a nationalistic Jewish festival which celebrates the salvation of the Hebrews from Persian oppression, but which appears to have little relevance to any later Christian truth.

Esther’s story is only ten chapters long. It is a story of goodies and baddies: a wicked queen, a beautiful people’s princess, an evil first minister, and a good man falsely accused of wrongdoing. It reads a little like the adventures of Aladdin.

So what is this book about?

This book is set, not in God’s Promised Land, but amongst the Jews who remained in Persia following the return to Jerusalem after the second exile. The story can be dated to sometime between the first and second return of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem during the time of Zerubbabel and Ezra. The mighty Xerxes is now emperor of Persia. The story is set in his capital city, Susa.

Esther and her cousin, Mordecai are the heroes of the story. The name Esther means ‘Star of the east’. We read of her beauty and modesty (2:7); her humility and courage (4:16); her loyalty to her people (7:3-4). Mordecai also comes across as a man of faith and loyalty. He displays a similar resolve to that of the Hebrew heroes in the Book of Daniel by refusing to bow down and worship a Persian ruler (Haman) even though his actions endanger his own life.

Purpose of Writing

The purpose of the Book of Esther is to describe the institution of the Feast of Purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation by the Jews. The Book of Esther is still read today at the Feast of Purim to commemorate the great deliverance of the Jewish nation brought about by God through Esther. The stakes were high – the very existence of the Hebrew nation was threatened. The beautiful and brave Esther put her own life at risk as she intervened on behalf of her people. She willingly initiated what could have been a deadly manoeuvre as she opposed Haman, the chief minister of her husband‘s kingdom. She proved to be a wise and worthy opponent, whilst remaining humble and respectful of the position of her husband-king.

We have in the Book of Esther a story that is similar to that of Joseph in the Book of Genesis. Both stories involve foreign monarchs who control the destiny of the Jews. Both accounts depict the heroism of Israelite individuals who prove to be the means of salvation for their people. The hand of God is evident, in the way that what initially appears to be a hopeless situation for His people is turned around for good under the control of Almighty God who has the good of His people on His heart, and who brings triumph out of near disaster. 

The story so far....

Esther and her family were descended from the Jews who were deported to Babylon, but who stayed on in the Babylonian Empire after the return from exile, reminding us that not all the Jews returned with Ezra and Nehemiah – in fact, after 70 years of exile, a majority chose to remain in their new homes.

We meet the Jewish girl, Esther, a rare beauty, brought up by her cousin, Mordecai, after the deaths of her parents. When King Xerxes wanted a new wife, to replace the fickle and faithless Vashti, he organised a beauty contest. The girl who pleased him the most would become his queen. After twelve months of beauty treatment, Esther was chosen to be the royal bride. Meanwhile, the faithful Mordecai uncovered a plot to murder King Xerxes, told Esther what he had discovered, and she, in turn was able to warn the king and save his life, thus gaining credit for Mordecai, who was able to win favour with the monarch.

Whilst all this was going on, enter stage left the wicked Haman, the villain of the plot. Elevated to the rank of first minister, power went straight to his head, and he compelled all the other royal officials to kneel down and pay him homage. Mordecai refused, thus incurring his wrath, not only for himself, but also for the entire Jewish race. Haman determined to get even with Mordecai by wiping out the entire nation. He whispered in the king’s ear, and the dastardly plot takes shape.

Whilst the Jews trembled in fear, Mordecai got word to Esther, and asked her to intervene on her nation’s behalf with the King. The whole theme of the book is summarised in one brief statement:

‘Who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?’ (4: 14)

Haman, meanwhile, plotted to have Mordecai killed, and built giant gallows for this purpose, but Esther invited him to attend a banquet, in the company of the king. We gain an insight into the wickedness and conceit of Haman’s character when we see him boasting of his schemes and achievements. But, in the presence of the king, Esther was able to expose Haman for the wicked schemer that he was, and demonstrated how he has planned to murder the man who had saved the king’s life. Haman received his come-uppance and ended up by going to death on his own gallows. Mordecai was honoured; the King issued a royal edict granting all sorts of privileges to the Jews, and the Jews created a new feast day, the Feast of Purim, to mark their narrow escape. And in good story telling tradition: they all lived happily ever after!

What a lovely story! But what is it doing in the Bible?

The meaning of the Story

Firstly, the book of Esther is addressing the Jews. It offers a clear affirmation that the Jews of the Diaspora - those who did not return to Jerusalem after the exile - were still counted as being part of the nation of Israel. Their story is equally as important as the story of those who returned to the homeland.

One of the most remarkable facts of world history has been the enduring nature of the Jewish race. The story in Esther is just one of the many stories of attempted genocide against them - attempts which go right back to the time of the first exile in Egypt, at the time of the birth of Moses, when Pharaoh sought to rid himself of the Israelites, and continue through Esther to the Roman Diaspora of AD70, and again in AD132, to the great Islamic insurgence of the 7th century AD, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and other Western European persecutions, the pogroms of Russia right up to the holocaust of the Second World War.

Still today, the nation of Israel sits precariously, surrounded by hostile Arab states. An amazing reality of history is that whilst other nations have risen and fallen, the Jews can still trace their ancestry right back to Abraham. They have survived not one, or even two, but three exiles - the final one enduring almost 2000 years, and yet, whilst most other ethnic groups have been swallowed up and subsumed into nation states, still the Jews have maintained their distinctive racial and religious status. In the book of Esther we read just one example of genocide thwarted, but in the Jewish national psyche, it was, and still is, an important event.

And within the story, we see the hand of God at work. Although He is not mentioned by name anywhere in the story, divine providence is evident every step of the way. His action is there. God’s power is real in the world, even when he appears to be absent. We can never avoid him.

We see God’s control over the affairs of nations. The welfare of the Jews was not held in the hands of Haman, or the Persian King Xerxes, but in the hands of God. Proverbs 21:1 offers a fitting commentary on this story:

‘The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.’  (Proverbs 2:1)

The hand of the Lord is constantly upon the human world and human affairs, for those who have the spiritual insight to be aware of it. As Jesus puts it, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Mark 4:9)

Secondly, we see God’s concern for individuals. Sometimes, it is easy to see God’s sovereign control over the affairs of nations, but to forget that He also has a concern for the smallest details of life. God cares about people and individual lives. He has plans for each of us. This story focuses upon his fatherly care for two             individuals, Esther and Mordecai. And the Lord used them in a way in which they were able to serve their compatriots.

We see God’s providence at work in putting Esther into a prominent position in the royal household, where she could influence events and be of service to her people. She herself was willing to take risks, by entering the royal presence without permission, but God saw to it that she was protected, and her courageous action was rewarded. Her people were saved. Mordecai clearly sees the hand of God in the influence that she was able to exert. The story serves to remind us that we must choose for ourselves whether we see the circumstances of these events as a picture of God at work, or whether they are merely a series of coincidences. We can be assured that God’s plans will not be frustrated by the actions of mere evil men.

The king’s insomnia at the beginning of chapter six must surely be a picture of God’s providential care for Mordecai. Mordecai had uncovered the secret of a plot on Xerxes’ life, almost by accident, and the King was advised of his true guardian at      precisely the right moment. God’s timing can be seen throughout the story.

The Jews were so relieved and grateful for their deliverance that they remembered it at a special festival called Purim. Literally, this means ‘The Feast of Lots’, named after the lots (Hebrew: pur) that Hanam cast to select the day on which he would approach the King to deliver his accusations against the Hebrews. Still today, at this festival, the story of Esther is read aloud, and there is great rejoicing and celebration.

The Feast of Purim continues to be a way of ensuring that God’s providential care should never be forgotten. We see its origins in Esther 8:17:

‘In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.’

Esther is a story that should encourage us, especially during those times in our lives when events seem to be conspiring against us, when we can so easily feel as if God has deserted us. In those moments, remember the story of Esther, and        remember that the God who worked through Esther will never desert us either.