April 24, 2018

Where is God?  As you read the book of Esther, did you wonder why God isn’t mentioned once?  Do we even know who wrote the book of Esther? Who is Esther?   What is the purpose of this book?

Let me begin with who wrote this book.  It is unknown who wrote the book of Esther, but it was most likely a Jew and someone very familiar with the Persian court.  It was more than likely an eyewitness to the accounts that occurred.  Some believe it was Mordecai himself, while others believe it was someone younger than him who witnessed the lives of Mordecai and Esther.

  

The Persian name Esther means “Star”.  And a Star she became to the Jewish people.  The events of the book of Esther occurred between 483 BC and 473 BC, during the first half of the reign of King Xerxes.  During this time the first remnant of Jews who had returned to Judah were struggling to reestablish temple worship according to the Law of Moses.  But Esther and Mordecai, along with many other Jews, chose not to make the trip back to Judah. 

Back to my first question; where is God, and why isn’t He mentioned in the book of Esther?  God is not absent in this book – His presence permeates much of the story.  It’s like God is behind the scenes coordinating the circumstances to make His will happen. 

We may not recognize God’s skill in this book, but early Jewish readers would have noticed the eight feasts mentioned here and this book uses a Hebrew literary device in which mirrors each other inside out.  They would have recognized the significant events and followed the rising tension with understanding.

The evil Haman was a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, who were ancient enemies of God’s people (Numbers 24:7; 1 Samuel 15:8).  He cast the lot, called “pur”, in order to determine the day that the Jews would be obliterated (Esther 3:7-9)  

The primary purpose of the book of Esther was to relate the dramatic origins of the feast of Purim.  The sovereignty and faithfulness of God permeate each scene in this book.  Nothing is coincidental.  God’s sovereignty is best summarized in Mordecai’s exhortation to Esther, “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14

When it seemed like the events were out of control to Esther and Mordecai, when evil was ready to triumph, God was at work.  He worked through the dark days when Esther was taken into the harem (2:1-16).  God was at work during their faithful obedience and Esther risked her life before the king (5:1-3).  God was at work when Esther revealed Haman’s evil plot and the Jew’s destruction of their enemies (7 – 9).  The message is clear:  God is sovereign even when life doesn’t make sense. 

I don’t know about you, but I have been at a place in life that seems very hard.  Difficult times do happen and pain cannot be avoided.  Life just doesn’t make sense.  Do you run to God or do you turn away from Him?  As you look to the book of Esther, let it encourage you to remember that God is ALWAYS present.

Trust and obey, as Esther did, and watch God silently weave all events for His glory.   And for our good!