esther
ESTHER - GOD’S PROVIDENCE
One of the best anchors for faith in the ups and downs of life is Romans
8:28: 'We know that God works all things together for good for those
who are loving God, those who are the called according to His purpose.'
If we are the called (believers) we have come into the purpose of God
for our lives and if we love and trust God, He is able to take all things,
good and bad, and work them for our good, weaving them together into a glorious
tapestry (end result) bringing forth His purpose for our lives. This
is called His Providence = pro-vision, foresight. God doesn’t control
man’s free-will but He sees ahead what people will do and overrules all situation.
One of the great examples of this is the Book of Esther. It is
the only Book that does not mention the name of God. However we see
His imprint throughout, working and overrruling behind the scenes to bless
and deliver His people. Thus it is designed to reveal His Providence.
Unbelievers would call it luck but believers know it is God working all things
together to fulfil His loving purpose for our lives. In Esther we see
many ‘coincidences’ (God’s anonymous miracles). God does not just work
in spectacular ways, but more often supernaturally in and through all the
ordinary events of life.
Chapter 1 introduces King Ahasuerus or Xerxes (485BC) - the Persian
King, unstable, dangerous, with a hot-temper. Once a general, Pythius,
offered to pay 4 million for a military campaign. Xerxes rewarded him
for this but when Pythius asked if his son could be excused, Xerxes hacked
the boy in two and marched the army between the pieces. Once he lost
300 ships in a storm, so he grabbed a strap, went to seashore and beat the
sea 300 times to punish it! I am sure everyone tip-toed around Xerxes
- one wrong move and you are history! His queen Vashti (thinking she was safe)
refused to turn up at one of his feasts for him to show her off - so he was
angry! His advisors said he should cut her off from being Queen or
else her bad example will spread and wives will stop obeying their husbands.
So it was done.
PROVIDENCE: God was ready to use Vashti’s fall for Esther’s rise.
Chapter 2: 'After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus
subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed
against her. Then the king's servants who attended him said: 'Let beautiful
young virgins be sought for the king. and let the king appoint officers in
all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young
virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women's quarters, under the custody
of Hegai the king's eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations
be given them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead
of Vashti.' This thing pleased the king, and he did so' (v1-4).
Xerxes was beginning to feel guilt and regret about Vashti, and those around
knew he was fixing to blame his servants and advisors, so they tried to turn
his attention with a plan - A BEAUTY CONTEST!
PROVIDENCE: God used their scheming to save their skins for His higher
purpose! How else could a humble Jewish orphan-girl become Queen
over the largest empire? Coincidence or Providence?
MORDECAI (a Jew in Court) and ESTHER whom he had raised are now introduced:
'Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (Myrtle), that is, Esther (her
Persian name, ‘star’ - like the beautiful flower of the Myrtle), his uncle's
daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman
was lovely (in form) and beautiful (of face). When her father
and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter' (2:7).
The
Jews were still scattered in exile (only some had returned to Jerusalem).
God had seen ahead and raised up Mordecai, a man of faith, wisdom and destiny,
placing him in the court. Esther’s beauty was not just outward
but inward. She is marked by her humility, obedience, wisdom and sacrificial
love for her people. She was entered for the beauty contest which
began with one year of cosmetics! (v8-16).
She won: 'The king
loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favour
in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her
head and made her queen instead of Vashti' (v17).
In obedience to Modecai,
she kept her Jewish identity secret, maintaining humility even after becoming
Queen (v10,20). This proves to be important.
PROVIDENCE: Mordecai overhears and foils a plot against the King’s life.
He let Esther tell the King to strengthen her position and the whole story
‘was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king’
(v21-23). This incident proves vital to later events.
Chapter 3, introduces the enemy. wicked Haman (an antichrist who
plans genocide, an ancestor of the Amelakites, the worst enemies of Israel).
He is promoted to 2nd after the King (v1) so that all bowed to him except
Mordecai (v2). When asked ‘why?’ he told them that he was a Jew, and
would only bow to God. So they told Haman who became angry and planned
to kill all the Jews in the Kingdom! (v3-6).
'In the first
month... they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to determine the
day and the month, until it fell on the 12th month.'
PROVIDENCE: God controlled the lots for they gave Israel maximum time.
Had they fallen much earlier it would have meant disaster. Coincidence or
Providence? Purim, the 12th month feast of Israel celebrating their
deliverance is named after Pur showing that Israel saw the hand of God in
the outcome of the lots (9:20-32).
Haman manipulated the king to make a decree to destroy the Jews. He
misled him by talking of a rebellious group of people but did not name them.
The King trusted him so just rubber-stamped it. He was helped by Haman’s
offer to pay for it himself, which gave the decree more credability in his
sight (v8-14). He knew the King wisely expected anyone with a bright
idea to be ready to do this (it’s easy to think of good things for others
to do but are you willing to roll up your sleeves?).
Chapter 4. Mordecai gets word to Esther (v1-10), who points out that
to approach the king uninvited means death unless he holds out the golden
scepter. She had not been called for 30 days (v11-12). He reminded her that as a Jew she would die too (v13) and that silence was
not an option:
'For if you remain completely silent at this time, will relief and deliverance
will arise for the Jews from another place? and you and your father's house
will perish. Yet who knows whether you
have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' (v14).
He recognises
the Hand of Providence upon her rise to power, was for this crisis.
Esther called a 3-day fast showing her faith-dependance on God to turn the
heart of the king (whose mood was unstable) and to bring deliverance. Then
she would put her life on the line by going to the king ‘and if I perish,
I perish!’ (v15,16).
Chapter 5 - Esther’s Intercession. On the 3rd day we see these
prayers answered. She put on her royal robes and stood in sight of the king.
When he saw her, she found favour in his sight, and he held out to Esther
the golden scepter and she went near (v1,2). He offered to give her
anything she wanted! It seemed the perfect time to ask but in prayer
Esther got God’s plan and timing. So instead she invited the king and
Haman to a banquet that day (v3,4). So at the banquet the king again
asked what she wanted (v5,6). Esther then invited them to another banquet
the next day (v7-9). Her obedience in the timing of this was essential
for other providential events had to happen first. First overconfident
Haman plans to kill Mordecai and so has some gallows made overnight(v9-14).
Chapter 6 - Mordecai delivered and exalted. Then the King has
a sleepless night and so has a book read to him telling how Mordecai had
saved his life (PROVIDENCE!) and that he had not rewarded him (v1-3). Now here comes a great example ofhow God overrules things for our good and
against His enemies! Haman had just entered the court court early-morning
to get the king’s permission to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had built.
God now turns this around.
The king asked him, ‘What shall be done
for the man whom the king delights to honour?’ Haman thought ‘he must
mean me’ so suggests: 'let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn,
and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed
on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one
of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king
delights to honour. Then parade him on horseback through the city square,
and proclaim before him: `Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights
to honour!’ (v4-9). Then the king tells Haman to do this all for Mordecai! Afterward Haman
hurried to his house mourning (v10-12). Even Haman’s wife sees the hand
of God in this and predicts his doom! (v13).
Chapter 7 - The Banquet. Now the stage is set. At the 2nd Banquet,
the king again asks Esther for her petition (v1,2). She shocked the
king by asking for her life and her people’s life for they were set to be
destroyed. Her hidden Jewishness is what Haman did not reckon on! (v3,4)
When the King asked who was responsible she said, 'The adversary and enemy
is this wicked Haman!' So Haman was terrified before the king and queen'
(v5,6). The king, angry at Haman for misleading him, went into
the garden to think; and Haman begged Esther for his life, but when the king
returned, Haman had tripped and fallen upon Esther lying on her couch!
This was too much, and gave the king a convenient charge (of assault) for
Haman (for the king was involved in the original sin). Haman's face was covered
as he was taken to his execution upon the very gallows he had made for Mordecai
(v7-10). 'Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls
a stone will have it roll back on him' (Prov26:27).
In Chapters 8-10, a Counter-Decree was made, enabling the Jews to
fight and defeat their enemies, and Purim was established to honour God who
had saved them. For God through PROVIDENCE turns what is planned
for evil to good, returning evil on the initiator. God is always
overruling events for His people. If not for a sleepless night,
Mordecai would have been killed but instead he was honoured and Haman was
killed.