Esther 1 – 5

It reads like a short story that would make a great movie, filled with political intrigue and irony. Some of the Jews had begun the return to Jerusalem in 537 BC, but others remained behind. The story of Esther occurred in 483 BC during the reign of Xerxes I (aka ‘Ahasuerus’, the son of Darius), who won infamy as the victor in the Battle of Thermopylae. It is still a few years before the “waves” of returning Jews under Ezra (458 BC) and Nehemiah (445 BC). In this story of the intermarriage of a Jewish girl and a Persian king, the name of God is never mentioned, yet He is ever-present and exercising His providential care.

During the Diaspora (“the dispersion”) Jews were scattered about and surrounded by enemies. Some had made a place for themselves in the governmental and financial system of their captors. But, there was always the fear of attack, persecution and retribution – so much that Esther hid the fact that she was a Jewess from her new husband, the king. When Haman’s plot against the Jews was uncovered by Mordecai, she did not seem surprised, only fearful of being discovered and suffering personally. Where is God in all of this?

When Esther initially did not want to help, Mordecai tried a different angle of persuasion. Warning that she, too, would ultimately be discovered, he reasoned with her that their best option was to count on the king’s favor for his new wife and stop the plot before it could be carried out. Then, he changed tactics again. Yahweh will raise up a deliverer from somewhere, even if you do not act. At that time and under those potential circumstances, you still might lose your position and possibly your life. And then he says something that changes everything. “Perhaps Yahweh put YOU here for just this purpose” (4:14).

In the church age we struggle with questions of God’s providence and His work in our world. What a marvelous truth to see that He does not have to part the Red Sea in order to be active. At the same time there is a danger in attributing to God some action that we do not know for certain was a divine activity. Mordecai used the “providential perhaps” that we should all use in speaking of the works of Almighty God. Paul used the same approach in dealing with Onesimus and Philemon. Concerning the slave who escaped and then converted to Christ, Paul told his master that “perhaps” (Philemon 1:15) it was for this purpose that he ran away in the first place. God is ever-present, even though we cannot see Him. His providential care for His children is a matter of promise, not happenstance. In knowing this, we still must take care in attributing things in our lives to Him (after all, they may turn out to be bad in the end) that may not be His work.

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!