Esther

Esther

Finding the Context:

While we are not sure who wrote the book of Esther, we can assume that it was written for the people of Judah who had chosen to remain in Babylon during the time of the exile. You can see throughout the book that the author chooses to tell the story more from a Jewish perspective. You also see this towards the end of the book where the author gives a detailed account of the new Jewish feast of Purim and closes the book with a focus on Mordecai’s new high position (9:10). Esther was written to provide the Jews in Babylon with hope that God was still willing to work in their lives and fight for them despite the fact that they were still living in a foreign nation (9:16-19; 10:3). There is quite a bit of emphasis placed on governmental positions in this book. You see Xerxes’s kingdom explained at the very beginning (1:1), Vashti loses her place as queen (1:19-22), Esther becomes queen (2:16-18), Bigthana and Teresh try to assassinate the king (2:21-23), Haman becomes the most powerful official in the land (3:1), Mordecai is honored for saving the king (6:10-14), Haman is demoted and hanged (7:9-10), Mordecai is placed in authority (8:1,2; 9:4). You also see a theme of humility in Mordecai and Esther. They both humble themselves to seek the Lord (4-5:1,2) and Esther humbly makes her requests before the king (5:4,7,8; 7:3,4; 8:3-6; 9:13). In contrast you see Haman’s pride played out in the story (3:5,6; 5:9-14; 6:6-9). In the end it is Haman and Esther who are given the greatest honor while Haman is hanged (7:9-10; 8:1-8; 9: 3,4,11-14; 10:3).

Theme Tracing:

1.     What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

The book of Esther reveals God’s amazing sovereignty. Even though Babylon is a wicked kingdom with a king who does not serve Him, God still accomplishes what He desires. Esther is somehow chosen out of all the women in the land to be queen (2:17) and King Xerxes “randomly” can’t sleep and ends up reading about how Mordecai saved his life and decides to reward him the very night before Haman plans to ask the king to kill him (6). God is sovereign over every situation not matter who is involved. He is always fully capable of working in nations and people no matter who they are.

2.     What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

Esther gives the reader another illustration that reveals God delivering and saving His chosen people. He actively delivers them, even in the middle of a foreign nation. God is able to redeem His people even when they are faced with the most hopeless situation. Even though the Jews were faced with an impossible hopeless situation in a foreign nation, God still delivered them and gave them hope. This is just another illustration that He gives them, revealing what He wants to eventually do on a larger scale through the Messiah-bring deliverance.