Introduction to Esther

Chess is a very interesting game.  When I play against my computer I always win on the easy setting.  I usually win on the medium setting.  I almost never win on the hard setting and I have never won on the expert setting.  Chess requires planning multiple moves in advance as well as anticipating the opponent’s moves.  There are times when I feel like I am doing well one the expert level and then all of the sudden I find myself in check mate and am left scratching my head to try to figure out what went wrong.  The book of Esther looks like the unfolding of a chess match using real people.  Neither God nor Stan is mentioned in the book but they are clearly the “players” moving the “pieces” on the stage of life.  The events narrated in this story most likely occur after Ezra’s group of exiles return to Jerusalem and before Nehemiah sets off on his mission to build the wall.  Perhaps the promotion of Mordecai that we find in this narrative helps to explain Nehemiah’s exalted position as well as the king’s receptivity to the reconstruction of the city.  We have very little information about Esther’s relationship with God.  We know she was an orphan raised by her uncle Mordecai who seems to demonstrate a genuine trust in the Lord.  Esther’s participation in this “beauty contest” certainly raises many questions.  We don’t have enough information to judge one way or the other.  Whatever the case, we can certainly see that God used her and her uncle to accomplish His will.  There are many lessons we can learn from this book.  Perhaps the greatest is simply the assurance that we can trust in God’s sovereign control over the events of this world.  Certainly we can also see that there are also many evil intentions in the heart of man for which we must always be on the alert.  God gives us opportunities to be courageous and to take action in the face of these attacks and He calls us to trust Him as we do what we know to be right no matter how difficult those things might be.   

GOD POSITIONS HIS PEOPLE: What starts as a massive party for the king of Persia and his court ends with and embarrassing confrontation between the king and his queen.  Queen Vasti’s refusal to come at her husband’s invitation results in her being stripped of her position and sets into motion a search for a new queen.  Esther is taken to the contest and listens obediently to those who were in charge of orienting her in this process.  There is always something to be said for trusting those who God places in authority over us especially when we are in unfamiliar situations.  God places Esther in a place of tremendous influence when she is chosen to be the new queen.  The other key “player” in the drama is Moredecai.  He just happens to be at the gate of the palace when a plot is formed against the king.  His life saving act is recorded but not rewarded.  This is also a key event in the positioning of God’s people in the right place at the right time.  There are times when we might wonder why we are where we are and when we are.  Certainly, this is a unique moment of history and not everyone is destined for such prominence but it still assures us of God’s ability to sovereignly place us and everyone wherever He desires.  It ought to be a comfort to know of God’s providence and ability to control the circumstances in which we live.  Mordecai might have thought it was an injustice for his heroism to seemingly go unnoticed; but God had the right time in mind for Him to be recognized.  Esther may have had little or no choice in her participation in this search for a queen.  God was orchestrating these events to align His people with his plan.  God has always been in control of these kinds of events and that will never change.

SATAN DESIGNS DESTRUCTION: Every story must have a villain and this one is no exception.  Haman is a powerful leader in the Persian political system.  Like many people with power, he was thirsty for even more power and enraged by anyone who would not show him the respect he thought he deserved.  Mordecai refused to bow down to him as that would have been an act of worship.  Haman was infuriated by this lack of compliance with his wishes.  Everyone else was bowing to him but he thought he deserved that.  As narcissistic as Haman seems to us, it is very easy for us to fall into the same trap.  We will easily forget one-hundred complements in the face of one criticism.  Haman is so livid about this that he makes wild accusations about the entire race of the Jews and receives authorization from the king to deal with this “threat” in any way he saw fit.  Haman’s solution to the problem of the Jews was that exact same as Pharaoh’s in Egypt and is an eerie foreshadowing of what Hitler would do in the Holocaust.  Satan has tried on multiple occasions to destroy the nation of Israel by putting all of the Jews to death.  Satan hates those who are loved by God.  Haman sends letters to the entire empire authorizing mass genocide of the Jews.  However, he becomes impatient for the news to travel to all the corners of the empire and the day of murder to arrive.  Mordecai’s continued refusal to bow to him leads him to a place where he simply decides to have him hung on a huge gallows that he made especially for the occasion.  The letters are sent the gallows are built and it seems that Satan and Haman are about to win the day.  The dark days of life are often the hardest for us to understand, but God just when things seem to hit an all-time low; God steps in and makes His presence and providence known.

GOD TURNS THE TABLES: In response to Haman’s evil plot Mordecai asks for Esther to intercede before the king of behalf of her nation.  This was not an easy assignment because she had no right to approach the king summoned.  To do so was punishable by death.  However, Mordecai points out to Esther that there is already a sentence of death hanging over her.  In reality she has nothing to lose.  Once she agrees to the task her first step was to instruct the community and her own attendants to pray for her.  She does not simply rush into the presence of the king blaming him for having given Haman so much authority.  She recognizes that God has placed her where she is and she knows that only through His power she will be successful.  We have a tendency to take matters into our own hands and spring into action before we call out to the Lord for help.  Esther demonstrates her dependence on the Lord by fasting and prying prior to going into the presence of the king.  Then when she does go she simply invites the king and Haman to a meal.  At the meal she promises to reveal her request at a meal the following day.  I believe this tactic was designed to demonstrate the importance of the request and to both prepare and soften the king’s heart.  In between the two meals Haman has his fit of rage and builds the gallows.  Meanwhile, back at the palace the king just happens to have a restless night and requests the reading of the history of events.  The reading of Mordecai’s saving the king’s life is now remembered and the king realizes that Mordecai needs to be rewarded for this deed.  Ironically, as Haman approaches the king to ask permission to hang Mordecai; the king employs his advice on how to honor Mordecai.  Haman thinks that he will be honored so asks for a public adulation and ends up having to do this for Mordecai.  Haman’s wife and friends who encouraged him to build the gallows now begin to realize that the tables have turned.  Haman is rushed into the second banquette at which Esther uncovers his plot before the king.  Haman ends up swinging from his own gallows and Mordecai is promoted to his place and given the authority to resolve the problem.  The Jewish people are given the king’s authorization to defend themselves from those who would follow Haman’s instructions and end up killing thousands of their enemies instead of being killed themselves.  When we trust the Lord and take our cares before Him in prayer He can turn the tables on any situation that we might face.