God at work from behind the curtain.
T]he book of Esther is the most secular of all the writings of the Old Testament. Those who are interested in overt teaching about the great theological subjects of the Scriptures such as deity, prophecy, eschatology, or ecclesiology will search its pages in vain for any help. Esther is never quoted in the New Testament or even alluded to and the name of God does not occur in the book. Even prayer is not mentioned when there are times we surely would expect to see it. But, although the book’s riches are hidden, they will yield themselves to those who will make the effort to search for them.
The events in the book cover a period of approximately five years. As Ezra and Nehemiah deal with the captives that returned from exile, Esther deals with those who chose to remain among the heathen empire of Medo-Persia. The central character is a young woman, Esther, who married a divorced unbeliever, King Ahasuerus (an unequal yoke), and kept her true identity as a Jew secret upon the advice of her guardian, Mordecai. She won the King’s affection by outward beauty. Hardly a book to teach Christian values! Yet despite these things, God worked on behalf of these people and preserved them from a hostile adversary, Haman illustrates the conniving of Satan with his vicious hatred of the Jews (see Revelation 12) and desire to destroy them.
The author is unknown, but certainly he had access to the archives of the public records in Persia (see 2:23; 6:1; 9:32 and 10:2). It has been suggested that perhaps one of the King’s chamberlains was responsible.
Outline
The sections can be divided up by noting the prominent characters:
• The king and his wives (chapters 1-2)
• The exaltation of Haman and his decree to destroy the Jews (chapters 3-5)
• Mordecai honored (chapter 6)
• Esther delivers her people (chapters 7-8)
• The Jews’ victory and subsequent celebrations (chapters 9-10)
Themes
The faithfulness of God
The overall theme and, therefore, value to the church today is the covenant faithfulness of God. The covenant in question is the Abrahamic Covenant. God honored that covenant, even though the people were quite far from Him spiritually at this time. Of course the reason He did is that the Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. “I will bless them that bless thee [Israel], and curse him that curseth thee” (Gen. 12:3).
The work of God
Although the name of God is not mentioned, His unseen hand is at work in the book:
• in placing Esther in a position of influence (election for service)
• in delaying the destruction of the Jews for almost a year, thus giving time for the deliverance to occur
• in keeping the king awake in order to reward Mordecai
• in promoting a despised Jew to the position of prime minister
Ups and downs
The book also contains some amazing ups and downs—people rising to great heights and then falling to great lows. It is a roller coaster ride.
• Ahasuerus – exalted and humiliated at the banquet by the refusal of Vashti to obey his commands
• Vashti – from a private banquet of her own to divorce and shame
• Mordecai – elated at the promotion of Esther to be queen and then humiliated and crying in the street at Haman’s decree
• Haman – exalted to lofty heights by the king and then made to escort the man he detested most, announcing to all that this was the man whom the king delighted to honor
• Haman – making a lofty scaffold to hang his enemy and then hanging on it himself
• The enemies of the Jews – expected to get both the lives and the spoil of their enemies but were humiliated, losing 75,000 of their number in the battles with the Jews
God’s care for Israel
For Mordecai, Esther, and the Jews, it ends on a high note. In a coming day, Israel, currently despised by the nations, will be exalted in the coming Kingdom of Messiah.
Like the book of Exodus, the enemy’s plans to wipe out the people of God failed miserably. Pharaoh tried to drown the Israelites and ended up being drowned in the Red Sea. Haman tried to hang Mordecai and ended up hanging on the gallows himself. Both enemies reaped what they sowed. In each case, deliverance was celebrated with a feast, which Israel keeps to this day (Passover and Purim).
Other themes
The Book also has one other contrast: feasting and fasting. We see several banquets and great extravagance and then we see a time of serious, concerted fasting.
Esther is a valuable book for the church today. In it we see God sovereignly working out His purposes, and we will in this world, even when God Himself is unseen. Sometimes we are not fully conscious of this, but He is still on the throne and in control.
Helpful commentaries
• The Book of Esther by William Kelly, published by Bible Truth Publishers. A brief and helpful overview of the themes of the book.
• Esther, Triumph of God’s Sovereignty, John C. Whitcomb, published by Moody Press. Helpful in background information and historical data.
• Esther by Albert McShane, published by John Ritchie. Short with very thought-provoking material.
• Esther in the Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, published by Cook Publishing. The typically high standard of work from Wiersbe.