[Esther 4] Act 2 Scene 1: The Heroes Devise A Plan

Where we last left off, the villain came into the picture and set his dastardly plan into effect, aimed at attacking the heroes. Now it’s the heroes chance to respond. Act 2 will focus in on our heroes, combating the villain’s master plan. And Act 2 begins in Chapter 4.

Start out with Esther 4:1-4. Mordecai responds to the news by putting on sackcloth and ashes and mourning. This is a common practice in the ancient times. Biblical examples would include, but not be limited to: Job when he loses everything, the king of Nineveh when he hears Jonah’s message, David, etc. As you can see, it’s a common practice. If you noticed, all them are during sad occasions. Sitting in ashes, wearing sackcloth and mourning was a sign of humility and grief. Mourning in public, he is obviously associating himself as a Jew. He mourns outside the king’s gate, so everyone in the palace can hear him. But he can’t go beyond the king’s gate because of his appearance only the cleanest can enter the king’s residence. Esther tries to offer him clean clothes so he can come in and talk this over with her, but Mordecai is mourning so much, he refuses.

So what happens is Esther chooses Hatatch, a eunuch, to become the middle man messenger. Esther 4:5-11 records the dialogue. Esther sends Hatatch to find out what all the commotion is about. Mordecai sends back the degree with a suggestion that Esther go before the king. Not only does Mordecai say why he’s mourning, but he fully explains, even giving evidence. Then he proposes a way to fix it. Esther reminds him the rule is she can’t go before the king unless summoned, or else she’ll die. Esther’s reminder is very descriptive, too. She even mentions that a month has past without her being summoned, so she isn’t likely to be summoned any time soon. But Mordecai is ready to respond to that. It’s found in Esther 4:13-14. This verse is very important, so important that I’ll put it right here

Esther 4:13-14-

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Some scholars have suggested these verses to be the theme verses of Esther. You might remember that in my introduction I mentioned a verse that would be perfect to use the name “God” or “the Lord.” This is it. It would have been perfect if Mordecai would have said, “And who knows but that God/the Lord has put you in a royal position for such a time as this.” But Mordecai doesn’t. Whether God is explicitly stated or implicitly hinted, Mordecai’s statement stays the same. And what a bold statement it is! Do you realize what Mordecai is saying? Mordecai declares that God will send a deliverer for the Jews, no matter what, even if Esther does not step up. If Esther does not stand up, that does not mean she will be safe. Instead, the Jews will be saved and Esther will die. Bold, right? How can Mordecai be so sure? God’s covenants with Israel! God’s covenants have unconditionally promised a chosen people out of Israel will come. No matter how bad they are or how bad they have become, there will always be a remnant, or a small percentage of what is left will always be around. God has to save the Jews in order for all his covenantal promises to be fulfilled. God will send a deliverer.

 

This is a reminder to us that there is no situation that God cannot deliver us out of. The Jews right now seem to be in a tight spot. There is a law that’s going to wipe out all of the Jews, and there’s nothing that can stop it. But Mordecai is sure that a way out will come. A way out came for us, too. Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross, Jesus made it possible for everyone to be delivered from their sin. Esther was the deliverer of the Jews during this time period, but Jesus is the ultimate deliverer, delivering everyone from everywhere and every time of their sins. And because of Jesus, there is no sin we can be doomed from. All we have to do is come to Jesus, confessing our sin, with a repentant heart. If you have never made the decision to follow Jesus, today can be the day Jesus will deliver you of your sins and welcome you into his family. If you want to make that decision today, make sure you go see a pastor, and they’ll help you with that. But maybe you’ve already received Jesus as your deliverer, but you are still struggling with a sin in your life. I urge you to come to Jesus right now, confess it and receive forgiveness.

Let’s close with Esther 4:15,16. Esther decides that she will fast and pray with her entire harem for 3 days. Then she will appear before the king. She realizes what she is about to do and what the consequences could be. So she lies her faith totally in God, without even mentioning it. I think here Esther recognizes God as her deliverer, too. So we should follow her example and put our faith in Jesus Christ.

*Photo Credits: Microsoft Word 2003 Clip Art

[Esther 3] Act 1 Scene 3: The Villain is Introduced,and He Begins His Evil Plan

In Esther 1, God’s providence is shown through God setting the stage for Esther to be queen. In Esther 2, God’s providence is demonstrated through God strategically placing Esther and Mordecai. Up to this point, the heroes have been introduced. In Esther 3, we, the readers, will meet the villain. We’ll watch him introduce conflict into our story. Then we’ll ask ourselves, “How does God’s providence work when evil is afoot?”

So let’s meet our villain. Start reading Esther 3, and you’ll bump into him right away. First, we learn that his name is Haman. Second, we learn Haman is the son of Hammedatha. Third, we learn that Haman made his way through the ranks to second-in-command. Haman, in our terms, was a prime minister. We don’t know why he was elevated; the Bible simply tells us he was. Fourth, we learn Haman was an Agagite. The term “Agagite” could mean a couple of things. The complicated answer is that it means he’s a descendant of Agag, the last king of the Amalekites. To give you a brief history reminder, the Amalekites were Israel’s greatest rival. Because of their sin and great hatred towards God’s people, God planned to blot them out. So in the last war between the Israelites and Amalekites, God, through Samuel, told King Saul to totally wipe out the Amalekites. That includes every man, every woman and every child. But King Saul did not listen. Instead, he let King Agag and his family live. It wasn’t until Samuel appeared that the king was killed. Haman might be a descendant of Agag, but it’s dependant on the fact the King Agag’s wife or child escaped the Israelite army somehow. A more simple answer would be Agagite means “from the town/region of Agag” and Agag is either a town or providence of Persia. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of the location also brings this theory into question. Also, may I add, to further the frustration, that Haman’s name has not been found in any archaeological records. But to anyone who says that, I add “yet” to the end. It could still be out there, and it’s just that no one has found it. And even if they can’t find anything, that does not mean Haman didn’t exist.

Continue onto Esther 3:1-6. From the first 6 verses of Esther 3, the conflict is clear. Mordecai won’t bow down or pay honor to Haman. Haman here connects the fact that Mordecai won’t bow down because he is a Jew, and that’s the best reason I can give you, too. Mordecai won’t bow down or pay honor to Haman because Mordecai is a Jew. If I tried to explain it more specifically, I couldn’t because there is no clear, specific answer. Perhaps Mordecai is simply following the 2^nd commandment, which commands the Jews to bow down to no one or nothing but God Himself. So perhaps Mordecai considers bowing down to Haman as idolatry. Maybe it goes back to a historic battle, the battle between King Saul and King Agag. Now it’s the descendant of King Saul who refuses to pay homage to the descendent of King Agag, just King Saul refused to surrender to King Agag. But that would require for both of them to know each other’s ancestry. Or maybe it’s as simple as Mordecai not recognizing Haman as a legitimate authority or power. Remember Mordecai sides with Xerxes, the king, but he doesn’t side with Haman, the second-in-command. Since we don’t know how Haman got into power, it’s possible he got into power in a dishonest way. So maybe Mordecai doesn’t recognize Haman as a legitimate leader and ruler. The specific reasons could be any and every reason given, so it’s hard to say officially. But broadly speaking, we can make the same connection as Haman. It has something to do with Mordecai being a Jew. So now Haman doesn’t want to kill just Mordecai, but he wants to kill all the Jews. Once again, I will raise the question, “Does this go back to a historical battle?” Haman might be trying to win the war against King Saul’s descendants that his ancestor King Agag could not finish in victory. I also want to remind you that “every Jew” means every Jew in the Persian Empire. That includes the Jewish refugees trying to rebuild Jerusalem! They already have enough trouble from adversaries, they don’t need more problems.

Haman begins his evil plan in Esther 3:7. The word “pur” comes from the Babylonian word “the lot.” This would the same as flipping a coil, rolling a dice, or even using a roulette wheel. It has been used many times in the Bible, in both the godly and ungodly circumstances. Examples would include, but not be limited to: Lots were cast to choose Mathias as the new disciple, lots were cast to divide Christ’s clothes, lots were cast to figure out whose fault the storm was in Jonah, etc. Now whether the pur is a godly pursuit or not is up for debate. Those for it will quote Proverbs 16:33; those against it will demonstrate that casting the lot came from pagan roots. Let me add one more piece to that equation: the results. The pur is cast on Nisan, which is during our April-May, but for them, it’s the first month of the year. The lot falls on Adar, which for us is February-March, but for them, it’s the last month of the year. Is this a coincidence that it’s going to take a whole year to execute or not? Let that resonate with you for the rest of this chapter. I’ll come back to that, so make sure you have an answer, or at least a thought by the end of this devotional commentary on Esther 3.

Haman presents his plans to Xerxes in Esther 3:8,9. Haman convinces Xerxes that Jews’ customs will not allow them to follow the laws of the land, which will lead to anarchy. Haman suggests the only way to solve this problem is to completely annihilate all the Jews. Haman even offers to donate 10,000 talents of silver. In today’s weight, that would be 750,000 pounds of silver. In today’s currency, that would be worth around $25 million. $25 million is a lot, back then and today, to commit genocide. But Haman sees it necessary and worth it.

Let’s finish up the chapter with verses 10 to 15. What King Xerxes does is foolishly gives his signet ring to Haman. The signet ring was what was used to make a seal. The seal of the king was the king’s official word. It gave laws power. What this means is Haman’s words and King Xerxes’s words are now one and the same. Haman issues the law to be written in every language and sent off to every province. Everyone in the empire is going to know about the law because everyone in the empire is going to be effected. And at the end of this chapter, the only two people who are at peace are Haman and Xerxes. The whole empire is confused, bewildered and scared. This is out of character for King Xerxes. And as we know, the whole reason is because Xerxes is just a puppet for Haman.

 

 

Time is up. Do you think the pur is a good method or a bad method? Do you think the timing worked out well, perhaps too well? I’m not sure the method is exactly the mostly godly, but I do believe that the results are godly. Is it just a coincidence that of all the months it could have fallen on it has to fall on the last month, especially when the lot is thrown in the first month. I truly believe this is the providence of God. We’re going to call it “perfect timing.” God providence is perfect timing. For a picture to help you remember, I’m going to put on a calendar. If yesterday’s, which we called “strategically placed” is could be summarized as “in the right place” then “perfect timing” could be summarized as “at the right time.” Ever have one of those moments were things happened at the right time? Maybe you finished a test just before the bell rang. Maybe all your homework end up being due on the Thursday before the big Friday night big game, so you could watch the game without worrying about homework. Maybe the concert just so happens to fall on the weekend you have off of school or work. If I were to think of one, I remember a time where it was down pouring rain on and off. I had forgot my raincoat and I was carrying important papers with me. I was afraid they were going to get wet. Well, just I was about the building, the rain stopped. I walked across the parking lot dry. And just as I starting pulling out of my parking space, it began to downpour again. It stormed the whole time, until I got back to my place. As I parked, the rain stopped again so I could get inside dry. Once I was inside, the rain continued. Of course I praised God. I cannot say that was pure coincidence. It had to be God. I gave you my testimony about how God used perfect timing in my life, and I gave some possible scenarios. I hope you can find some scenarios in your life. And I hope once you realize those moments, you will respond in the same way I did: by praising God.

And with the end of chapter 3 comes the end of Act 1 of the Esther epic. All the characters have been introduced, from the heroes, to the villains, and everyone in between. The villain has brought in the conflict, which will lead us into Act 2 and the rising action. How will the heroes react to the conflict? Will they think up a plan to save themselves and their people? We’ll find out as we continue through Esther!

 

*Photo Credits: Microsoft Word 2003 Clip Art

[Esther 2] Act 1 Scene 2: The Heroes Are Introduced and Strategically Placed

In Esther 1, King Xerxes and Queen Vashti are introduced. But they aren’t the only two characters in the story. There are two more characters we will learn about today: Esther and Mordecai. In Esther 1, we saw how Vashti exiting had an important impact on the story. In Esther 2, we’ll see how Esther and Mordecai enter the story in an important place. So we must ask ourselves, “How are the heroes in Esther 2 strategically placed?”

Start off by reading Esther 2:1-4. A phrase that sticks out to me is “the king’s fury subsided.” Perhaps it means the king waited for his anger to settle down to make a judgment. Do you think King Xerxes might be regretting his decision? Maybe he is because he is no longer drunk and he made a quick movement. Maybe not because he is just waiting to make a sound decision. I think it could either way. Something I do want to point out in these verses is that this is an empire-wide search. This means that every young virgin girl, from Greece to Egypt to Rome, to even including the land that use to be Israel. But this also includes the girls in Susa.

So here enters Esther and Mordecai. Move on to Esther 2:5-7 to meet them. Now we officially know Mordecai is from the tribe of Benjamin. And with that we know Mordecai’s family was sent into exile. An interesting point I may point out is Mordecai’s family line has some interesting names. Kish is the name of King Saul’s father. Shimei was an advisor to King David. The term “the son of” in the Hebrew language simply means a descendant, if taken a little figuratively. Now if we are taking the term “the son of” more literally, it’s still possible he’s a relative of these men because names of famous family members were recycled. Either way, Mordecai and his family had famous family members, and maybe even a direct relative of a brother of King Saul. The other person introduced is who we know as Esther, but before this story was called Hadasseh. I find it funny that Esther has become a Jewish name, but its origins are really either Babylonian or Persian, and not Jewish. The Jewish name is Hadasseh, which means myrtle. Whether the name Esther has Babylonian origin or Persian origin, the name comes from the word “Isthar” means “star.” Historians believe that is linked to what we call Venus, what the ancients thought was the most beautiful “star.” Either way, Esther is seen as beautiful. The connection between our two heroes is that when Esther’s mother and father die, for untold reasons, Mordecai takes his cousin in with him and treats her like direct family.

I believe Esther’s beauty is a important part of these chapter, and the whole book as well. I believe Esther’s beauty is part a bigger picture. Esther is a charming woman, in both looks and personality. Read Esther 2:8-11 and you’ll see what I mean. What happens is when Esther is taken in as a possible virgin to become queen, she is put under the care of Hegai, a eunuch. Under Hegai, she wins over his favor, and thus Hegai gives her special treatment. One of the special treatments is that Esther and Mordecai can communicate with each other by sending messages back and forth.

The process to become a queen is a long one. Read Esther 2:12-14 to see what Esther had to go through. The first step is about a half a year of oil and myrrh. This is what they used to bathe in Persian times. Remember, the virgins were not chosen based on their wealth on social status. Some of them could have been the poorest of poor, who have been living on the streets. They would have smelled poorly. After those 6 months, it’s another 6 months of perfume and cosmetics. It’s another half year on focusing on just becoming beautiful. We’re already up to a yearTo prepare for her night with the king, she is given any clothing or jewelry she wants. She dressed the way she knew best. It seems as if she has access to riches they she wants, so she probably would go all out. Next, she spends the night with the king. and you can guess what that means. If you can’t, the next step will give it away. The last step is the woman goes to another part of the harem, under the care of Shashgaz. I’m not going to lie to you. That part of the harem is probably for the girls who are not virgins. So if they go from the part of the harem for the virgins to the part that is for non-virgins, you should be able to figure out what happens with the night with the king. Going back to our canonicity question, this passage is used both in favor and against Esther. You can probably guess how the critics would speak against it. They would be concerned about the year of preparation. Does it really take six months to bathe with oil and myrrh? Does it really take six months of perfume and cosmetics? It seems too long. How could we use this as a strength for Esther? Well, the author is well informed about the customs of the day. This has to be how things went because the author is able to give good detail about what happened here.

Back to Esther, we continue to see her win favor in verses 15 to 18. First we see that while every women seems to be maxing out what she can take, Esther takes a small minimum. The result is Esther wins over everyone’s favor. Then she presents himself to the king, and she wins over his favor as well. This makes Esther queen, and everyone celebrates with more feasting.

A majority of this chapter focuses on Esther being made queen, but another little story happens in Esther chapter 2. It goes back to Mordecai. Mordecai is at the king’s gate. The king’s gate is the most important and busiest place in the marketplace and the whole city of Susa. A lot of talk happens here. Among the talk, Mordecai overhears an assassination attempt on King Xerxes. Two men are attempting to kill King Xerxes. So what happens is Mordecai tells Queen Esther, and Queen Esther tells King Xerxes, giving Mordecai the credit. When they find out the story is true, the two men are executed.

It’s important to note this story in this chapter because the one common connection is that both characters are being strategically replaced. This goes back into our original question, “How the heroes are strategically placed?” Let’s quickly state why we can say the heroes are strategically placed. Esther is strategically placed because she is made queen. For Mordecai, Mordecai is given credit for preventing an assassination on the king’s head. His credit will show that he is in favor of the king and sides with him. Mordecai is not the king’s enemy.

 

Esther 1 showed us God’s providence as setting the stage, or preparing things behind the scenes, whether we know it or not. In Esther chapter 2, God’s providence can be seen in a similar way, but more specifically. It’s about God’s providence strategically placing us. What’s the difference? : In setting the stage, God is working before we get there. In strategically placing us, it is more specifically to us, being put in the right place. What good is it if God perfectly set the scene, but we are not there, or we are in the wrong place? We need to be in the right place. I put up a picture of Risk to help remind you of strategic placing, but if you’re not familiar with it, you can use another game, like Monopoly or chess. But I’m going to stick with Risk because, frankly, it’s one of my favorite board games. In Risk, you start out by splitting up the territories, and then splitting up the starting soldiers among the territories. Some players evenly split them out. Other players bunch them in one spot. Yet others will focus on one continent. This decision can make the different in who wins and who loses. We can relate to this in real life. Where we are placed in life determines how our life plays out. How comforting it is to know God is at work placing us.

The example I would use in my life is my student teaching. Finding me a place to student teach at was hectic. Technically, I was suppose to have two different places to student teach, but it was so hectic finding me one, the college and I settled at just one place. When the education department finally found a school for me to teach at, it was all the way in York, a whopping 45 minute drive from Lancaster, where I was living. This was going to be hard on me (getting up earlier, leaving later, spending time in traffic, etc.), but also hard on my gas tank, for I had little gas money. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it! But God knew what he was doing when he strategically placed me. Because I stayed at one school (as compared to two schools, which I was suppose to do), there were some things I didn’t have to do a second time. At sometimes, I felt like I had half the work compared to my other classmates. Unlike my classmates, I didn’t have to get re-accustomed to a new school. Furthermore, I was suppose to do 2 middle schools, instead I did 1 middle school, and even got to do a bit of high school, which is what I preferred to do. It even extends to after my student teaching. It would just so happen that, 3 months later, I would find out my girlfriend lived 10 minutes away from that school. A few months later, my co-op teacher from that school would help me connect with someone who would help me find a place to live closer to my girlfriend. Now that’s divine providence. God strategically placed me in York in order to have the best possible student teaching experience, as well as know the area for when I would begin dating my girlfriend.

In closing, notice how the two scenes from this first act go hand-in-hand. Without the position being opened in scene 1, Esther could not fill it in scene 2. But if you remember, Act 1 is all about introducing the characters and the main plot. We’re still missing one more character, the antagonist, who will introduce the conflict into the story. All that will happen in the next chapter.

*Picture Credits: “Sony Pictures Sets Its Sights on Risk: A Feature Remake of the Original Boardgame.” 10 June 2011. Social Hollywood Magazine. 6 Sept 2012.

[Esther 1] Act 1 Scene 1: A Spot Opens Up

If you remember from my literary pyramid that I made for the prologue/introduction, I said that the base on the left is where the setting and the characters are introduced, and then I placed Esther 1 on there. Therefore, Esther 1 is all about introducing new characters to the story. In Esther 1, we’ll meet two main characters: King Xerxes and Queen Vashti.

Right from the bat, in Esther 1:1, the text introduces the king. Let’s start off with a question that might seem obvious: What’s the king’s name? It may seem like an obvious question, but it might change depending how your Bible translates. Depending on the translation, the king’s name might be “Xerxes” or “Ahasuers.” It’s not that big of a deal. Xerxes is the king’s Greek name, and Ahasuers is the king’s Hebrew name. But the king is not Greek or Hebrew; he’s Persian. So the most “accurate” name would be his Persian name. So what is his Persian name? His Persian name is “Khshayathiya Khshayathiyanam.” Yeah, good luck trying to pronounce that. Interesting enough, the name means “king of kings and lord of lords.” I find that interesting because that’s a title God gives himself, as seen in Revelation. Maybe Xerxes saw himself as God, or maybe it’s just a title to show he’s the king of an empire, which is made of many kingdoms. I don’t want to go too theological into that. But verse 1 does back up that Xerxes is a king of an empire. Verse 1 says that Xerxes rules over 127 providences from India to Cush, which is the upper Nile region. In fact, Xerxes extended the Persian to Ethiopia and Greece as well. Xerxes’s father was Darius I, which is the one we know from the story of Daniel. Xerxes reigned from 486-465. There’s the proof that Esther does belong in the Bible because the story of Esther fits right in that time period.

Esther 1:4-6 records one of the first actions Xerxes does. The first thing we hear King Xerxes do is throw a banquet, and the Bible records it happens for 180 days, which is about 6 months. Naturally, some people question this. Why do some people question this? It’s not feasible to have a banquet for 180 days. It would six months, taking the princes and governors away from their jobs to party. At least, that’s what the critics say. So perhaps a better explanation would be that Xerxes threw a bunch of small banquets for one prince of governor at a time over a period of 180 days. Also, may I add this might to rally all his princes and governors to his side. Greece is threatening to take back their lost land. King Xerxes needs all his governors on his side to wage war. Well, after this 180 days of banquets, King Xerxes throws another week long banquet for just the officials in Susa, possibly to thank them. This banquet is vividly described. So what’s the point of this? What’s the point of six months and one week of banquets? Why does the Bible want to describe what the decorations look like? To show us how rich King Xerxes is and that King Xerxes spares no expense. It shows King Xerxes’s wealth, and in a way, it shows King Xerxes’s power. He can afford to do this.

Another important part of this banquet was that there was drinking aplenty. Read Esther 1:7-8. Depending on your nationality, there was different drinking customs. For example, in the Greek culture, you were required to drink, and if you did not drink, you were asked to leave. In the Roman culture, a guest of honor was chosen at random, and he decided when to drink, where to drink, and how much to drink. According to this passage, Xerxes did not place rules on this. He let them drink when they wanted, where they wanted and as much as they wanted. There were no limits. As fun as this might sound, the danger about alcohol is distorts reality, which leads to rash judgment. This might have led to the downfall of Queen Vashti.

Now let’s meet Queen Vashti in Esther 1:9. Before we talk about the queens of Persia or the wives of Xerxes, I want to mention that this is where archaeology does not help us. There is no mention of Vashti in the Persian writings at all. In fact, there is only one mention of a queen, but the name is “Amestris.” Some have suggested this might be another name of Vashti, but we cannot be sure. Anyway, this verse tells us that Queen Vashti also threw a banquet, but for the women. This actually fits with the custom of the day. When banquets were thrown, men and women were in separate rooms. So that’s probably what is happening here.

Conflict can sometimes arise in the first chapter of a novel. While the big conflict does not arise in this chapter, a smaller conflict will. It happens in Esther 1:10-12. We hear King Xerxes, in front of nobles, officials and servants, asks for Queen Vashti to appear. What is King Xerxes trying to do? Show off Queen Vashti. Maybe it’s her beauty he’s trying to show off, or maybe it is his wealth. When Queen Vashti receives the message, she refuses to come. Why? Queen Vashti doesn’t want to be used as something to show off.

So as a problem arises, a solution is sought. It takes verses 13 to 22 to fully develop the solution. What’s the first thing Xerxes does? He consults his advisors. Some have suggested King Xerxes is showing weakness because he can’t make the decision on his own, but needs help to make decisions. I don’t think this is showing weakness. I actually think he’s being a good king for seeking guidance and advice. After all, we wouldn’t think the president is a bad president for seeking the cabinet for help. We wouldn’t think our president is weak for seeking the cabinet’s advice. King Xerxes is seeking his cabinet for help. The first “cabinet member” to speak up is Mermucan. Mermucan suggests that if King Xerxes allows Queen Vashti to disrespect him, women all over will disrespect their husbands. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s false, or maybe it’s just an exaggeration. Either way, it leads Memucan to give what he thinks is a good solution. Memucan suggests Xerxes banish Vashti from his presence, which most likely means the whole city of Susa, and a new queen should replace her. Memucan claims that this will set an example to women to stay in their place.

I want to spend the rest of the post on focusing on a single question: “How is this small story important to the big story?” or “How does Esther 1 contribute to the book of Esther?” First, this story makes a comparable standard for when Esther becomes queen. We knew the rules set for the queen, what the appropriate response is suppose to be, and what the result will be for not following orders. Now I don’t think I’m spoiling the story because most of you are familiar with the story, but when Esther is queen in the future, she will also defy the King’s law in a somewhat similar way. The rule for the queen is that you don’t appear for the king if he does not summon you, but if he does summon you, you must appear. While Vashti refused to enter the king’s presence when summoned, Esther enters the king’s presence without being summoned. Look at how different the results are. Queen Vashti is kicked out of the capital city. But King Xerxes allows Esther to enter. Why do you think that is? It could be a difference in laws, Esther has more favor, pure grace and mercy, or a whole plethora of other options. I’m not going to go any further into that, as we’ll be able to see it more clearly by the time we reach that point. Keep that in mind as we get closer to the chapter where Esther defies the law. It will become clearer then. But for now, I want you to see that Esther does have an upper hand over Vashti.

But I want you to look at the bigger picture here, which is the second point that last group hit on. This story opens up a spot for Esther to be queen. There is no way Esther could have saved her people without being queen. To be queen, there needs to be an open spot to be made queen. I see God working here to open up that position. When God calls us to a position, he’s not going to call us to a position that is already taken. God isn’t going to always put us in a position that we can get to. God will provide a way to put us in the place, position, ministry or mission God wants us in. And sometimes to do that, he’s at work even before we get there, or even before we know it ourselves. It may even be before we were born. The best example I can think of is my own life. My parents fell away from the faith after they finished high school. But when my mother was pregnant with me, my father and mother thought it would be best to start going back to church to raise me to be a good, moral American citizen. And I am very sure that if my parents did not make that decision, I would not stand before you today teaching you the Bible. I had no control over what parents I would get, and whether they were godly or not. But God does have control, and he controlled it to be so.

 

 

So the lesson about God’s providence in Esther 1 is “setting the stage.” I’m going to try to put a picture for every lesson, not only to help you remember the lesson, but also to show God’s providence. In this picture, a stage crew is setting the stage for a performance. In Broadway musical and plays, the stage crew sets the stage. The cool thing about the stage crew is that they are not always seen, but you know they are there and working because everything is perfectly in place for the actors and actresses to use. If all the world’s a stage, and the people merely actors, then one of God’s roles is to be the stage crew, setting the stage for your life. Ever think hard about that? It might blow your mind. Think about it: God is already setting the stage and planning out the next stage in your life, even if you don’t know about it. Now think about where you are in left. Looking back, can you see how God set you up to be in that position? Every positive blessing that you have in your life, God set it up for you to have it. Take the time to praise him for that. If you’re doing the “assignment” I gave you, try to make your “God Sighting” of the day to be a recent way God has set the stage for you. Give God the credit due.

Don’t be too worried if you can’t see God setting the stage right now. This is just the beginning of Esther. As we go through Esther, we’ll see how God setting the stage leads to God working in other parts of the book of Esther. And then maybe you can see God working through other parts of your life, too.

* Picture Credits: Jacoby, Matt. “Setting the stage at the Princess Theatre, Brisbane.” 29 Oct 2004.  Sons of Korah. 3 Sept 2012.

[Esther 0] Act 0 Scene 0: A Prologue

My study of Esther dates back to spring 2011. My study of Esther could been seen as an act of the providence of God, for it seemed like within the spring months of 2011, Esther was thrown at me from many areas of my life. I was timekeeping for ACC Bible Quizzing, and the 2011 Bible Quizzing material was on Joseph and Esther. I was in the midst of student teaching, and the 10^th grade Bible teacher at Christian School of York asked me to teach his 10^th grade class the book of Esther. Already I ran into the book of Esther twice. The third time I would run into it would be in a short discussion in my small group Bible study. Although the discussion was brought about by an event I did not partake in, and the discussion was short and a “side note,” it was a very interesting discussion that raised questions. What happened to bring about the discussion (the “historical occasion” if you will) was a chapel that my 2 friends had at Lancaster Bible College. The chapel speaker began speaking on Esther, and then halfway through the chapel, he announced that the men and women would be split up and spoken to privately on what Esther meant for each gender. As the men and women suspected, the women talked about what it meant to be a woman in leadership (my 2 male friends verified this with their female friends and classmates). The men were excited the learn what Esther means to them as males, but they would be disappointed. Pretty much, the men were told that lesson men can learn from Esther is that men should allow women in leadership. Now may I remind you this chapel is led by a male, so arguing that they are pushing a feminist movement would be a weak one, but whatever your stance is on women in leadership, it should leave you scratching your head. It left my 2 friends scratching their head. Questions arose from the chapel. Why do we have the book of Esther in the Bible? What’s the main point, the moral of the story, and the lesson to be learned from the book of Esther? It would seem like that chapel speaker believed that the main point and the moral of the story is on women in leadership. But if that’s the case, it would beg the question: “Then what does the book of Esther mean for men?” There’s got to be a deeper meaning than “allow women leadership.” Even if you’ve heard that women in leadership is the moral lesson to be learned, I’m going to argue it’s not by giving an argument for a stronger point, a lesson that is equally applicable for men and women. It’s the providence of God.

I want us to float back to one of the questions I asked in the [long] introduction paragraph above. Why do we have the book of Esther in the Bible? A better question: Does Esther belong in the Bible? I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but there are whole studies on the canonicity of the Bible, or determining what books belong in the Bible. And Esther is one of the most debatable and one of the hardest books of the Bible to accept. It hasn’t always been accepted throughout history. A prime example would be the Essences, a Jewish group who didn’t even bother to copy manuscripts of Esther, nor translate Esther into other languages. It’s important to know if Esther is worthy to be in the Bible. If we don’t believe that Esther belongs in the Bible, we’re not going to learn anything from it. To do this, we have to look at some of the outside information we know about the book of Esther before we dive into the actual story of Esther. Yes, I know I usually look at the background information of the book to help give a bigger and deeper understanding of the text, and that’s still true for the book of Esther. But the background information is especially important for the book of Esther because it’s what the theologians and other Bible scholars look at to determine whether Esther is canon or not. So let’s look at the background information as evidence to help us decide whether or not Esther belong in the Bible.

So first let’s look at the author of Esther. Tradition has stated over time two authors. The earliest Jewish tradition credits the Great Synagogue for writing the book of Esther. Let me explain the Great Synagogue. Around one hundred years before Jesus came, about one hundred Jewish Rabbis and other religious leaders of the day got together to decide what books needed to be in the Hebrew Bible, what we call the Old Testament. During this time, to explain Purim, they want to put Esther in the Bible, but there are hundred of copies, some of which are just official Persian transcripts, and others editions weren’t even on written down. They were oral traditions. So the Jewish Rabbis, who called themselves “The Great Synagogue,” came together to make one copy of the story of Esther, one that agreed with no contradictions. That’s what most Jews say we have today. About one hundred years after the Great Synagogue, there was a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus. Josephus simply said Mordecai was the author, end of story. Some of Jews stick with his reasoning

Each side has valid proof. Those who see Mordecai as the author look at Esther 9:20, which says Mordecai had written it. But the other side will just come back and say it only says Mordecai wrote some of the book, not all of it. The Great Synagogue supporters point towards Esther 10:3. Esther 10:3 uplifts Mordecai greatly. The supporters would say it’s out of character for Mordecai to be so boastful. The supporters of the Great Synagogue also would say that the book many times over mentions the “annals and the chronicles of the Medes and the Persian,” so it’s another source. On the other side, the Mordecai supporters say that it has to be Mordecai because the author is clearly a Persian Jew because the author has full knowledge of the Persian laws and customs, and is lesser concerned about Israel. While I do believe those who support the Great Synagogue has strong arguments, I believe the arguments for Mordecai are stronger, so I’m going to say that Mordecai is the author of the book of Esther.

But the who question has another important people group, known as the audience. The audience is whom the book was originally intended to. The audience for the book of Esther is for all the Jews in Persian Empire. The Jews are scattered among the Persian Empire, thanks to the Babylonian exile. But it might be more specifically to the Jews in Israel. I’m not going to much explanation now, but the Jewish population is still heavily concentrated in Israel. Even though there is a lot of Jews in Israel, they are struggling. The Babylonian invasion tore apart the country and the Babylonian exile only left the poorest of the poor there. Rebuilding Israel is a struggle. For example, it took them 21 years to rebuild the temple. Even during that period, that’s a long time to rebuild a temple.

Now we know the who and the whom, let’s ask ourselves “when,” which obviously refers to dates. This question also comes in two parts. The first part is “When do the events happen?” The answer is somewhere between 483-473 BC. In terms of the Bible chronology, this would be between Ezra 6 and 7. This is critical between the temple has just been finished, and the Jewish people are trying to get back to the Law, which will go into a little deeper later. We know this time frame is right because King Xerxes ruled 486-465 BC. The other date question would be “When is this book written?” and the answer to that would be some time between 465-435 BC. Esther 10 talks about Xerxes in the past tense, so it has to be after his reign. But if Mordecai is the author, it can’t be later than his life. (This has led some canonicity scholars to believe Esther is the last book of the Old Testament to be written.)

Let’s look at the location, or the “where” next. Technically we can say the story happens in the whole Persian Empire because a lot of the decisions that King Xerxes makes affects Jews all around the Persian Empire. But if we were to get into the majority of the story, it would happen the capital city of Susa. It was also known as Shusan. Actually, if we wanted to get more specific, we could even say that it happens at the king’s palace and citadel of Susa. A citadel is the marketplace, the city square. All the important affairs of the city happen there, from the political, like court cases, to the financial, like business transactions. A lot of important events will happen in the citadel of Susa in the book of Esther. But there’s got to be a deeper reason we look at the location than that. So what’s the importance of knowing the location is Susa? The book of Esther focuses on the Jewish people, but doesn’t really mention Israel. The Jewish characters seem to have no urge to even go back to the land of Israel. God doesn’t care as much about the land, but he more cares about the people.

Now we’re going to talk about the “what.” The “what” is the historical occasion, or the events that lead up to the story. Since this Bible book is a historical narrative, the historical occasion will consist of the events that lead up to the current setting of the where and the when. So the question we have to ask ourselves is: What important events do we need to know to understand how we have Jews scattered about the Persian Empire? Well, how far back do you want to go? Technically, we can go all the way back to Genesis, explaining how God created man, but man fell from glory into sin, and how God chose a person (Abraham) to bring about a chose people who will ultimately bring about the Messiah and salvation. But I don’t think that’s necessary. Don’t worry, I got it down to 7. First, we need to remember God’s promise to the Israelites that they get to be in the promised land if they obey God, but if they do not obey God, they will be sent into exile. But as we know, the Israelites don’t obey. One of the reasons may be because they did not get rid of the foreign influences that would turn them to idol worship. One example I am going to pick out is King Saul and the Amalekites. The Lord commands Saul to kill off the Amalekites and wipe them off the face of the planet. Saul, to exalt himself, decides to let the royal family live. This specific example might come back to hurt the heroes of the story. But back to the disobedience of Israel, the disobedience leads to sin, and the sin leads to exile. Even with Israel and Judah split, both will go into exile. Israel is taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC and Judah is exiled by Babylon in 586 BC. While Judah is in exile, one of its prophets, by name of Daniel, interprets a couple of dreams in which God reveals the progression of empires. First comes the Babylonians. Next the Medes and the Persians will take over, then the Greeks will conquer, followed by the Romans. Sure enough, we see the first part come true as the Medes and Persians take over Babylon 539 BC. The Persian King Cyrus allows all the exiled to go back home, but many choose to stay there. The Jews that do decide to go back to have a huge assignment in front of them. They have to rebuild the capital city of Jerusalem, which includes the temple and the city walls, as well as their homes. And they are struggling. They are poor and they face opposition. They are losing home.

So now we know the who, whom, where, when, and the what, we can answer the why. The “why” is the purpose of the book of Esther. Why was the book written? To create a purpose, we need to combine all the details of the information given above. We’re agreeing on Mordercai writing the book of Esther. We’re agreeing that the audience is the Jews, mostly the Jews heavily concentrated in Israel. Now take into to consideration the historical occasion. The Jews in Israel are struggling to rebuild Israel and are losing hope. What do you need to do for someone struggling and losing hope? You motivate them! What do you motivate them with? God’s providence and faithfulness!

Mordecai wrote the book of Esther to motivate the Jews with God’s providential delivery and faithfulness to his people.

Now we know the purpose, or why Mordecai wrote the book, we can answer the plan, or how Mordecai will demonstrate God is provident, God is faithful and God will deliver. Maybe you’ve heard the Bible isn’t good at story telling. Well, Esther proves that wrong. The book of Esther is written like a play. It is a 3 act play, with 3 scenes each, except the last act, which has 4 scenes. Each scene is a chapter, and each chapter is a scene.

1. Act 1: The characters are introduced, and conflict arises (Esther 1-3)
1. Scene 1: A spot opens up (Esther 1)
2. Scene 2: The heroes are introduced and are strategically placed (Esther 2)
3. Scene 3: The villain is introduced, and he begins his evil plan (Esther 3)
2. Act 2: The plot thickens, and the climax is reached (Esther 4-6)
1. Scene 1: The heroes devise the plan (Esther 4)
2. Scene 2: The heroes set up the plan (Esther 5)
3. Scene 3: CLIMAX!- a foreshadowing of the villain’s downfall to the heroes (Esther 6)
3. Act 3: The heroes save the day (Esther 7-10)
1. Scene 1: The heroes win, the villain loses (Esther 7)
2. Scene 2: The good guys win, the bad guys lose (Esther 8)
3. Scene 3: The heroes and the good guys celebrate (Esther 9)
4. Scene 4: And they all live happily ever after (Esther 10)

Maybe a visual would help.

 

It’s called a literary pyramid (or some name similar to that). A literary pyramid shows the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution. At the base on the left, the characters, setting and conflict are introduced. The incline on the left is the rising action, or what happens to get from the conflict to the climax. At the top of the pyramid is the climax, where the plot twists in a way that it cannot go back to what it use to be. The falling action is what happens to get from the climax to the resolution. Finally, there is the resolution, where the problem is solved. When the book of Esther is put in the literary pyramid, it would look like the picture above. Esther 1-2 is the introduction, where the protagonists are introduced and the setting is put in place. In Esther 3-5, the antagonist is introduced, and the antagonist starts bringing in conflict against the protangonists. In Esther 6, the climax happens because the antagonist’s downfall is in full motion and nothing can stop it. Esther 7-8 shows the downfall fully play out and Esther 9-10 displays the resolution to the story in its final state. The literary pyramid demonstrates a second time that Esther is good story material.

Now that we have the introductory material, we have now made a big step forward in deciding whether or not the book of Esther is canonical, or whether or not the book of Esther belongs in the Bible. First, let’s review what we just talked about

AUTHOR (WHO): Mordecai

AUDIENCE (WHOM): The Jews
DATE (WHEN): Took place 483-473 BC, written in 465-435 BC
LOCATION (WHERE): Susa, the capital city of the Persian Empire
HISTORICAL OCCASION (WHAT): The Jews in Israel are struggling to rebuild Jerusalem, and they are losing hope
PURPOSE (WHY): Mordecai wrote the book of Esther to motivate the Jews with God’s providential delivery and faithfulness to his people.
PLAN (HOW): A 3-Act Play

A big part of canonicity is historicity. Historicity is seeing if the Bible lines up with history. When it comes to historicity, Esther has its strengths and weaknesses. The first strength is that book accurately reflects the Persian empire, its culture and its customs. The second strength is that it fits the literary style of the time, too. Back then, history was told like a story. At the same time, history can be its weakness. One weakness is that there is no mention of Vashti, Esther, Mordecai or Haman is mentioned in any discovered Persian writings. Xerxes is mentioned in the Persian writings, but the character of Xerxes in those Persian writings is totally different from the character of Xerxes in the book of Esther. But one could easily say it’s because the Persian writings made sure to put their king in a positive atmosphere, without mistakes or problems. Another weakness is that the times and chronologies do not always match what we know as history. Besides history, canonicity is also looked at from different perspectives, such as the message. Those for Esther being in the Bible would say Esther belongs because of 3 important messages. First, it shows the triumph of God’s people over his enemies. Second, it shows the providence of God. Third, it gives a background of Purim. But the message can be contested simply with one fact: there’s not mention of God, or any other name for God, such as Lord. We’re even going to find in our reading the perfect verse where God could be mentioned, but he’s not. In fact, there’s no mention of the law or sacrifices either (but to be fair, sacrifices would have to happen in Jerusalem, and the story takes place in Susa). So what is the good of a message if there is no God? Does God have to be mentioned to say he’s at work?

Those last 2 questions are the questions I want to stick in your mind all throughout our study of Esther. “Is God at work even though he is not mentioned?” I think the same question applies to us. God will not always give a big sign that says, “I am at work here!” So does that mean God is not at work? By no means! It is up to us to see God at work, use that in our testimony, and praise Him. So for this Bible study, I am going to give you a follow-up activity. Take a piece of lined notebook paper. Label this paper in the top margin “God Sightings.” In the left hand column, to the left of the red/pink line, write the date. In the body, right of the red/pink line, write down something or somewhere you saw God at work. I plan to stretch this Bible study on Esther throughout September, so see if you can keep this list up daily for the whole month of September, or even past that. But if even if you decide not to participate in this little exercise, I’ll be pointing out the “God Sightings” in Esther. You can follow along with that.

In conclusion, I ask again, “Does Esther belong in the Bible?” There are more pros for Esther being in the Bible than there are cons against. The pros for Esther’s canonicity are stronger than the weak cons. So I have come to the decision that Esther belongs in the Bible. Since Esther belongs in the Bible, it needs to be studied so we can learn from it. So let’s begin our walk through this 3-Act play to see what message God is teaching us.