When you think of Esther, think of another Ruth!
The record of Esther gives us insight into Persian customs, etiquette, and history. A strong sense of Jewish nationalism is shown through the Hebrew calendar and customs.
God’s account of Esther takes place between Ezra chapters 6 and 7, during the reign of King Ahasuerus (Hebrew), or Xerxes I (Greek). Fifty-two years after Cyrus had permitted Zerubbabel to lead the first group of Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Judea, Xerxes became king of the Persian Empire. Esther covers the 483-473 B.C. portion of his Persian reign. Although the book of Esther appears as the final Old Testament Historical Book in our Bible, Ezra 7-10, Nehemiah, and Malachi (final prophet) report later Old Testament history than Esther.
The events of Esther occurred between the first return of the Jews after seventy years of captivity in Babylon under Zerubbabel, and the second return led by Ezra. Nehemiah’s return from Susa occurred later.
God’s Story of Esther takes us back to His story of He brought the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt. Esther and Exodus both describe how foreigners tried to eliminate the nation of Israel, and how God sovereignly preserved them in accordance with His covenant to Abraham. Esther chapters 9 and 10 record the beginning of ‘Purim’ – an annual festival in the 12th month (February-March) to celebrate the nation’s survival. Purim became one of two festivals given outside of the Mosaic legislation. The other is the ‘Festival of Lights’.
Sharing:
- Before Esther, there was Queen Vashti. She had a high moral ground compared to the king, who held ‘drunken parties’ that lasted for months. The king showed his wealth as a means to wage a campaign against Greece. She refused to appear before the king on the seventh day so that he could show off his ‘trophy wife’. She may have been pregnant at the time, and was not prepared to succumb to the king’s bid. It would have been immoral for her to appear publicly while pregnant. She was not prepared to be humiliated.
- The story is filled with schemes and plots. Jews were hated because of their belief in a ‘good’ God, and history shows how there have been attempts to systematically bring them to an end. They believed in a sovereign God, and traditionally they have never assimilated well.
God is obviously the main character in the story of Esther, even though His name is never mentioned. He is seen in the conduct of His people. He sovereignly prevailed to save the Jews, not through miracles, but through providential control of every event and person. Mordecai and Esther kept their Jewish heritage a secret, but their faith is still evident. When Mordecai heard of the plot to annihilate the Jews, he asked Esther to go in to the king to make supplication to him. In reply to her fears of appearing before the king without an invitation, Mordecai said: “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Encouraged by this, Esther replied: "Go and get all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don't eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My servant women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die" (Esther 4:16, GNT).
Sharing:
- God’s name is not specifically mentioned in the story of Esther, but a ‘life testimony’ is obvious. It reminds us of what St. Francis said: “Share the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.” At Mordecai’s request, Esther did not reveal that she and her family were Jews until it was necessary. But her character proved her value.
- The sovereignty of God is shown throughout this story.
For 180 days, King Xerxes of Persia hosted various officials of Persia’s 127 provinces in the capital city of Susa, evidently seeking to impress them with his wealth and power. At the end of the six months, he gave a lavish week-long feast. His father, Darius the Great (fourth king of Persia), had been defeated by Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. Eight years later Xerxes put on a feast to most likely build morale for an assault on Greece. Xerxes was defeated by Greece in 480 B.C. and 479 B.C. Despite such defeats, he controlled the vast empire of Persia for 21 years until 465 B.C., when he died by assassination.
Ruth and Esther are the only Old Testament books named after women. “Hadassah” (Esther 2:7) means “myrtle”, the Hebrew name of Esther, which comes from the Persian word “star” or possibly from the name of the Babylonian love goddess, “Ishtar”. As the orphaned daughter of her father, Abihail, Esther grew up in Persia with her older cousin, Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his own daughter.
Sharing:
- All the girls brought into the king’s harem had to learn the language and customs of Persia. They were intelligent.
- It must have been a culture shock for Esther to go to the palace of the king and be put through one year of training in a different culture.
- Esther appears in the story as humble (she never made any demands), submissive, and beautiful. Among the beautiful ladies, she stayed within the bounds, and her relationship with God added to her beauty. She never went beyond what was asked of her. Her character was probably quite visible.
Esther was not only beautiful and did what she had to do, but she used no outward adornment to further enhance her beauty.
Esther did not think about herself, but of her own people. It would have been easier for her to say, “Don’t kill Mordecai or me!”
The story played out between Mordecai, a Benjamite descendant of Saul (Esther 2:5), and Haman, an Agagite (Esther 3:1), goes back almost 1,000 years when the Israelites exited from Egypt. They were attacked by the Amalekites, whose lineage began with Amalek, grandson of Esau. God pronounced His curse on the Amalekites, which resulted in their total elimination as a people (Exodus 17:14). Although Saul received orders to kill all the Amalekites, including their king Agag (1 Samuel 15:2-3), he disobeyed and incurred God’s displeasure. Samuel finally hacked Agag into pieces. Because of his lineage from Agag, Haman carried deep hostility toward the Jews.
The time of Esther arrived 550 years after the death of Agag, but even after such a passage of time, neither Haman the Agagite nor Mordecai the Benjamite had forgotten the tribal dispute that still smoldered in their lives. This gives insight into why Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman (Esther 3:2-3) and why Haman attempted to exterminate the Jewish race.
Sharing:
- God used a drunken party to get Vashti out in order to intervene in Jewish history. The story exemplifies God’s sovereignty, especially in how Haman was caught in his own plot. Even though things happen without us praying about them, God still intervenes because He wants what is best for us. He is always in control.
- Xerxes was not a good king in that he signed an edict to kill all the Jews.
- That Haman built a 75-foot gallows shows a little overkill in the ‘gallows building’ department!
- The story did not end with Haman hanging on the gallows he intended for Mordecai, but continued with the plan to undo what Haman had started. It was necessary to the word out that the edict had been reversed. The letter service to outlying areas must have been efficient. It is suggested that the present-day postal services motto comes from this era – to deliver without fail.
- Mordecai gave Esther the stark reality of the danger in approaching the king. He was willing to risk his own ‘daughter’. Children need to know the consequences of their choices.
- It seems the Jews had a hard time listening, but here it is encouraging to see them in obedience to God. They had a different attitude. When we are being disciplined, are we prepared to walk in obedience?
- Right after the Jews were rescued, Ezra appears on the scene (Ezra 7). It was time to bring them back to their rightful place of worship before their God. The Law was read and explained, and the Jews repented.
- It is an irony in part where Haman decided what to do to honor Mordecai. It not only shocked him, but Haman had to be the one to lead the horse that Mordecai rode.
Esther easily falls into two parts:
- Threat to the Jews (1-4)
- Triumph of the Jews (5-10)
The events recorded in the book took place in the capital city of the Persian Empire early in the reign of King Xerxes I at a time when a few thousand Jews were returning to resettle Judea and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Other Jews were scattered throughout the Persian Empire. They had settled down in the land of their captivity, and were prospering in business and agriculture. This story shows how God dealt with the Jews of the dispersion, whereas Ezra and Nehemiah show how He dealt with them in their restoration. The story stretches over a period of ten years. The whole story turns on a night when the king of Persia could not sleep: That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king (Esther 6:1).
Esther is a Jewish girl who became the wife of King Xerxes I of Persia. The king’s chief official, Haman, plotted to have all the Jews in the Persian Empire murdered. Risking her life, because it is forbidden to approach the king unless summoned by him, Esther goes to the king and invites him and Haman to a banquet. At a second banquet, Esther exposes Haman’s plot and he was hanged on gallows he planned to have Esther’s uncle hanged on. Afterwards, Jews were permitted to protect themselves.
Sharing:
- The conversation between Mordecai and Esther is like one between a father and daughter. Mordecai did not sugar-coat the situation, but gave the harsh reality. They were looking for a way out by facing it. It was time to step up and deal with the situation. Mordecai was putting his daughter on the line because of a greater purpose.
- God used a woman to fulfill a commandment given to Saul to kill all the Amalekites. 1 Samuel records how Samuel killed the King Agag of the Amalekites because Saul failed to do so. Over 500 years later, God dealt with Saul’s failure to obey Him by having a woman take a prominent role in His purpose. Esther had unprecedented authority, and though she was offered half the kingdom, she refused.
- Esther took an extra day to have Haman’s ten sons killed. By not taking the plunder, the emphasis in the narrative is on killing the enemies and not just on winning a victory.
- The Jews did not take the plunder even if they were able to. It is the exact opposite of what happened before, when they were not supposed to take the plunder, and yet they did!
- It is very possible that the people feared the Jews because they remembered stories from the history of Israel, when God protected them by destroying their enemies.
The Feast of Purim is celebrated in memory of these events, as Haman had cast lots (‘purim’ means ‘the casting of lots’) to decide the day on which to have the Jews annihilated. Israel’s history in the Old Testament falls between Passover and Purim. They are separated by one month in the Jewish calendar. These two festivals both reenact Israel’s deliverance: from death and annihilation in Egypt; from death and annihilation in Persia.
Although His name is never mentioned in this story, God is overwhelmingly present through His control of events. He rules even in the counsels of the ungodly.
Prepare for our next session by starting your reading through the five OT Books of Poetry. They fit into God’s Story that we’ve been reading and thinking through so far, so they give you an opportunity for review.
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