The providence of God is a much detailed study after which the full extent is still not entirely known. However, in a nutshell providence has been defined as the process by which God works through natural law in order to accomplish a predetermined purpose. Providence, though, should not be mistaken for some miraculous occurrence. To make the two distinct Wayne Jackson said, “A miracle is God’s working on a plain that is above that of natural law; providence is his utilization of natural law. In a miracle, the Lord works directly; in providence, He operates indirectly, employing means to accomplish the end.” This is how God is revealed through this divinely inspired book, the events of which will now be discussed.
The scene set for this book is Persia, in the royal palace of one king Ahasuerus. This man is, in fact, one and the same as king Xerxes, grandson of Cyrus the Median king who combined forces with Persia, overtook Babylon, and eventually sent the captives from Judah home. Xerxes reigned in Persia from 486-465 B.C., but it is Esther 1:3 that states that the events to follow began to occur in the third year of his reign, or around 484 B.C. This would place these events in history some fifty-three years after Zerubbabel led the first wave of captives home, but some twenty-seven years before Ezra took the second. The temple has long since been rebuilt, but the wall is still four decades from yet being begun.
It is at this time that God’s providence worked to see a young Jewish girl exalted to the queenly throne of Persia. It was then through Esther’s power and closeness to the king that she was able to preserve her national brethren as well as the messianic seed-line from the ruthless hands of a vengeful, underhanded conniver named Haman who had dishonestly convinced the king that the entire lot of Jewish captives should be extinguished. But what Haman did not know was that Esther had “come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Haman’s plan fails and in irony he is hung on the same gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, Esther’s cousin (Esther 2:15).
The author of this book is unknown, thou most assume it to have been either Mordecai or Ezra. It likely would have been written post-465 B.C., after the reign of Ahasuerus, but in what year is not known. What is known, though, is the portrayal of Christ in Esther. Like Christ, Esther was wiling to sacrifice her life for the safety of her brethren; and though she did not die, her courage allowed them to live. But also, Christ is pictured through the preserved nation, whom if extinguished, would not have brought forth the promised Messiah.
One of the greatest lessons in all of the Old Testament is found in the Book of Esther. While she was rightfully somewhat nervous about her encounter with the king she besought Mordecai for advice and comfort. Mordecai’s words were, “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14). There are many situations in which Christians today are put, allowing them to possibly be the only thing that would stand between an acquaintance and eternal torment. Who is to know if each has come into the kingdom of Christ for such a time as this in which we can be aids to all the lost of the world. May Esther continue to provide the courageous example of a true servant of God and lover of her brethren so that we might, in some way, have but a small impact similar to that of Esther’s.
Truly Esther the book and Esther the woman are topics worthy of much investigation. God’s providence, as portrayed through book and life, is something for which to be thankful.