By all accounts, he should have been killed in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) but was miraculously saved. At the Battle at the Monongahela, George Washington and the British army were ambushed by the French. Every officer on horseback was killed except Washington. He later wrote to his brother John on July 18, 1755:
But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me.
The book of Esther is about the providence of God. God’s Name is not one time mentioned in the book, but His Presence and activity are apparent throughout the book.
The Westminster Longer Catechism defines God’s works of providence:
God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to his own glory (WLC, quoted in Doc. of God, Frame, 274).
We may buy into God controlling all the activity of His creatures, except when it comes to evil. Interestingly, most often in the Scripture the examples of God’s providential working involves the evil activity of His creatures. For example, when Joseph confronted his brothers, he said, You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Gen. 50:20 ). In the Joseph example, you can see the divine primary cause and the human secondary cause. Specifically, God’s good design was to display His power and glory in preserving His people, thwarting the evil intent of Joseph’s brothers.
Notice, Joseph does not say, God meant this for my personal good. It was good for Joseph in the sense that he is numbered among the people of God. This is an example of concurrence. It was not that God merely brought good out of the evil that Joseph’s brothers did. It is rather that, in one and the same event, God was working to do good, and Joseph’s brothers were working to do evil. God did no violation to their will, and God did no evil. God did good. Joseph’s brothers did evil.
Concurrence is seen in the most evil act of history, the murder of the Son of God. Peter, preaching the gospel in Acts 2, says, This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (2:23). In one and the same event, God worked the greatest good and men did the greatest evil.
We often quote Romans 8:28 when tragic things impact the lives of God’s people. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. In context, this text was written to those who were facing tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword—pain, suffering, and death. This text is not merely for the one who narrowly escapes a close call event. This is not for the wreck that I was almost in, it is for the family who was careened by a drunk driver and loses a child in the accident. This is for the person who get cancer and dies. This is for the family whose father walks off and goes to be the father of another family.
This is for the Jordanian friends and the family of missionary Cheryll Harvey. She was not married. She was 55. She tried twice to gain appointment by the IMB. She was told that she didn’t have the right education, so she went back to school. Then she was told that she didn’t have the right kind of personality, so she got a job selling Avon to work on her people skills. She thought she was going to Africa, but the Board sent her to Jordan. She served faithfully for 24 years. Some evil person came into her apartment, robbed, and stabbed her to death. She was buried in Sundan, TX, on September 15. Romans 8:28 is not a promise that God will bring good out of a bad situations. It is a promise that God has purposed every event in your life for your good as His people.
You will notice in the examples in Scripture of evil agents working against God’s people, God is always working for the good of His people. He is working to preserve His people. He will preserve His people even if He has to raise them from the dead. God has so bound His glory to the good of his people that what He does to bring Himself glory also brings good to his people. God has purposed every human action to glorify Himself and preserve His people. God is concurrently working, overruling, frustrating the cause of evildoers in order to do good to His people. Even when evil seems to win, God is working His good purpose.
This theme of great reversals brought about by God frustrating the purposes of evil men is what Esther is about. Esther is not merely about the feast of Purim. It is about God reversing the evil intent of men and preserving his people and the celebration that must ensue (Esther 9:23-26). In 539 B.C., Cyrus king of Persia conquered the Babylonians, making Persia the dominant world power. He allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, using the resources of the Persian empire (Ezra 4:1-4). Most of the Jews did not return. Exile was transformed into diaspora. The book of Esther tells a story that took place in the reign of Ahasuerus about 50 years after Cyrus’s decree (486-465 B.C.) In chapters 1 and 2, the glory and impotence of Persian power are displayed as Ahasuerus before all the princes of Persia is defied by the queen (1:12). It takes all the wisdom of the Empire to remove Vashti, exhort all the women of the Empire to give honor to their husbands, and find the king another queen. Esther, a Jewish girl, hiding her ethnicity at the advice of her uncle, enters the queen contest and wins the crown with her scorching sensuality. Mordecai discovers a plot to assassinate the king and thwarts the plot by sending word to the king through Esther. In chapters 3-8, a personal conflict between Haman and Mordecai escalates into the threat of empire wide genocide against the Jews. Esther risks her life by seeking an uninvited audience with the King. Through a wise plan and the king’s sleepless night, Esther reveals her identity and Haman’s wicked plot. The Jews are not only delivered from annihilation but also rise to prominence. Chapters 9 and 10 explain how this great reversal of fortunes is commemorated in the feast of Purim. (The summary of these chapters is basically taken from Jobes, 39)
The book of Esther teaches that the providential work of God is for His people.
Chapter 1 opens with a display of the wealth and power of the Persian Empire. Yet for all the power of Ahasuerus, he cannot make the queen appear before him to display her beauty to the princes of Persia. This was especially humiliating to the king since the party was all about consolidating power to prepare for war with the Greeks. To make matters worse the best advice he can get from his wisest men is to advertise his inability to control the queen to the entire empire.
In satirical fashion, the writer of Esther makes fun of Persian power. The king is presented as a buffoon. He can’t make his own decisions about the simplest things. He thus opens himself to manipulation by those around him who have only their own interests, not that of the king, at heart.
He is sick with his own feelings of self-importance. Women have to have beauty treatments for a year before he will fornicate with them. He condemns a people to death without any forethought, without knowing who they are or what they may have done (3:8-10).
When Esther reveals Haman’s plot, which would have even killed the queen, the king asked, Who is he and where is he, who has dared to do this (7:5)? The obvious answer would have been, You, O king.
(You will notice that the episodes of Esther being taken into the harem, Mordecai refusing to bow, and Esther revealing Haman’s plot recall events in Daniel in Babylon and Nathan the prophet before David minus godliness. The writer is writing this history on purpose.)
God mocks the boasts of the powerful. Psalm 2 says, Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1-6 ESV)
All authority is derived authority. Whether it is a husband in relation to his wife, parents in relation to their children, teachers exercising authority over students, employers supervising employees, or presidents presiding over nations until you bow the knee in submission to God recognizing that any authority you have is His authority, power will always be a corrupting influence, and you will never exercise it rightly. If you are always bucking the system, if you are rebelling against your parents, if you are bent on doing what you want to do when you want to do it, you are in rebellion against God. You must bow the knee to Him and submit to those He has placed over you.
We are introduced to Mordecai in 2:5. He is a Jew. Through the book he most often is referred to as Mordecai the Jew. He is not just any Jew. He is a direct descendant of King Saul. In 3:1, we are introduced to Haman. He is Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha. What ensues when you put a son of Saul and a son of Agag together is conflict. Interestingly, the writers of the historical narratives rarely pass judgment on their characters’ actions. Esther is no exception. Part of what makes the book difficult to interpret is the absence of the writer judging the characters’ actions. Therefore, here is how I read this section.
At the close of chapter 2, Mordecai exposes a plot to assassinate the king. Esther is careful to give Mordecai credit before the king. (A side note here: she seemed to have had no fear of approaching the king with this news.) Chapter 3 opens with the appearance of Haman out of nowhere. He has done nothing. He is advanced to the number 2 position in the kingdom (3:1).
Unlike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who would not bow before an idol for principled reasons, Mordecai defies the king’s command to honor Haman for prideful reasons (3:2-6). Both Haman and Mordecai were government workers. Why would Haman be exalted and Mordecai receive nothing? Persian kings always rewarded lavishly those to whom reward was due.
I don’t think Mordecai was thinking, I am not going to bow to this Agagite, and I don’t think Haman was thinking, God has cast His people off. I will settle the ancient dispute with the Jews. Haman’s ego was the biggest thing about him. It was not enough to kill Mordecai. He would kill every Jew.
What is God doing? In the actions of two prideful, self-serving men, God is going to be true to his word. First, there is the issue of covenant. God had promised Abraham that He would curse those who cursed him, that He would bless those who blessed Him, and that He would bless the nations through the seed of Abraham (Gen 12:1-3). There is the issue of covenant. In exilic period and in the period of diaspora, the theological question was, Has God cast off His people? God providentially used the Babylonians to discipline His people, but He did not cast them off.
In keeping His promise to Abraham, He was, rather, preserving his people to bring the ultimate Israelite into the world. The One who lived in perfect obedience before God, who offered Himself for our sin on the cross, who endured the wrath we deserved and died the death we should die, who was raised from the dead on the third day according the Scripture, by whom God will judge the world, and through whom, by whom, before whom, He commands everyone to repent and believe.
If God promises to preserve you, He will preserve you.
Second, God promised to destroy Amalek. No sooner than the Israelites escaped Pharaoh in the Exodus, they were attacked by the Amalekites at Rephidim. This event recalls the story of Moses standing on a hill holding his hand up. As long as he could hold his hand up, Israel prevailed in the battle. Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses for him to sit on and held his hands up for him. After that battle, God said, Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven (Ex. 17:14).
In Deuteronomy 25:17-19, Moses reminds Israel, as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, of Amalek. Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt …you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
Fast forward to Israel’s first king, Saul. Samuel anointed him king and immediately gave him this command: And Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel 15:1-3 ESV)
What did Saul do? He spared Agag and the best sheep, oxen, calves, and lambs. What was worthless, he devoted to destruction (15:9). This cost Saul the kingdom. Because Saul rejected the Word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him from being king (15:23).
Fast forward to Esther. God in his providence us upholding his word. When you read that Mordecai is a descendant of Saul, and Haman is a descendant of Agag, you know how Haman’s plan will turn out. In the same manner that God was providentially working for His people, He was providentially working against the Amalekites. Haman was hanged on the gallows that he prepared for Mordecai (7:10). Unlike Saul, Esther did not hold back but killed the 10 sons of Haman, but laid no hand on the plunder. (9:6-10)
God will uphold His Word. If He says that He is going to destroy his enemies, He will destroy them. Haman only lacked one thing to have a good day, and that was to kill Mordecai (5:13). The only one standing between the annihilation of God’s people and their preservation is God. If He is for you, who can be against you? If you align yourself in opposition to Him, you cannot win. In Esther there is not only death for Amalek, there is redemption for the house of Saul (8:2).
In Esther, there is a death to life reversal. Obviously, at the broadest level there was certain death for the Jew across the Persian Empire. This would have included those who returned to Jerusalem as well. At stake, is the redemptive plan of God. This death to life reversal is prominent in the Psalms and throughout the OT as it anticipates the work of Christ, His own resurrection, and subsequently ours.
Such streams of thought profoundly impacted the early church as they faced the same murderous serpents as Jesus faced. Peter had preached at Pentecost, This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men ( Acts 2:23). Then, when under threats by the same venomous council, the church gathered in prayer affirming the absolute sovereignty of God. (These disciples would have no category to understand much of the discussion in the present day about the sovereignty of God.) They then affirmed a thoroughgoing faith in the providential hand of God purposing and guiding every event in history, even the usurping Idumeans, Romans, the nations, and the Jews gathering to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. They prayed, And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness (in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit) (Acts 4:28-29).
This doctrine ignites the missionary fires of the church. The disciples reasoned through this stream of OT theology and NT fulfillment that if God so purposed for Christ to endure the wickedness of men and then raised Him up, God would also raise them. So Paul fought the wild beasts at Ephesus because God raises the dead. In Esther, I see this death to life reversal theme played out in the surprising ways.
In persuading Esther to risk her life and approach the king uninvited because death was certain anyway, Mordecai said, For if you keep silent as this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place…. (4:14). The writer wants us to be sure to understand that God used Esther but God not Esther is the essential character. Notice, 6:1 says, On that night the king could not sleep. What night? The very night that Haman plots to petition the king the following morning to have Mordecai hanged, simply because Haman could not enjoy feasting with Esther and the king as long as Mordecai was alive (5:13).
That sleepless night is the climax of the story. On that night the king read the book of memorable deeds and found where none other than Mordecai had saved his life and the king had in no way given him honor. Haman approached the king and the king asked, What should be done to the man who the king delights to honor (6:6)? What could be more ordinary than a sleepless night and reading the book of memorable deeds in an effort to fall asleep? What could be more surprising than reading of Mordecai when Haman is showing up to hang him but instead is made to bestow every honor on Mordecai that his own heart desired instead? This is the miracle of ordinary things. Don’t miss the extraordinary work of God in ordinary things. This sleepless night is no less than life from the dead.
Second is Esther’s identification with and battle for the people of God. The transformation that happens in her life when she identifies with the people of God is like life from the dead. Mordecai sent word to Esther of Haman’s deadly plot. Esther is reluctant to approach the king. Then Mordecai sent her these powerful words (4:13-14). She joins herself to the people of God in her resolve to go to the king (4:16). From this point on in the story, she is different. She is no longer relying on sensuality. She takes the role of wise and warring queen. In the OT, there is the surprising theme of the warring woman. At different times a woman will emerge and engage in some sort of battle to save the people of God. Esther opposition to Haman puts her in the line of these warring women of faith—Eve versus the serpent, Sarah and Rebekah versus barrenness, Tamar versus Judah, Jochebed and Miriam versus Pharaoh, Deborah and Jael versus Sisera, Ruth and Naomi verses death, Hannah versus barrenness, Jehosheba versus Athaliah (Dempster, Dynasty and Dominion, Esther)
These all give way to the NT bride of Christ, the church, commissioned to disciple the nations. We are battling to save the people of God, to preserve those who are His people and to capture the nations making those who are not His people to become His people through the Gospel of God’s dear Son. God is calling you to identify yourself with His people. He is calling you to repent and place your faith in Christ. Some of you need to identify with the people of God by publicly confessing your faith in Christ through baptism. Take you place among the people of God.
Third, Esther is tied directly to Christ in the death to life transformation on the third day (4:16-5:1). Paul reminded the Corinthians that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Jesus said, It is written that the Christ should suffer and on third day rise from the dead (Lk 24:46). If the NT writers say the Scriptures say that Christ will be raised on the third day, the question is where do the Scriptures say that? (LT, a paper submitted to SBTS Journal of Theology, “Thus It is Written…”)
In the OT there is a death to life reversal that happens consistently on the third day. A few but not all examples include the following. In the story of Isaac when death was certain, immediately prior to his deliverance, it was on the third day that Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar (Gen. 22:4). It was on the third day that Joseph said to his brothers, Do this and you will live (Gen. 42:18). Hosea put forth this death to life theme when he says, After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hosea 6:1-2) (LT). Esther said, I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish….On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace (4:16; 5:1).
These are shadows and types, but there is the fulfillment of the type, the ultimate death to life event. To redeem His people God will raise the dead. Not only will He raise the dead, but He sent His Son to die their death that He might raise Him up and them. The resurrection age is here. He ushered it in. The best news in all the world is that God raises the dead. That is something to have a party about.
We know how the story of Esther progresses. Esther through a series of feasts reveals Haman’s wicked plot to the king, and Haman is hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. That however did not save her people. She again appeared before the king to plead for her people. She and Mordecai, who is now second to the king, are allowed to issue an empire wide edict that allows the Jews to defend themselves on the day Haman’s edict goes into effect. (Chapter 8). When the day arrives the Jews defend themselves, and you see the recurring theme, but they laid no hand on the plunder (9:10, 15,). This was not an act of revenge. This was an act of the judgment of God. Unlike Saul who laid his hands on things devoted to destruction, the Jews in Persia saw this as divine retribution and laid no hand on the plunder.
Such retribution in the OT using modern terms would be called Holy War—God judging His enemies through the secondary cause of His people. Holy War ended on the cross. When we were enemies of God, He sent His Son to be crucified, nailed to the cross, and raised up on the third day, making us now, through faith, His friends. Yet, other enemies were engaged in this battle. Them He disarmed and put to an open shame triumphing over them in Christ. The Holy War of the OT and in Esther pointed to the battle of battles, the cross, and the cross points to the final judgment. The final judgment is no contest. It is a mop up operation. The Amalekites, the enemies of God are still around.
There is good news to the Amalekites. When Christ finished His cross work, He ushered in a day of grace. Now in this brief time He sends out His emissaries to declare His cross work as terms of peace. Surprisingly, we cry out is there any left of the sons of Agag to whom we may show the kindness of God in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t throw this message off as absurd because innumerable sons of light with their swords drawn have you surrounded, waiting for His command to blot out the name of Amalek forever. God has appointed a day a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31 ESV) You want to talk about a reason to convert? Many people in Persia declared themselves Jews, for the fear of the Jews had fallen on them (8:17).
Think on the providential work of God in your life. Think how He brought you to faith. Think of that great reversal, of life that He brought out of death. Think how He has worked for you. The devil would have killed you if he could have. If God would permit him this very moment, he would destroy us all. To some of you God gave a picture perfect life. The devil has done everything he can to destroy you with it. God in His kindness brought you to faith and repentance. To others of you God gave a life of unspeakable hardship. You have been in places and situations that others did not live through, but you did. The devil wanted to kill you to. He wanted you in hell. God kept you alive to be gracious to you. We have every reason to rejoice. We have reason to feast. It is because of that ultimate battle on the cross that we come to this table to celebrate that our hope and our sure deliverance is in Christ alone.