Do you believe God is at work?? (Esther introduction)

 In the coming weeks I'll have the opportunity to begin a sermon series on the book of Esther. There are a couple things that have stood out to me as I've prayed over this book. 

First, the book of Esther demands the reader enter the book with a set of convictions. Esther is notably one of two books in the Bible that does not contain the name of the creator of the world (Song of Solomon also does not mention God by name). When you begin reading Esther, you may observe a series of extraordinarily coincidences happening, or you may see the hand of God at work in the life of his people. You may see each act of the story as nothing more than a nice story, or you may see that God works through the stories of his people's lives. You may see a mythological series of events that defy your own sense of history, or you may see events which line up in date and time to other well attested historically renowned events (The Persian invasion of Greece and the notable battle of Thermopylae took place just before the events of Esther. The book begins in the third year of Xerxes Esther 1:3). What you believe coming into the book will undoubtedly shape your engagement with the events of the book. 

Second, Esther puts prominent importance on the use of relationships for the benefit of God's people. Mordecai took Esther to be his daughter after she was orphaned (Esther 2:5-7) . Esther would become queen due to a divorce between a king and former queen (Esther 1:19). Esther takes the advice of Hegai (The one who was in charge of the king's harem) when she first meets the king (Esther 2:15-16). The king's vizier (or high official) named Haman takes personal offense at the actions of Mordecai when he refuses to kneel down or pay him honor (Esther 3:1-6). Haman takes his personal vendetta with Mordecai and extends it to all who share Mordecai's heritage (Esther 3:8-11). Esther's personal relationship to Mordecai leads to Mordecai pleading with Esther to speak with the king. This relationship between Esther and the king is what provides her an avenue to intervene on behalf of her people (4:1-8). I hope by the above examples you are seeing the pattern. Relationships are all over the book of Esther! What we believe about the relationships God has placed around us will greatly influence how we learn and what we learn from the book of Esther. 

Third, the book of Esther demonstrates how God is at work in the course of history even without explicit divine intervention. Never is there a hint or passage in Esther which breaks the flow of the story to "recap" or "editorialize" the events being recounted. Never is there a grandiose moment by a prophet speaking on behalf of God dictating the actions of those involved. God does work throughout history for his aims, his purposes, and his people regardless of how explicitly his work is known. We have the benefit of reading events like David and Goliath and being explicitly told that the battle is the Lord's. We have the benefit of reading events like Moses' encounter with the Lord on mount Sinai dictating the institutes and structures for the Old Testament family of God. In Esther, we don't have any of that. We have everyday people, who are moved into particular situations and relationships for the benefit of God's aims, God's purposes, and God's people. Was God any less at work in the life of David during his days that are unaccounted in the Bible? Was God any less at work guiding, leading, and protecting his people in the wilderness on the days that are not mentioned during their 40 years in the wilderness? The book of Esther firmly challenges the reader in their assumptions coming to the book. Either God has never been at work and is only the figment of human imagination, or God has always been at work, even when we aren't acutely aware of it. 

I'm very much looking forward to this series and hope to share more thoughts in the coming days and weeks ahead.