Message Theme & Verses: Esther
Memory Verse: Esther 4:14 And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Esther is a bold and sacrificial hero to her people and this book tells her story and establishes a festival that is kept to this day. We do not know who wrote the book of Esther, but they were familiar with the Jews in exile like Esther and her cousin and guardian Mordecai. As we learned in Ezra and Nehemiah, many of the Jews returned from exile to rebuild in Jerusalem, but some stayed behind in the Babylonian Empire that was now ruled by the Persians.
The Jews were minorities and sometimes treated badly. This beautiful story, full of danger, action, and ironic reversal, tells of how God protects His people through simple Providence. There are no miracles in Esther and the name of God is not even mentioned once, but we see His people fast and pray and we notice His hand guiding events. Esther is said to be placed in her position “for such a time as this” to save God’s people from being wiped out and even God keeping the King from sleeping shows how God orchestrates all things.
Jeremiah, long before the exile, told God’s people to “seek the welfare of the city” and even to “pray to the Lord on its behalf,” showing how God can work in any place, even when the rulers do not recognize God or are hostile to His people. The evil villain Haman tries to destroy God’s people and God laughs at his efforts and in the end sees Haman hung on the gallows he ordered built to hang Mordecai. Purim, the festival that Jews still celebrate today is one of joy, laughter, and celebration that includes making loud noises to drown out the name of Haman when this book is read, presents, giving food to the poor, carnivals, and feasts.
Many today love the story of Esther which includes a beauty pageant, a beautiful heroine, threats to the good characters, suspense, poetic justice, exotic places, and a happy ending. In Esther, we can see themes of opposites and opposition. There is fasting along with feasts and festival. Queen Vashti disobeys the King, but Esther obeys Mordecai. Mordecai in turn refuses to obey the command of the evil Haman, but follows Esther’s instructions. Haman counsels the King and makes grand commands, but has to beg for mercy from Esther. The King is shown as powerful and proud in the beginning, but later is revealed to be weak and incompetent. When we read Esther, we can think of how God often reverses seemingly bad things to His glory and our good. He freed His people from Egypt in the Exodus and brought them home from Exile. God even used an instrument of torture, death, and humiliation in the cross to achieve His greatest victory.
Esther shows us that God is always with His people even when His presence seems hidden.
Read Esther 4:1-17
Jesus in Esther
The name of God is not mentioned in Esther, so one might think that we cannot find Jesus in this book, but of course, He is there. If God had not placed Esther in the palace of the King, the Jewish people would have been wiped out and Christ could not have come. Christians can see God preserving the offspring of Abraham for the purpose of bringing blessing to the whole world. We can see God acting in the daily lives of His people and look forward to God’s ultimate act in sending His Son Jesus to save His people from their enemies, death, and the sin in our own hearts. As we await the return of Jesus, we can also have peace and boldness even if the rulers of the world oppose and even persecute the people of God. Even now, we can fast and pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who do not enjoy the freedoms to worship that we do.
Questions
Esther was in a beauty pageant to see who would become the next queen. What do you think of beauty pageants?
What is one way that many women try to make themselves look more beautiful?
Is it more important to you what someone looks like on the outside or who they are on the inside? Why?
Esther was beautiful, but she was also brave and willing to go before the king even if it meant she could be killed. What is the bravest thing you have ever done?
How would you feel if you had to ask an important person for something and you knew that he could be angry with you? Would you still do it?
Can this book really be about God if He is not mentioned in it? Do you think it should be in the Bible? (Some scholars, including Martin Luther, argued that this book should not be in the Bible, but it has been recognized as part of the canon by the Jews long before the time of Christ. Josephus and other Jewish scholars consider it part of the Bible and the Council of Carthage in AD 397 listed it among the Old Testament books. It is of course consistent with the teachings of the Bible and shows that God is with His people and active even when His presence seems hidden. Even though His name is not mentioned, we can clearly see God in the book of Esther and know that He protects His people and His plan to redeem the world through His Son and save His people from their sin.)
Can you think of any other stories, in the Bible or elsewhere, where the bad guy gets what he deserves in the end?
What do you think Esther can teach us about Christian life today? (There will always be persecution for God’s people and God will always be with us. We should seek the best for our city and those around us even if they are not Christians. We can fast and pray, asking God for help. We should celebrate the great things God has done. We should not be afraid of what men can do to us, but should be bold and trust God. We should be willing to sacrifice for others. We should trust that God has placed us exactly where He wants us and look for opportunities to be used by Him to share the Good News of Jesus with others.)
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