Key Passage
For if you keep silent at this time, liberation and rescue will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14 (NASB 2020)
Series Content
- Introduction to Esther
- The Queen is Gone; Long Live the Queen – Part I (Esther 1)
- The Queen is Gone; Long Live the Queen – Part II (Esther 2)
- A Dastardly Plot and A Desperate Plea – Part I (Esther 3)
- A Dastardly Plot and A Desperate Plea – Part II (Esther 4)
- A Shocking Revelation and a Stunning Reversal – Part I (Esther 5)
- A Shocking Revelation and a Stunning Reversal – Part I I (Esther 6-7)
Scriptural and Historical Setting
Authorship and Date
Who is Esther?
Content Outline
The Message of Esther
“Esther occurred during the Persian period of world history, c. 539 B.C. (Dan. 5:30, 31) to c. 331 B.C. (Dan. 8:1-27). Ahasuerus ruled from c. 486 to 465 B.C.; Esther covers the 483-473 B.C. portion of his reign. In Esther, all of God’s unconditional covenant promises to Abraham (Gen. 17:1-8) and to David (2. Sam. 7:8-16) were jeopardized.
However, God’s love for Israel is nowhere more apparent than in this dramatic rescue of His people from pending elimination.
There are no miracles in Esther, but the preservation of Israel through providential control of every event and person reveals the omniscience and omnipotence of Jehovah.
Whether He is named is not the issue. He is clearly the main character in the drama.”
Dr. John MacArthur
“Well, with the book of Esther we have the only book of the Bible containing no reference to God’s name; yet His unchanging, unseen hand cannot be missed.
Esther, the last of the historical books of the Old Testament, tells a dramatic story of a woman caught up in a battle for the survival of the Jewish people.
The book of Esther shows how God’s unseen hand orchestrated the affairs of humanity by providential arrangement.
Esther teaches that God purposely guides our steps even when we’re not aware of it and even when things don’t make sense.”
Dr. David Jeremiah
“Esther is unique because it is the only book in Scripture that does not mention the name of God directly.
This is because God wanted to use the book to show how his providence (that is, his invisible hand) works behind the scenes to bring about his purposes in history.
This book demonstrates that though his methods vary, God is in control. His kingdom promises and purposes cannot be thwarted.”
Dr. Tony Evans
“This is one of the more exciting and curious books in the Bible. The story is set over 100 years after the Babylonian exile of the Israelites from their land.
While some Jews did return to Jerusalem many did not. The book of Esther is about a Jewish community living in Susa, the capital city of the ancient Persian empire.
The main characters are two Jews, Mordecai and his niece Esther. Then there is the king of Persia and the Persian official Haman, the cunning villain.
The story is full of odd coincidences and ironic reversals that force you to see God’s purpose at work behind every scene.
When God’s people are in exile, unable to obey the Torah perfectly, and when God seems absent, does this mean God is done with Israel? Has he abandoned his promises? The book of Esther says no.
The story invites us to see that God can and does work in the mess and moral ambiguity of human history, using the faithfulness of even morally compromised people to accomplish his purposes.”
Bible Project
“The Book of Esther in one sense is the most remarkable in the Bible, and that is because the name of God is not mentioned in this book at all. There is not even a divine title or pronoun that refers to God.
The Book of Esther is the romance of providence. God directs this material universe in which we live today by His providence.
In fact, it’s the way he directs all of His creation.
These people in a foreign land, out of the will of God, have not obeyed His orders because His orders were to return to the land of Israel. They remained. They disobeyed.
In this we see God in a new way. Although they are not in His will, we see God directing them. How? By His providence.”
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
“Although God is not referred to explicitly, the author presupposed divine providence.
This is the ideological theme of the book. In Israel’s history the prophets spoke of the constant care given its nation by God both in salvation and discipline.
All things happen at God’s hand. The story of Esther is to be read within this particular worldview of the Old Testament.”
Dr. Mervin Breneman
References
