Join Lydia Brownback as she digs deeper into the book of Esther and learn how God is faithful to keep his promises and deliver his people. From the beginning of the book to the end, God is the main character of the story-even though he's never mentioned. The book of Esther reads much like a fairy tale: a young Jewish queen, her wise older cousin, an evil royal servant, and a self-centered king. Jen Wilkin, Bible teacher author, Women of the Word None Like Him and In His Image

The story of Esther invites us to laugh with him.'Here is a study intent on making disciples who know and worship their God.' When they oppose God’s people they bring about their own destruction. The proud people of this world are not nearly as powerful as they think they are. But the story of Esther often causes laughter at their expense. Ahasuerus and Haman were important people who had considerable power. The providence of God does not negate the responsibility of people to act with courage and resolve when circumstances require it. Esther and Mordecai show great initiative and courage. But it shows clearly that, even when God is most hidden, he is still working to protect his chosen people. God is not mentioned by name in the book of Esther. Key ThemesĮsther is an entertaining historical story that also reveals important truths about how and why the Jews survived such an overwhelming threat:

Christians are not obliged to observe the Feast of Purim, but they are to take to heart the truth that God providentially watches over his own ( Rom. Christians should read the book of Esther, not just as a story about the Jews but as part of their own heritage.

There would have been no fulfillment in Christ, and therefore no gospel and no Christian church. If Haman had succeeded, the Jewish people as a whole would have been destroyed, and the story of God’s saving work in and through Abraham’s descendants would have come to an end. The book of Esther is read as part of the celebration of Purim.Įsther is part of a much larger story that runs all the way from Abraham to Christ and, through him, to the church. It has clearly achieved this purpose, since Jews have continued to observe Purim to the present day. She is assisted in this by Mordecai, her cousin and guardian.Įsther was written to explain the origin of the Feast of Purim and to ensure that it would be observed by all future generations of the Jewish people ( 9:28). The book of Esther tells how a Jewish girl became the queen of Persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. As a minority group, the Jews were viewed with suspicion and sometimes faced threats to their existence. Others, like Esther and Mordecai, were still in exile.

Some Jews had returned to Jerusalem, where they enjoyed a reasonable amount of control over their own affairs. The story is set in Susa, one of the Persian capitals, during the reign of King Ahasuerus, better known by his Greek name, Xerxes I (486–464 B.C.). It is possible that the author was someone like Mordecai, who had access to historical documents ( 2:23 6:1) and an interest in Jewish affairs.Įsther belongs to the period after the Babylonian exile, when Persia had replaced Babylon as the ruling power. Like many OT books, Esther is an anonymous work.

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