Esther - Introduction
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INTRODUCTION
The book of Esther was written sometime after the JEWS had returned to Judah from their exile in Babylon; it describes events that took place in the Persian capital of Susa during the reign of Xerxes king of Persia (486465 B.C.), some years before the arrival of Ezra in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1–10). The author of Esther was a Jew living in Persia, but he is otherwise unknown.
The book of Esther recounts how Haman, Xerxes’ chief official, devised a plot to kill all the Jews living in the Persian Empire—an empire that extended from India to Egypt. If this plot had been successful, the entire Jewish race would have been wiped out.1 But God thwarted the plot by means of a Jewish girl, Esther, who became Xerxes’ queen; Esther managed not only to save the Jews but also to have Haman executed in their place!
The book of Esther is unusual in two ways: first, it is one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman (the other is Ruth);2 and second, it is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God. This latter fact has led some people to label the book of Esther “unspiritual”; but it is a mistake to do so. Though God’s name is not mentioned, God Himself is not missing! He is working everywhere “behind the scenes,” making things happen that would not otherwise have happened.3 The book, therefore, is indeed “spiritual”; it reveals a faithful God who still loves His scattered people and works to save them from annihilation.
God would never have allowed the Jews to be totally destroyed, and for this reason: God had made a covenant promise to DAVID that his house and his kingdom would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16), and the fulfillment of that promise was still to come through one of David’s descendants, Jesus Christ (Luke 1:2933). A remnant of Jews had to be preserved so that God’s ultimate plan for the REDEMPTION of mankind could be fulfilled.
The events described in the book of Esther had an immediate and beneficial effect on the Jews living throughout the Persian Empire: the story of Esther assured them that even though they had not returned to Judah, God would still look out for them wherever they were. It was because of Esther that the Jewish festival of Purim was established (Esther 9:18–32), a festival celebrated each year to commemorate God’s great deliverance of the Jews in Esther’s time. During the festival, which continues to be observed by faithful Jews today, the entire book of Esther is read out loud. Because of this, the story of Esther is as familiar to the average Jew today as any other part of the Old Testament.
Christians also can read the book of Esther with great thanksgiving, for it describes how God preserved the Jewish line from which the Savior was to come. Just as God foiled Herod’s plot to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:1316), so, through Esther, God foiled Haman’s plot to exterminate the Jews. This is a cause for thanksgiving indeed.
As clearly as any book in the Bible, the book of Esther reveals to us the providential overruling of God in every circumstance of life. He is with us in every trial we face, and if we cast ourselves upon Him, He will see us through it. Just as He was with the Jews in the Old Testament, so He is with us today. He who watches over Israel (and over us) will neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121:4).