Esther & the God of Grace

OT: Esther 1-10
NT: 1 Timothy 5:1-8

------------------

Esther 1:1, 2:5-7 — This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush... Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair... who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

The book of Esther is a mystery in the biblical canon. Nowhere in its 10 chapters is the name of God used -- nowhere is God even referenced. For this reason, many early Christians had trouble accepting Esther into the canon of Scripture. Of what value is a book that does not even mention God? The reason the story shows up in our Bibles is that there IS value to this tale about a Jewish girl born in a foreign land who rises to become queen of Persia and saves her people in Persia from genocide. Throughout its pages we see the grace of God in action, first grace upon the extended family of a Jew named Mordecai, and then grace upon a remnant of Judah that decided to stay in Persia rather than return to the Promised Land.

The story takes place after King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and set its captives free, including the Jews. At least two major migrations occurred back to the Holy Land, one led by Zerubbabel the royal heir and the other by Ezra the priest. But several groups of exiles decided to stay in their foreign lands. Mordecai was among the Persian settlers. An older man, Mordecai had adopted his young cousin Hadasseh (Esther), who had been orphaned and raised her as his daughter. In doing so, Mordecai showed Esther the grace of God. Later, Esther would rise to the position of queen of the court of Xerxes (King Ahaseurus, not Artaxerxes) through both crafty maneuvering by Mordecai and by her God-given beauty and grace. Through her position, Esther was able to sway the king's mind to save the Jews when Mordecai uncovered a dastardly plot by Haman, an official. Through her brave action, the grace of God was shown to the exiles in Persia and they were spared.

Esther is a neat book that still has value after 2,400 years. It's often relegated to women's studies, sadly, even though it has value for anybody.

Be God's.