God In The Book Of Esther
Esther is a book that is unique in the canon of scripture due to the total lack of any direct reference to God. But, as Mathew Henry says in his commentary on Esther, “though the name of God be not in it, the finger of God is, directing many minute events for the bringing about of His peoples deliverance.” (Mathew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible p. 512). In this article I will seek to show the various places in Esther we can see “the finger of God,” working in the lives of the people and in the events at the Persian court in Susa.
Often the finger of the Lord is seen within apparent happenstance. In chapter 2:21-23, Mordecai is sitting in the king’s gate as he often did and happens to hear two men planning to kill the king. He then is able to send a warning through Esther saving the King’s life. This event ties into 5:9-6:14 where Haman desires to kill Mordecai and he heads to the palace at night to speak to the king about his plan, but as Encountering the Old Testament describes it, “In a manner that can only be explained as God’s sovereign providence, the king was unable to sleep that night (6:1). He asked for his journal to be read aloud, and was thus reminded of how Mordecai had saved his life.” (p.501) The king then asked what had been done to honor Mordecai and he discovered that the answer was nothing. With this information he summoned Haman and got his advice on the best way to show honor and demonstrate the king’s favor then had Haman do all that he had recommended for Mordecai.
As can be seen in these events God may not be mentioned but through the use of apparent luck and good fortune everything comes about in a seemingly orchestrated manner. If Mordecai had not happened to overhear a murder plot, Haman had not happened to enter the court at the right time, the king had not happened to be unable to sleep, and the chronicler had not happened to read the exact record of Mordecai’s service to the king, Mordecai would have been killed.
We also have the account of Esther, Mordecai’s cousin who was brought in with many other young virgins from the kingdom of Persia to compete to take the place of a previous queen in the king’s court. In this competition for the king’s favor Esther won. (2:1-20) Yet this event does not seem to be a notable example of God’s finger without the context of future events. Haman became personally offended by Mordecai due to Mordecai’s refusal to do proper obeisance so, “Haman convinced the king to issue an official Persian edict, commanding the slaughter of the Jewish people,” (Encountering the Old Testament p.500) (Esther 3). The news of this edict reaches Esther, and she realizes she is the only person in a position capable of making a difference. But there was a problem, “The law was express, and all knew it, that whosoever came to the king uncalled should be put to death, unless he was pleased to hold out the golden sceptre to them,” (Mathew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible p. 514). Yet she still goes, finds the king in a good mood and he holds out the scepter. (4-5:3) She then invites the king and Haman to two feasts (5:4,5:8) and at the end of the second reveals that she is a Jew and that Haman’s decree would kill her (7:3-6) and through this Mordecai is elevated and they are given the power to allow the Jews to defend themselves on the appointed day of destruction(8:1-10).
We see in this story of Esther that if she had not been unmarried, taken to the palace, found favor with the king, been allowed into his presence, and had the king agree to two banquets the Jewish people would have been annihilated. Through these events we see Esther and Mordecai being maneuvered and placed into optimal position like pieces on a game board.
Even the invisible finger of God is seen in those other than Mordecai and Esther. If King Ahasuerus had not decided to show Queen Vasti’s beauty during a banquet and if she had not decided to refuse the command thus angering the king and causing him to choose to permanently remove her from his presence (Esther 1) then Esther would have been unable to become queen.
The book of Esther is encouraging because it demonstrates that even when God seems distant or uninvolved He is still working His will in our lives and in the world at large.
Tolkien beautifully demonstrated this idea in the Lord of the Rings with the ultimate destruction of the ring being a seeming accident. Yet he explains briefly his thought process in a short letter where he says, “In this case the cause (not the ‘hero’) was triumphant, because by the exercise of pity, mercy, and forgiveness of injury, a situation was produced in which all was redressed and disaster averted.” (The Letters of JRR Tolkien p.363) I believe this concept plays out in Esther. The true hero that was triumphant was the cause, that is God, and this was played out through the obedience, bravery, and self-sacrifice of Esther and Mordecai. We can take comfort in the God of Esther and the God Tolkien was inspired by is the same God we serve and who will always, and in the end, be the one who wins.
References
Arnold, B., Beyer, B., and Elwell, W. Encountering the Old Testament, 3rd edition.
Henry, M. (2024). Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. Hendrickson Publishers.
Tolkien, J. (2023). The Letters of JRR Tolkien (H. Carpenter & C. Tolkien, Eds.; 1st ed.). William Morrow.