Question of the day: What do you do when you can't sleep?
Just a girl. An introduction to the book of Esther
It is 3:00 in the morning and I was awakened thinking about this lesson. I have struggled with this book the entire week. I've struggled with how to teach it, how to explore it together. Lest you think I am being too dramatic, in The NIV Esther Application commentary by Karen H. Jobes, she writes in her introduction, "... For this reason, it is probably best to not try to preach or teach through Esther chapter by chapter."
WHAT! That is this class. What do I do with that. She gives reasons, and I will explain more in a minute. On the flip side, I can not describe to you how excited I am to be studying Esther. This is the first book I had hoped to tackle in our class and now four and a half years later it seems the time has come.
Esther is a story I have been fascinated with since my parents chose to name me after her and of course what young girl doesn't love the story of a young orphan girl turned queen. It is certainly a story that rivals fairy tails. Not a love story, but it is a story about just a girl, who does a mighty work for her people. Is that the point of this story?
When you dig into this book and go verse by verse, chapter by chapter it becomes clear that this isn't like any other book in the bible. Several things contribute to that.
1. God is never mentioned! Not only is God never mentioned or spoken of in the entire book, no other religious ritual or practice is mentioned, other than fasting.
2. There are those that even question whether or not this is a true story, suggesting that it may be like a parable or a "fairy tale" of sorts. Even Martin Luther argued that it should be taken out and had no place in the bible.
3. There are some very important lessons for us in this book, but they aren't discovered in just a verse here and a verse there. Instead they are lessons we gain from looking at the entire book. The whole story.
4. In studying this book we must be careful not to draw too many conclusions that were not intended to be drawn. It gets messy. We need to look at what the author is trying to get us to understand or to hear. I know this will be challenging at times, but we will do our best.
I have struggled and struggled with how to go about feasting on this book. (INTERESTING FUN FACT... In the book of ESTHER there is lots of FEASTING or BANQUETS! The word banquet is used 20 times in the book of Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Old Testament.) How do we take a book verse by verse and chapter by chapter that isn't intended to be studied that way. Why not?
This story has for centuries been used to support conclusions that were never intended. When you take it verse by verse and try to find life application, you run the risk of missing the whole point and creating your own conclusions based on your own narrative. It gets risky. For example: In chapter 1 Queen Vashti refuses to go obey her husbands drunken command to parade herself in front of him and all his drunken cohorts. One could easily draw the conclusion that queen Vashti was one of the first feminists. She would risk being banished or killed to maintain her dignity. (I like this conclusion!) However, others conclude that she was not willing to be humble, and submit to her husband and she was a prideful rebellious wife who needed to be taught a lesson. (believe it or not there are many many articles out there from Christian pastors with this being taught.) The problem is, the author wasn't trying to make a judgement one way or the other. The lessons in this book don't seem to be about the details, but about the overarching themes. If we get caught up in the details we may villainize or glorify behaviors or characters inaccurately.
After struggling with this book for a week, I have decided to adjust how we study this book. We will still take it chapter by chapter, verse by verse, however we will be looking for and identifying how the chapters support the overarching themes. So we will identify those themes today and each week we will read our passage with those themes in mind.
So what are the themes of Esther?
What do you think?
When you think of the story of Esther, what are some lessons you take away?
Karen Jobe writes this, "The major theological point of Esther is that throughout history God fulfills his covenant promises through his providence."
What does this mean? "through His providence."
What is providence?
1.
(often initial capital letter) the foreseeing care and guidance of God or nature over the creatures of the earth.
2.
(initial capital letter) God, especially when conceived as omnisciently directing the universe
and the affairs of humankind with wise benevolence.
3.
a manifestation of divine care or direction.
4.
provident or prudent management of resources; prudence.
5.
Jobe writes, "The story of Esther illustrates that human action is essential to divine providence, yet God's triumph in history ultimately does not depend on what we do, but on what he does. It depends not on our character, but on his character."
foresight; provident care.
She also suggests some other interweaving themes:
1. The intriguing interplay of God's providence and human behavior.
2. The self-deceptive and destructive nature of pride.
3. Identification with God's people as a defining moment in life.
4. Male and female partnership in God's providence.
Why is the study of Esther relevant to us today?
One of the themes that struck me this week was the apparent absence of God, when all the while He is working out and fulfilling His covenant to His people. There are times when God feels very absent, when I am trying to find His will, or when everything around me seems to be tainted or down right sin filled. Even in our homes, in our church, in our city, in our state, in our country, in our world, sin seems to be in everything!
Have you ever felt like God was absent?
Have you ever felt like God just wasn't showing up when you needed him most?
Have you ever prayed, earnestly, and heard nothing?
This entire book is VOID of God, He is silent, and yet the entire books speaks of His character, His working, His love for His people.
No matter how void of God we feel our surroundings or even our own hearts are, God is working! God IS there! God is using the seemingly ordinary, even events and people who are far from following Him, to work out HIS providence, to keep HIS covenant to us, HIS children! To be a child of God is to be on the winning team even if the score doesn't reflect that today!
I know there are many more themes. I know the Holy Spirit will guide us as we study this book. I KNOW that just like all the other books, this one will change us! I am so excited to dive in, and so afraid at the same time.
Let's pray together that we will learn the truth and that the Holy Spirit will guide verse by verse as we FEAST together!
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