Ester 1

Ester 1

Spurgeon comments that "THE Lord intended by the narrative of Esther’s history to set before us a wonderful instance of His providence, that when we had viewed it with interest and pleasure, we might praise His name, and then go on to acquire the habit of observing His hand in other histories, and especially in our own lives. Well does Flavel say, that he who observes providence will never be long without a providence to observe. The man who can walk through the world and see no God, is said upon inspired authority to be a fool; but the wise man’s eyes are in his head, he sees with an inner sight, and discovers God everywhere at work. It is his joy to perceive that the Lord is working according to His will in heaven, and earth, and in all deep places. It has been well said that the Book of Esther is a record of wonders without a miracle, and therefore, though equally revealing the glory of the Lord, it sets it forth in another fashion from that which is displayed in the overthrow of Pharaoh by miraculous power (Ed: e.g., Red Sea, etc). (A Good Start A Book for Young Men and Women) YOU are probably aware that some persons have denied the inspiration of the Book of Esther because the name of God does not occur in it. They might with equal justice deny the inspiration of a great number of chapters in the Bible, and of a far greater number of verses. Although the name of God does not occur in the Book of Esther, the Lord himself is there most conspicuously in every incident which it relates. I have seen portraits bearing the names of persons for whom they were intended, and they certainly needed them, but we have all seen others which required no name, because they were such striking likenesses that the moment you looked upon them you knew them. In the Book of Esther, as much as in any other part of the word of God, and I had almost committed myself by saying — more than anywhere else, the hand of Providence is manifestly to be seen… The wonderful destruction of Pharaoh and his armies at the Red Sea was a burst of light, which startled the midnight of the world by giving proof to mankind that the Lord lived, and could accomplish his purposes by suspending the laws of nature and working miracles. The marvelous drama enacted at Shushan, the capital of Persia, was intended to be another manifestation of the being and glory of God, working not as formerly, by a miracle, but in the usual methods of His providence, and yet accomplishing all His designs. (Providence – As Seen in the Book of Esther) DIVINE PROVIDENTIAL WITHOUT THE MIRACULOUS J Sidlow Baxter writes that… Esther is a crisis book. It is a drama - not of fiction, however, but of genuine fact. It is set on the stage of real history, and gathers round actual personages. Five figures move before us Ahasuerus, the Persian monarch; Vashti, the deposed queen; Haman, the Jew-hater; Mordecai, the Jewish leader; and Esther, the Jewish girl who became queen. In the background are the royal palace, the Persian capital, and the several millions of Jews scattered throughout the emperor's domains. Esther is the crucial figure in the drama inasmuch as everything turns upon her elevation to the throne and her influence as queen. The book, therefore, is fittingly called after the name of Esther. It describes events which took place at Susa, the principal Persian capital, and covers a period of some twelve years. The purpose of the book is to demonstrate the providential care of God over His people. It is vital to see this, for herein lies the living significance and permanent value of the book. The great thing here is the fact of providential preservation - "providential" as distinct from what we call the "miraculous." We are meant to see providential overruling as distinct from supernatural intervening. That word "providence" comes from the Latin provideo, which means that I see a thing beforehand (pro = before; video = I see); so that the root meaning of providence is foresight. Inasmuch, however, as foresight always occasions activity in relation to that which is foreseen, providence comes to have the acquired meaning of activity arising from foresight resight. Strictly speaking, there is only One who has foresight, and He alone, therefore, is able to act on the basis of foreknowledge. Providence, then, in its one absolute sense, is the Divine foreknowledge and the Divine activity which arises there from; and such providence implies that God wields absolute power over all the works of His hands. It is this which we see demonstrated in the Book of Esther. The crisis about which the book is written is providentially anticipated and then providentially overruled just at the crucial moment. No miraculous intervention is resorted to. All the happenings recorded are the outworking of circumstances in their natural sequence. Yet while there is no miracle recorded, the whole thing, in its ultimate meaning, is a mighty miracle - the mighty miracle whereby a sovereign Deity so manipulates all non-miraculous events as to bring about a predetermined outcome; and this miracle is all the more miraculous just because it achieves the predetermined outcome without the need for using miracles! Truly, this mysterious reality which we call providence, this sovereign manipulation of all the ordinary, non-miraculous doings which make up the ordinary ongoing of human affairs, so as to bring about, by natural processes, those results which are Divinely predetermined, is the mightiest of all miracles; and it is this, we repeat, which is strikingly demonstrated in this Book of Esther. (Explore the Book Judges to Esther) Robert F Ingram writes that…in God’s providential care of the cosmos He governs in precise detail all that He has created. He is the God who sees, but also the God who exercises sovereign control over the means and the end. By His sustaining and redeeming activity every thought, intention, and action (of both the animate and inanimate realms) throughout history have been orchestrated for the purpose of bringing glory to His Son and the establishment of His kingdom. (Tabletalk Magazine: March 1990; Ligonier Ministries) Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces - Ahasuerus was better known as Xerxes. David