Esther | The Queen Who Risked Everything to Fulfill God's Plan

The book of Esther is a powerful biblical narrative that underscores God's sovereignty and protection over His people, even in the darkest times. Though God's name is not explicitly mentioned, the story reveals His invisible hand at work, particularly in how Esther, an ordinary Jewish woman, becomes queen in a foreign land and plays a crucial role in saving her people from annihilation. 

Esther's story is significant because it reminds us that God is always working behind the scenes, even when it seems like evil is winning. The king of Persia, a powerful yet morally flawed figure, is manipulated by Haman into issuing an edict to kill the Jews. Yet, in a series of divinely orchestrated events, the king is reminded of Mordecai’s previous service, leading to Mordecai’s elevation and Haman’s ultimate downfall. 

The story of Esther is deeply layered, with themes of providence, identity, and justice woven throughout. Despite the absence of explicit mentions of God, the text emphasizes His faithful guidance and protection. Esther's willingness to stand in the gap for her people, using her influence for good, is a testament to how God places His followers in strategic positions to fulfill His will, often in ways that are unexpected. Her story also parallels other biblical figures, like Joseph and Daniel, who were placed in foreign courts to enact God’s plan in seemingly secular environments.

The role of Mordecai in the story is equally significant, as his faithfulness, despite initially being overlooked, is ultimately rewarded. The timing of the king's sleepless night and the reading of Mordecai's forgotten deed underscore the providence at work, ensuring that nothing is left to chance. The Jewish people’s eventual victory, allowed by the king’s permission for them to defend themselves, is a testament to God’s deliverance. Even in a pagan land, God proves faithful to His covenant and His people.

Ultimately, the book of Esther is a story of hope, showing that God's promises are never derailed, no matter how dire the circumstances. It reminds us that God can use anyone, regardless of their status, to accomplish His plans. 

#Esther #BiblicalStory #GodsProvidence #FaithInAction #JewishHeritage #EstherAndMordecai #ForSuchATimeAsThis #OvercomingEvil #GodsPlan #SpiritualCourage

Transcript

 GWS- Esther

GWS- Esther

[00:00:00] Welcome to God's Full Story. This year, we're looking at every book in the Bible, piece by piece, one week at a time. Uh, we hope it's helping you understand the full story of scripture, and we hope it's strengthening your relationship with God. Uh, if you are enjoying the podcast, we would love to invite you to partner with us financially.

You can do so for as little as 3 a month by clicking the link in our description. Here's today's episode. Welcome back everybody. This week, we are going to be talking about the book of Esther. Uh, and as usual, Ryan is here with me. Ryan, you want to say hello to the good people? Hello. All right. We still are missing Chelsea, but we have a very special guest.

The very own Lindsay Lotzball, who is my wife. She is with us and, uh, yeah, we're super excited to have Lindsay on the podcast. Lindsay's done a number of other podcasts before, but, uh, yeah, I think this is the first time this season, at least she was on season one, [00:01:00] the daily one for A couple times, but that felt like a pretty long time ago.

That was a pretty long time ago. Yeah, that'd have to be a pretty loyal listener. Three years ago? Yeah. Something like that. So there maybe is the bonus, uh, extra credit task for the week. See if you can go find the season one episodes of the daily podcast that Lindsay Lotzball appeared on. And if you do it and message us, We'll reply to your message with a gold star.

I was going to say, what are we handing out, Chris? We will give you a turkey hill, a wah wah. We can shout you out on the next episode. Yeah, alright. So, Lindsey, just, uh, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, uh, what kind of things do you spend your time doing? What do I spend my time doing? I serve my husband day and night.

That, that's exactly what I was looking for. Yes. I am a pastor at a local church here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania called Reality Church. And so I spend my days doing that. I'm pastor of discipleship and, [00:02:00] uh, really love my job. Helping people become followers of Jesus, become like him, do what he did, um, love him.

So yeah, and then I have lots of other things I'd love to do like thrifting. Is there any listeners that like to thrift and watching sports and exciting things like that? That's what everyone needs to know about me. Yes. Fun fact. What's your best recent thrift find? That's what I want to know. Oh, man.

They're My best recent one You know, it wasn't super, super recent, but I found a vintage, handcrafted, mid century modern Like wood sculpture that I have in my office. I should probably sell it online because it's worth like 700. Um, so if there's people from my church listening, you can come to my office and I'll give you a little tour cause you'll be really disappointed because it's so small.

Preferably when she's there. Yeah. I paid 2. 99 for it, but I was so excited. Like 2. 99. Yeah. Wow. Every once in a while I'm like, where is that sculpture? And she's like, it's my office. I like it. And I'm like, it's worth 700. [00:03:00] I told him when we're really desperate for finances. Like the car breaks down or something, I'm going to sell that baby.

If that statue disappears. Yeah, but I just want to enjoy it for a little bit. All right. Well, this week, our task is going through the book of Esther. And of course, Esther is probably most famously known for the phrase, For such a time as this. Uh, that is a very true phrase that God was supernatural and sovereign in what he was doing.

But when you start to look at the back story, uh, it is definitely God working in a broken human world amidst some broken things. But, uh, he is, uh, Being faithful to his promise and making sure that the nation of Israel and the Jewish people continue on so that Christ can eventually come. But where we're picking up the story is this would be after the Babylonian exile had ended.

Okay. And so as we talked about in Ezra and Nehemiah a few weeks ago, some people went back to Israel, but there were still some Jews that were living. In what [00:04:00] used to be Babylon, which is now the capital of Persia, because they were the empire that took over. Uh, and as the Persian kings are ruling, uh, we pick up the story that, uh, the king actually wants his wife, his queen to come to a party and she refuses to come.

So he vanquishes Queen Vashti and then decides. He's going to have a contest or a beauty pageant or something of that sort to select a new wife. And that's kind of how we begin this story of Esther, because she is one of the ladies, one of probably many, many ladies who is invited or forced to go to this beauty pageant.

And, uh, sure enough, she wins. So any, We, we kind of, when we tell the story, we often kind of like gloss over this. Like it was just a fun party where these, you know, these girls were picked, but like, this probably wasn't the nicest situation. Do you guys have any comments on what might be going on here? Fun Bible nerd background [00:05:00] thing first.

Um, this book does not mention God. Yes, that is very true. And because of that, it's been very controversial throughout history. There's been many influential people that have tried to remove this book from the canon. Because it does not mention God, uh, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable. Um, it obviously you, you're talking about like clearly talks about the sovereignty of God.

Uh, clearly this would not have happened without God being involved. Um, so it's, you know, there's a lot to take from this book. And it does tell the story of some God followers, Esther and Mordecai. Of course, of course. Uh, I do like that you described it as a beauty pageant or something of some sort. Maybe that's uh, uh, lightweight, uh, Well, we try to keep the podcast PG as much as we can.

Esther is not PG. Um, yeah, I mean, it definitely, a beauty pageant. That is one way to describe it. Uh, it definitely was way worse for these women. They brought women from every [00:06:00] province. So I don't remember, I'm trying to remember how many provinces, there's over a hundred provinces. It would have been massive.

It would have been massive. I thought it was, I could be wrong, about 130 something. I don't remember precisely. Maybe someone can fact check us, but, and it would have been a lot of women from all over. A lot of people would use the word human trafficking. Um, cause these women. The provinces would like a woman from their area to be chosen as the new queen.

127 provinces. Oh, I was pretty close. Wow. I'm feeling very proud of myself. Uh, so that they would have liked that. So these women were probably chosen and put forward. Not because like they haven't met this guy. Not based on their love for the, for the king here. They had been like texting back and forth, getting to know one another, anything like that.

They were sent. against their will to represent, um, their province, hoping to get chosen. [00:07:00] And they were put through a beauty regimen, but it says that they would go into, they were chosen from the harem. They would go to the King's Royal palace at night and they would leave in the morning. So he was for like Bible study and stuff, evening prayers.

Yeah. So, I mean, they were, and most likely they would be virgins. And so he was. Taking virginity from these women night after night after night. And in this culture and in all of these cultures, kings could do whatever they wanted. They could do whatever they wanted. There was no And virginity was a big deal in those cultures.

Like a really big deal to these women. So, Esther is chosen. Uh, she does stand out for whatever reason, uh, that is that she is chosen. She becomes queen, but she keeps her Jewish identity a secret. She does not reveal this. Uh, and so now she is a, a God follower, but she's in the [00:08:00] most powerful place in the Persian empire, the queen to the King of Persia.

And at the same time, we're introduced to Mordecai, another Jew. Uh, that he uncovers a plot to kill the king. He shares that with them and, uh, the king is spared. And so they write it down in the history books, but he's never really rewarded. It's just kind of forgotten. But we have, we're kind of have these two God followers, Mordecai and Esther coming out of nowhere.

They're acting on behalf of a pagan King to, to serve him, to protect him. And God is going to use that in this story. Uh, so it's a little bit like Daniel. It's a little bit like a few of the other stories we've seen that here we have people just being faithful, even though they're not necessarily in ministry roles.

And especially in Esther's case, she's probably, uh, didn't have a whole lot of say in the matter. But, uh, they are being faithful to do what they can where they are placed, uh, trusting God during this time. Uh, and of course then we [00:09:00] meet the villain. There is a villain in the story. Every good story has to have a villain.

Who's our villain in the story? Haman. Haman. And probably Xerxes, honestly. Well, yes, of course. The king, the king is just not a good guy. It's of a battle to the bottom. And pretty much this entire book, the king is drunk. It seems like he's always So being the king is a hard job. So having people worship you and serve you.

I'm sure. So yeah, these are not good guys. These are not God followers. They they're pagans. Um, I, I do remember, uh, one of the things that we used to do in the Bible school that we worked in is this was a book of the Bible that as part of the students, uh, assignment, they would act out this book and we actually had, it was kind of fun.

We had divided them into groups and they came up with different themes. So you never knew what the other group was going to do. It was. But, uh, one of the things that, uh, when this book was later read to Jewish audiences, every time the word Haman was mentioned, the entire audience would boo. And so it's every time that this is being read and it comes across Haman, they [00:10:00] go boo, because he's just, he's just the bad guy.

He's a terrible person. He is a terrible person, but, uh, maybe, you know, some of these early people that heard this book were Philadelphia sports fans that they would just regularly boo. Boo the hometown. I was going to say, speaking of terrible people, so Heyman comes up with this plot that he wants to kill all the Jews.

And that this is really where we start to see, Oh, this is why God is involved in this story, even though he's not mentioned, because this is going to be an attack on his people, which would then ultimately mean there's an attack on his promises and the ability to have those fulfilled. Uh, so Heyman decides he hates the Jews.

He wants to kill them. He gets to kill them. The king to sign an edict, uh, that's he can, he has permission to do this. Uh, and then during the midst of this, uh, the king actually, uh, can't sleep one night and has the Royal, you know, history reports read, which probably I love how he has stories [00:11:00] about his own life read to him.

I just like you wake up your servant and you're like, read me some stories about me. Netflix wasn't an option. That's true. No, but you think like maybe read me some stories about someone else. It's like, no, I'd like to hear about myself a little bit more. These are also like Royal proclamation kind of historical.

So it's probably a little bit like reading the dictionary. I don't know. I guess that would put you to sleep. No, I bet they acted it out. So like when they talked about his villains, he was like, now say boo. Um, fun fact also, um, Xerxes. Now, there is a little bit of debate about this, but this is very likely the Xerxes that's depicted in the movie 300.

Um, there's, there's a couple of different Xerxes. So depending on where you land, you know, the date and all that, but like 300 is a pretty old movie at this point, but like he's depicted as very awful. Um, so just to tie that to pop culture, like it's, Probably close to that guy. So this awful guy can't sleep one [00:12:00] night and he hears, uh, the story recounted how Mordecai saved her from the assassination attempt.

And he says, has Mordecai been honored for this? Uh, and they say no. And so as Haman comes in the next morning to, uh, very excited that he's going to kill all the Jews and all this. The king makes Haman go honor Mordecai and kind of parade him around on the horse and everybody, uh, praises him and things like this, which Haman is getting ready to try to kill Mordecai, especially he, he erects a pole to impale him or gallows, depending on the interpretation of that device.

But, uh, that's really where the story changes is that now all of a sudden. The faithful Mordecai is being exalted, Haman begins to have a downfall, uh, and then this leads to kind of that famous passage where it's for such a time as this, that as the Jews are about to be killed, Esther calls a banquet, brings the king in, brings Haman in, reveals this plan, and the king, uh, actually [00:13:00] sentences Haman to death, and then There is the rest of the story that kind of says that the edict can't be reversed, but, uh, they allow the Jews to defend themselves and the people of Israel safe.

So I'm kind of giving the cliff notes of the over you here. Um, in that story, what are, what are some things that kind of stand out to you guys that, uh, we, even though we don't see God specifically mentioned. How do we see God acting in this book? How do we see him protecting his people? How do we see him kind of interacting to keep the story going here?

I always think it's interesting that, you know, if, if, uh, Mordecai, for example, if Mordecai would have known this was coming, it would not have been possible for him to actually plan out. A way to protect his people. Like he wouldn't have been able to sit down and pull together a group of influencers and overthrow that.

Like, like, there's no way out of this. The, the King's power is so significant. The people themselves are so [00:14:00] insignificant. Like this. I guess like oftentimes is like, it's not presented as, as impossible as it was. Like this would have been, there's no way you can plan your way out of this. And yet God makes a way for it.

So I like how you're highlighting, like, this is God keeping his promises. And like, God is so committed to keeping his promises that he ordains these situations and continues to ordain these kinds of situations. Like, it's not like, uh, God did this with Esther and then it was like, all right, sounds good.

Good luck guys. Like if God did this here, God can continue to do things like this and does continue to do things like this. So I love that part. I think it's really interesting too, that this is based in Persia. It's not with the reach, the exiles that have returned, like of all, I think often if you were to kind of do an analogy of our own lives, it's like God moves when we reached the promised land or he moves in those kind of ideal situations.

Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Like, I, I just [00:15:00] don't think a Jewish person would be like, where's God going to really move when we get, when we get to the goal, that's where we're going to see God move. But it's these people that remain behind are still suffering. They're not in a great situation. Right. And God's like, I am so active.

Well, the people that just haven't returned yet, like it's, it's to me, God is not, especially for Old Testament Jew, God is not bound to a location. He's not bound to a temple, like it's those hints, like he is going to do what he wants to do and he's going to do it where he wants to do it. He is able to provide, protect and sovereignly move in just such powerful ways.

Um, yeah, I wonder if people were hearing about this back in Jerusalem and be like, wait, God's moving like up in Sousa, up in Sousa. Like you, do you hear what happened in Sousa? Yeah. Yeah. With that guy and in that situation. And just would have blown their mind of how big God is. Well, and, and it's certainly not God moving in the most [00:16:00] ideal circumstances.

No, no. Um, I mean, yes, God used Esther, uh, but I don't think we would ever want to go so far as that he wanted her to be human trafficked or, or he was like saying, this is a great situation. But. He used the broken situation that this planet gave him to accomplish his purpose. He used the pagan emperor of Persia, who was not a good guy, and the same guy that issues an edict to wipe out the Jews.

He can't do that. Because once the king does it, it's like it's done, but then he is able to use that same most powerful man in the empire to allow the Jews to arm themselves and fight. And then we could probably say that God also gives them the ability to have victory, uh, over their enemies here. So what a picture of God working in the midst of brokenness, you know, and.

How many times I think like Lindsay mentioned we think well when all [00:17:00] everything is like Christian with a fish on it God's gonna work move, but the right people are in charge. Yeah, whether that's it. You're this is the wrong guy in charge yeah, you get the right boss or The right governor whatever the situation is when we just get all the right pieces in place And God's just not at the end of the day bound by that.

It doesn't make everything good Wonderful and great, um, and all the difficulty to go away, but he's still moving and this is not the only story like that to like, it's like, man, like, yeah, actually, we, we just wrapped up, uh, as we're in Nehemiah, like God was moving in other Kings, you know, like, it's so interesting that we get, you know, Locked into assuming that God moves in a specific place in a specific time.

And it's like, ah, that's, that's, that's never been true. And for, I mean, this book would have been recorded for the people that are generally have been set into, uh, released from exile. Right. And so, yeah, this is going to be encouragement. Okay, God's still working. Even [00:18:00] though we were sent away for disobedience.

Even though we blew it big time. Like, God is still working on our behalf, fulfilling his promises. And I think one of the things that's made out to me too, is we've seen this several times. The times when it almost looks darkest. Like, okay, this is when the plan of God Things have gotten so bad, like you were saying, Ryan, like it's just like, how could this, how could they figure out how to get out of this?

They couldn't, you know, I think even all the way back to like the flood, wickedness was so great and it looked like evil was going to prevail, but God stepped in the tower of Babel. God stepped in like all these times that it looks like God's plans will be derailed. No, he, he will step in even in some of the worst of circumstances and to use.

A faithful girl and a faithful Mordecai to bring about the continuation of his promises for such a time as this, for such a time as this, it's not quite as romantic when you really dive into the story, but, but it is, uh, it is a true statement. [00:19:00] I think it is. I mean, God is obviously the hero of the story, but I think there is something to with, with these two normal people and that God uses really.

Um, normal people and maybe unexpected people. Um, and in that way, I think, I mean, it seems like in scripture that God, this, I, I wouldn't put this as my personal theology, but this is what you're going to go on record with it, but I'm just about to go on record with it. It feels like sometimes God's patience is him saying the odds aren't stacked against me enough.

Like, it's like he, he is, the odds are stacked against him. He like waits until it's pretty much like, and then he just shows off and he's like, okay, now it's like that kid that's like, can you lift this dad? And he's like, I'll put another weight on there. No way dad. I'll put one more on there. Put one more on there.

No way. Like it's, [00:20:00] it's just, he, he loves those situations where the odds are stacked against him. And I just feel like even the Jews, like. Wait, he, I wonder if people knew like Esther and Mordecai and were like, wait, they, God is who like, wait, that wasn't who I was planning. And he does really use people that aren't necessarily flashy or just faithful, really faithful people.

Well, and probably one of the reasons why this does make it into scripture is because this then becomes a, a festival that the Jewish people celebrate and remember the supernatural Deliverance of God. Yeah, the festival is called Purim. Does anyone know how to say that properly? Purim. Purim. We're probably Americanizing it.

I feel like we are. Can you bust into a Hebrew accent or anything, Ryan? You know what's funny is I'm very on record with I don't claim to pronounce anything correctly. I just do my best confident enunciation. Say it with confidence and that'll be Purim. Yeah. Yeah. [00:21:00] Definitely Purim. Is that correct?

Probably not. But it's fine. Anyway, well, that actually brings us to the end of the historical books. Um, so next week we are going to begin the wisdom lits, wisdom literature. We're going to dive into the book of Psalms next week. Uh, so we're going to spend a couple weeks in wisdom literature, and then we're going to do a little bit of a backtrack through time and hit the prophetic books, uh, that, and we'll help remind you what time period they, they are.

Taking part in, uh, as we go through them. But next week it's time for wisdom literature. So we'll see you then. Bye.