Esther: A Full-Circle Story
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 – emphasis mine).
A recent study of Scripture has left me in awe of the holiness of God. Reading the Tanakh (Old Testament) has deepened my understanding of who the Lord is. Standing next to the ocean with the vast sea in front of me one afternoon, I had a holy moment. One where I felt the need to remove my shoes, to rend my heart, and repent for treating the Almighty as common. I had become so familiar with Him that I had forgotten His grandeur and sovereignty.
What brought me to this moment?
I was studying the book of Esther. While preparing for Purim, the Jewish festival commemorating God’s deliverance recorded in the book of Esther, I saw something I’ve never seen before.
A Jewish queen taking her place in a Persian palace, her older wiser cousin Mordecai counseling her, an evil royal advisor plotting, and a clueless king – makes for an interesting read.
But I came to find out the entire situation of God’s people needing deliverance in the Writings in Esther could have been completely avoided if one man had obeyed the command of the Almighty. It was astounding.
While I zoomed in on the details of this book, the plot thickened when I investigated a genealogy, of all things.
“Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite” (Esther 2:5).
This family tree leads us back to Israel’s first king, Saul (1 Samuel 9:1-2, 2 Samuel 21:14). Esther was the daughter of Abihail (Esther 2:15). Mordecai and Esther were of the lineage of King Saul.
Why would this fact be important?
I needed to zoom out of the narrative of Esther to about 500 years before to find out why. In 1 Samuel 15, God commanded King Saul to execute judgment on the Amalekites for how they attacked the children of Israel when they left Egypt.
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you came out of Egypt, how he confronted you on the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. So it shall come about, when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget (Deuteronomy 25:17-19 – emphasis mine).
Scripture tells us the Amalekites showed no mercy to the “stragglers” (i.e., women, children, elderly, disabled – all those who were completely exhausted by their journey across the Red Sea and through the desert).
Saul is called to completely destroy all Amalekites as an instrument of God’s divine judgment to fulfill Deuteronomy 25:19. Instead, he only obeys half of the command. He eliminates most of the people but saves King Agag and plunders some of the spoils along with the best sheep and oxen. He blames the soldiers for taking the plunder and says he only wanted to sacrifice the choice livestock to the Lord in Gilgal.
Samuel blasts him in 1 Samuel 15:22-23:
And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king” (emphasis mine).
Saul’s rebellion and presumptuous sin cost him the kingdom (it was given to David) and caused him a life of torment. But that’s not all. His sin affected the children of Israel 500 years later, when a descendant of King Agag rose to a royal position in a Persian kingdom. His name was Haman. This descendant of the Amalekites had a longstanding hatred of the Jewish people and it’s no wonder Haman plotted to utterly destroy them.
It amazed me that after Israel had been carried off to Babylon in captivity and then released that God brings a descendant of King Saul to complete the work He had started. It gives the words of Mordecai to Esther a deep meaning:
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13 – emphasis mine).
God had patiently waited to redeem the mistakes of Saul through his lineage. Was Esther going to shrink back in fear of man or was she going to step up to the challenge? Esther humbles herself by fasting and seeks the Lord for help. The entire Jewish community fasts and prays for God’s deliverance.
The providential hand of the Lord can be seen when this clueless King of Persia is unable to sleep and asks for the records to be read to him. It just so happens the record of when Mordecai saved the king’s life is recounted. The king realizes Mordecai was never honored for saving his life and asks Haman what should be done for someone the king wanted to honor. Haman in pride thinks the king is speaking of him and provides his wish list. King Xerxes then commands Haman to perform this wish list for Mordecai.
This is the apex of the narrative. The tables are turned. The fortunes reversed and Haman’s descent begins.
The Lord gives Mordecai and Esther wisdom on how to rewrite the decree. The enemies of the Jewish people are exposed. We see the fear of the Lord is upon all the officials and provinces. Rather than being annihilated, the Jewish people defeat their enemies on the thirteenth of Adar.
One very interesting detail in chapter nine is that three times we are told that the people did not touch any of the plunder.
This fact brings the story full circle from Saul’s rebellion. Saul failed the Lord’s commands, but Mordecai and Esther are God’s instruments to bring redemption for Saul’s failure.
This in-depth study of the book of Esther showed me the vastness of the Lord. He is perfect in judgment and will repay the wrongs done to His people even if it is generations later. He truly is sovereign over the universe.
This made me realize His holiness in the fact that the whole book of Esther points to a better kingdom and flawless King. This King perfectly obeyed the commands of the LORD. One day He will return, and our tables will turn, our fortunes will gloriously be reversed.
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19).
In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Although He was a son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Written by Kori, Life in Messiah Staff
When was the last time you thought about God’s grandeur and sovereignty and it left you in awe?
For more on Purim, check out this podcast: What is Purim? Or read this article: Purim.
Purim begins at sunset March 6 this year. It’s a great time to wish your Jewish friends a happy Purim!