The book of Esther narrates events in Jewish history that happened during their Babylonian exile. This was a difficult, challenging time for the Jewish people who had been unceremoniously carted off to a foreign land by an invading army more powerful than they. Ps 137 captures the sorrow felt by people (‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion… How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?’)
Marginalised and relatively unimportant in comparison to the ‘might’ of Babylon, we might expect the Jewish story to end here. But God’s promises to His people can never be discounted and the book of Esther – while never mentioning God’s name directly – demonstrates to us that He is at work in the lives of His people at all times, even when others have definite plans to remove them history permanently.
Esther and her cousin Mordecai are, like Joseph, in the right place at the right time to thwart the plans of evil. That is no coincidence, but an example of God’s providence and a reminder to us all that our actions can have a significance and importance far greater than we could predict. Their courage, wisdom and faithfulness to God are models for us to follow.
Right now, it is easy to believe that God’s people are insignificant, unimportant, even irrelevant. It’s easy to believe that evil will triumph. But history teaches us that this has always been how it looks. Eugene Peterson, in the introduction to Esther in the Message version of the Bible, says, ‘No matter how many of them you kill, you can’t get rid of the communities of God-honouring, God-serving, God-worshipping people scattered all over the earth. This is still the definitive word.’
So, if you feel in despair over the state of the church and what is currently happening in the world, remember Esther. God hasn’t finished with us yet.
