This article is part of the continuing series, Inheritance & Influence: Women of the Promise.

The book of Esther presents a unique challenge for the Bible student or the preacher. How do you proclaim the character and work of God from a text where his name is omitted? The book’s structure is ten chapters comprising 167 verses, without a single direct mention of God, explicit prayer, or miraculous intervention. The text’s silence, from a literary standpoint, mirrors the lived experience of believers under pagan rule, in which God feels unseen or absent. Ultimately, the Bible student’s challenge with the book of Esther is to see how God accomplishes his unbroken covenant promises and providence through the genuine, free choices, risks, and flaws of human actors, rather than treating them as passive puppets.

The focus of the book of Esther, as the name would suggest, is largely on Esther and her bold actions to save her kinsmen. She was in a place, although by deception, to have access to the King and to persuade him to take actions that prevented a genocide. A faithful disciple understands that the providence of God facilitated Esther’s actions as well as those of Mordecai. The distinction the disciple must draw in reading and studying Esther is the often difficult line between the providence of God (opportunities by grace) and the predestination of God (scripting actions). 

“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:14

Mordecai clearly states the nature of the providence of God and human free will in this verse. The providence of God, to save the Jewish people, was going to happen. God had promised to preserve the Jewish people, at minimum a remnant, because that was the lineage of Jesus Christ. However, whether Esther would be part of the actions that saved the Jewish people was up to her. The last sentence of the verse captures the harsh reality of free will: we cannot know with certainty that our actions are God’s will.

The providence vs. predestination theological debate, captured in this book, is complex. On the one hand, as Esther demonstrates, it is important to remember that God does not remove free will from his children. We are accountable for the choices we make, whether good or evil, and must bear the consequences of those actions. On the other hand, disciples have to be cautious not to limit God’s sovereignty. God did not place the fate of the Jewish people solely in the hands of Esther. In the same manner that our prayers don’t convince God to act in a particular manner, Esther’s fear or courage was not going to determine whether God kept His covenant promises to the Jewish people. 

The Bible student’s examination of the book of Esther must include recognition of God’s providence in everyday events. God is not operating through voice-from-heaven revelations or lightning bolts of divine justice. In this manner, the book of Esther reflects the life of disciples today, and disciples can apply the same examination to our lives as we apply to this book. The sixth chapter of the book of Esther presents an example of God’s working in the everyday activities of the king’s life. In this case, the king was unable to sleep and ordered that a book of the chronicles (not the Book of Chronicles) be read to him by his servants. The passage they read detailed how Mordecai had saved the king’s life. In response, the king inquires what actions the court had taken to honor Mordecai’s service and devotion. The events detailed in this passage are central to shaping the story as we go forward in the narrative. The events are also a prime example of how God operates through the normal activities of human life with his providence. 

Bible readers face three common pitfalls when studying the book of Esther. The first, as we have focused on in this article, is seeing people as mindless chess pieces moved by God. God honors human agency (free will) and works through human intellect, strategy, and risk rather than manipulating actions. The second is idealizing the people in the story. Esther and Mordecai were not sinless heroes. Esther was the queen because she had successfully used deception. God worked through Esther to accomplish his will, but this does not imply that God condoned her behavior or that she was sinless. Finally, the disciple should never disconnect this story from the larger history of salvation. God’s providence is directly tied to his promise to preserve the Messianic lineage leading to Jesus Christ and to his death on the cross. 

The greatest lesson learned from studying the book of Esther is internalizing a way of seeing our own lives. Most believers live in the ordinary, sometimes mundane, secular spheres of work, family, civic life, and the like. Explicit miracles are rare. However, the places, the relationships, and the actions of our daily lives are not random accidents but rather opportunities to make choices that honor God. In hindsight, reflection will often reveal that it was God’s providence at work in the ordinary of our lives.