Esther 2 - Where is God? | Liberty Live Church (2024)

FAQs

What does Esther chapter 2 mean? ›

As we continue through the book of Esther, we see that chapter 2 is a chapter about war and defeat, a girl who is orphaned, and Jews who do not return home when they could and should have. It's about girls being taken by force into a harem, about a beauty pageant, and about an assassination plot.

The book of Esther is one of only two books in the Hebrew Bible that never mention God (the other is the Song of Songs). For traditional Jewish commentators, the absence of God's name did not mean that God was absent from the book.

The book of Esther is about a Jewish community living in Susa, the capital city of the ancient Persian empire. The main characters are two Jews, Mordecai and his niece Esther.

Esther's story invites us to cling to hope, however small, and to have confidence that whatever evil might currently reign, the story of God isn't finished.”

This message is clear: God is sovereign even when life doesn't make sense. God is also the great Promise Keeper. Mordecai said to Esther: “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish” (Esther 4:14).

Far from being secular, Esther pushes us to look at our own lives and consider how God might be actively working behind the scenes, even in the face of great threat or tragedy, to accomplish his good and perfect purposes.

God has a purpose for your life, and He allows things to happen for a reason. Like Queen Esther, God may have brought you where you are for a special purpose. Maybe you are in a workplace filled with workmates who need to hear about Jesus.

The 13th-century sage Rabbi Bachya ben Asher discovered the presence of God's name in acrostics embedded in Esther. The form of this name is the four Hebrew letters, yod-he-vov-he, written in Latin letters as YHWH and usually vocalized as Yahweh.

God had preordained for Esther to be adopted by her cousin, Mordecai who brought her up as his own child. God had also favored Esther with a wonderful gift: she "had a lovely figure and was beautiful." This God-given asset opened the door for her selection to be in the running for Queen.

3. Esther had to keep her Jewish identity a secret. At Mordecai's request, Esther did not reveal her Jewish heritage to anyone. She kept her identity a secret, even after she became queen.

How many times is God mentioned in Esther? ›

As you read through the book of Esther, you may notice something surprising: God is never directly mentioned in this book of the Bible.

In the biblical book named after her, Esther is a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora who finds favor with the king, becomes queen, and risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire.

This story is a reminder that even when God seems absent, he does not abandon his people. He works in our lives and stays faithful to his promises even when we are living in the midst of exile.

The book purports to explain how the feast of Purim came to be celebrated by the Jews. Esther, the beautiful Jewish wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), and her cousin Mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jews throughout the empire.

Esther was brave and courageous and arose to the challenge. She knew that it was God who would save them, and she was willing to be used by Him. She asked Mordecai and all the Jews to gather, fast and pray for three days. She and her maids would do so too.

16Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. 17And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti.

The purpose of the Book of Esther is open to different interpretations. It can be understood as commending human responsibility instead of misguided dependence on God: the Jews in the book must take matters into their own hands to preserve their existence, rather than wait for God to act.

Mordecai was also the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and bravery are highlighted in the story as he helps Esther foil the plot of Haman, the king's Vizier, to exterminate the Jewish people.

Esther had to go through a purification process, six months of oils and myrrh and six months of sweet odors. These were used to clean her up and keep her smelling good and fresh for the moment she would go into the king.