“Esther” - A History of Controversy
“If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.”
The Book of Esther is one of only two books in the Bible named after a woman (The book of Ruth is the other). Esther’s birth name was Hadassah. She was of the tribe of Benjamin and lived after the time Israel was exiled. Tragically orphaned, Esther grew up to be a courageous queen who saved Israel from annihilation. In short, she prevented the first Holocaust. Esther is a true rags-to-riches story with an evil villain, a courageous hero, many twists and turns, and a happy ending. Anyone would be truly blessed as they travel through Esther’s 10 exciting chapters, learning of her bravery as she speaks her famous words,
“Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16b).
However, while doing some extended in-depth research on the Book of Esther, I kept running into snags. Things that kept tripping me up. Things that caused my research to go even deeper. I soon began to realize one thing. Even from way back when the very first Bible was constructed, you will find that along with the Book of Esther – comes,
“A history of controversy”
Before I begin, I first need to let everyone know that in no way, shape, or form is this going to be a blog post criticizing or denouncing the book of Esther. I personally believe that the book of Esther is divinely inspired and has been placed in the scriptures exactly where God intended it to be and for His intended purpose. But before we get into the story itself, I must first explain why there is so much controversy and what it's all about.
First and foremost is the direct absence of any mention of God. Martin Luther felt that the Book of Esther should never have been written for that reason and, because it has “much pagan indecency.” There's a lot of drinking, anger, sex, and murder, of which Esther and Mordecai are a part. Not to mention the violation of many of the commands in the Torah, such as the eating of impure foods and the marrying of Gentiles. To this day, many people and scholars are bothered by the fact that in 167 verses, the Persian king is mentioned 190 times, yet the Lord God is not mentioned even once, nor is there any mention of Jewish law, Jewish practices, or even the Torah. One distinguished and respected scholar by the name of S.R. Driver said, “In passing to Esther from the other books of the Old Testament, we fall from heaven to earth.”
Also, the Book of Esther is neither mentioned nor referred to in any other Old or New Testament book. Nor are the characters and events of the Book of Esther documented in any other historical or literary sources outside of the Bible, such as other Jewish texts or the writings of Josephus. The Book of Esther was the only book of the entire Bible that was not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are no surviving records from contemporary Persian, Greek, or any other civilizations that mentioned Queen Esther, Mordecai, the plot to annihilate all the Jews, or any other events described in the Book of Esther. I've discovered that many people believe that the bloody turnaround at the end of Esther is problematic. They believe that Esther’s attitude of “because you were going to slaughter all of us, we will now slaughter all of you,” is not something that God would have honored.
There are similarities between the story of Esther and the story of Moses because they were both involved in saving God's people. But the story of Moses is flooded with God's presence, and Moses relied on God and Him only every step of the way. Moses would not have been able to save his people without God's divine intervention. And, although you and I know that God is omnipresent and His hand was working in the background - Esther, unlike Moses, relied on her own intelligence to guide her in her quest.
There are also many similarities between the story of Esther and the story of Joseph.
· Joseph ascends to a high position in the Egyptian government.
Esther ascends to a high position in the Persian government.
· Joseph saves the Jews from famine.
Esther saves the Jews from annihilation.
· Joseph revealed himself to his brothers after a feast.
Esther revealed herself as a Jew to the king after a feast.
· And both Joseph and Esther rose to their high positions due to a combination of beauty and wisdom.
But despite the many similarities in the stories of Esther and Joseph, there are some huge differences. Joseph constantly mentions God throughout his story, and he lets Pharaoh know that all the advice he is giving comes from the Lord God, and Pharaoh recognizes this. Esther never mentions God in any way. No prayers are mentioned (fasting is mentioned, but fasting was also practiced in many other pagan religions), nor does she even cry out to God because of Haman’s decree to have all the Jews annihilated (prayer). Without going into too much detail, these are some of the reasons for all the controversy I discovered surrounding the Book of Esther.
Now, Since All That's Out of The Way,
Let The Story Begin!
Structure:
The Book of Esther is divided into four parts. Chapters 1-2 describe how Esther becomes Queen (her Coronation). Chapters 3-6 describe Haman’s plot to kill, and Mordecai’s rise to power. Chapters 7-8 describe Haman’s demise and the Jewish people's deliverance. Finally, chapters 9-10 conclude with the triumph of God's people. The plot of Esther is structured around banquets. A word that appears 20 times in the story of Esther, and only 24 times in the rest of the Old Testament.
Esther 1-2
Esther Becomes Queen.
The story is set over 100 years after the Babylonian exile of the Israelites from their land. And even though some Jews did return to Jerusalem (such as Ezra and Nehemiah), many were scattered. And so the story of Esther is about a Jewish community living in Susa (Shushan), the capital city of the Persian Empire during the reign of the Persian king Xerxes (Ahasuerus). During the third year of his reign, King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) held 2 lavish banquets lasting over 180 days for all his nobles and officials to show off his wealth and splendor (Esther 1: 2-4). By the King's command, each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions (Esther 1:8). On the last day, when the king was in high spirits (drunk) from wine, he demanded that his wife Queen Vashti, come and display her beauty before him and his drunken guests, wearing her crown. Since the Queen didn't appreciate being paraded around in front of a bunch of drunken guests, she refused (Esther 1:10-12).
Her refusal infuriated the king, so he removed her from her position as an example of all women who would disobey their husbands. He then decides to choose a new queen from a selection of all the beautiful young virgin women throughout the empire who are brought to his harem (Esther 2:2-3). Among these women was a Jewish orphan by the name of Esther who was adopted and raised by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents. Before each woman was brought to the king, they had to undergo a 12-month beauty treatment. Six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. They would be brought to the king at night and returned in the morning. When it was Esther's turn, the beauty pageant was over. The king was highly attracted to Esther over all the other women and chose her to be his new queen (Esther 2:15-17).
Esther 3-6
Haman’s Plot to Kill, and Mordecai’s Rise to Power.
Haman the Agagite was the king’s evil second-in-command. He was a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, who were ancient enemies of God's people (1 Samuel 15:2-3). Haman was a prideful man who expected everyone to bow down to him. And when Mordecai refused to do so, he became furious. When he finds out that Mordecai is Jewish, he successfully persuades the king to enact a decree to have Mordecai killed, and all the Jews annihilated (Esther 3:5-11). When Mordecai and the Jews learned of the decree, they tore their clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the streets wailing and mourning bitterly (Esther 4:1-3). When Queen Esther found out, she sent one of her servants to Mordecai to find out what was wrong (Esther 4:5). Mordecai told her everything and pleaded with her to go to the king.
The plan was for Queen Esther to go to the king, reveal her Jewish identity, and have the decree reversed. However, since the decree was already signed, sealed (with the king's signet ring), and delivered, even a king could not reverse his own decree. At a crucial moment, Mordecai reports to Esther that if she remains silent, deliverance for the Jews will come from another place and states, “Yet who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Those two statements by Mordecai are signs of faith. Knowing that no one was allowed to go into the king's presence without being summoned (which often ended up in death), Queen Esther replied to Mordecai, asking him and the Jews in Susa to go on a three-day fast, along with her and her servants (Esther 4:15-16). And this is where she spoke her famous words of bravery.
“Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16b).
On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and went to see the king. When the king saw Queen Esther, he held out his golden scepter to indicate his approval. As an act of reverence and obedience, Esther approached the king and touched the top of his golden scepter (Esther 5:2). Esther then invited the king and his evil second-in-command Haman, to a banquet. At that banquet, she makes a special request that they both come to an even more exclusive banquet the next day where she will reveal her request to the king. In his drunken state, Hamon leaves the feast happy with himself and sees Mordecai on the street. When Mordecai refuses to bow down to him, he rages with anger. Hamon’s wife Zeresh advised that a tall stake be built so Mordecai could be impaled on it in the morning.
But one restless night when the king could not sleep, he asked to have the Chronicles (the Book of Deeds) read to him and realized that Mordecai was never rewarded for saving his life from the plot of the guards (Esther 6:1-3). So instead of listening to Hamen and having Mordecai hung, he orders Haman to lead Mordecai around the city on a royal horse to honor him for saving his life (Esther 6:10-11).
Esther 7-8
Haman's Demise and The Jewish People's Deliverance.
At the second banquet, Queen Esther informs the king of her Jewish identity and exposes Haman’s evil plot to kill Mordecai (the man who saved his life) and annihilate all the Jews (including her). The Bible says, “Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden” (Esther 7:7). The king was so astonished and furious about what he had heard, that instead of responding immediately, he needed time to think. By the end of the dinner, the king ordered that Haman be impaled on the very stake he had built to hang Mordecai on. The king then gave Queen Esther Haman’s entire estate. Taking off his signet ring, he handed it to Mordecai and gave him Haman's position of Prime Minister (2nd in command). This ironic turnaround of events shows us that the Lord was still in charge. He will protect His people and will not let sin go unpunished (Numbers 32:23).
However, the execution of Haman did not solve the problem of the king's irreversible decree to kill all the Jews. So instead, the king signed an edict and issued a counter-decree that every Jew from every city could take up arms to defend themselves against anyone who tried to kill them.
Esther 9-10
The Triumph of God's People.
Eventually, the decreed day comes. On the 13th day of the 12th month (13 Adar) The enemy attacks, and the Jews defend themselves. The Jews struck down their enemies with a sword, killing the ten sons of Haman and 500 other men (Esther 9:5-12). When Queen Esther hears of this, she requests that it be repeated again the next day (Esther 9:13). And even though Haman’s 10 sons had already been killed (Esther 9:7-10), that wasn't good enough for Queen Esther as she requests for their bodies to be impaled on poles like their father Haman (Esther 9:13). This was a medieval practice to frighten enemies into submission. Altogether, over 75,000 people were killed by the Jews who were careful to take no plunder (Esther 9:16).
Afterward, Queen Esther and Mordecai had letters sent out to all provinces instituting an annual commemoration of the Jewish people's redemption with an annual holiday called “Purim,” which is derived from the word “Pur,” meaning “Lots” (Dice) referring to the lottery (roll of the dice) that Haman used to choose a date for the Jewish massacre (Esther 9:29-32).
There are many times throughout our lives when the Lord delivers us. Sometimes He delivers us out of serious and challenging situations. Some of which would have cost us our lives. And we must all admit that we don't always cry out to Him like we should. At times, we may even fail to thank Him afterward. But our heavenly Father never takes His eyes off His children. I thank the Lord that His mercy triumphs over His judgment (James 2:13), even when we are sometimes making harsh and irrational decisions. The Book of Esther proves to us that even when we don't pray and cry out to God, He will still be there watching over us and working behind the scenes.
Because our God is always in control!
May God richly bless you all.
