Friday, October 6, 2017

Friday - Esther 1 - The Demotion of Vashti


W
e are continuing here in Esther in the same general context which we considered in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 4:6 & Esther 1:1). However, we now come upon a little different perspective on things.  All the events which make up the scenes in this book occur very far from the holy city of Jerusalem.  The ruler of a world empire (Ahasuerus) lived far from the city of God, but this book lets us in on a sequence of events which weave together his actions and the actions of the heathen of his kingdom with the actions of God and God's people.

This chapter is not much more than the setting of a stage. We will soon be introduced to the main character of the book, Esther (2:7). Well, she will be the main human instrument playing in this drama.  The real main character is not even named in the book.  The main character is God. Perhaps there is no book in the Bible that demonstrates God's sovereignty more beautifully than Esther does... even though you won't find Him named even once in it.

Esther the Jewess was destined to save her people from annihilation. But, first she needed to become the queen of the world. Still, there were some big things that had to change for that to happen. Not that everything that led up to that point was right or righteous. But, God was the great conductor who guided both the good and bad players in such a way that He ultimately achieved His end purpose: the preservation of His people. We will see how He did that as we make our way through this book.

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