I must say I find the aspersions cast upon the characters of Esther, and her elder cousin, Mordecai, more in accord with a hermeneutic of suspicion than a hermeneutic of faith. That Herman Hoeksema (his wife would not publish against his own views) was of the view I decry is a rare failing in a theologian and commentator I highly respect. The PRC’s view of marriage and divorce no doubt played a part in his position.
In Esther 2:2, it is written, “Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins
sought for the king” AV. “search be made” NIV ’84; “be sought out” ESV; “search the empire” NLB; “seek for” YLT. The Hebrew,
bāqaš, carries the meaning, to seek, to require, to obtain, seeking someone’s presence. In Esther 2:23, it has the meaning to make inquisition concerning. In light of this it does not appear Hadassah / Esther had any choice but to submit to the royal decree. A woman of beauty could not easily disappear into hiding during such a widely-known societal search.
It is said in Esther 2:8, “So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were
gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai....”. The word “gathered”,
qâbats, has the meanings, to gather, to collect, to assemble. This does appear to be a compulsory gathering together of those women deemed suitable to fulfil the decree.
That she obeyed Mordecai’s commandment is made to seem a fault in this “enlightened” era of ours, but it was a virtue then. That the two of them neither overtly call upon God is the design of the inspired narrator—and is consistent with his method throughout the work—perhaps the better to dramatically reveal the remarkable providences of Jehovah-Jireh, yet one can see in certain sections their dynamic faith. When, in 3:2, “But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor”, this may well have been from a recollection of Deuteronomy 25:19:
“Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.”
When Mordecai commanded Esther
initially not to reveal her Jewish identity, who is to say this is not wisdom given him from God, seeing as the curses of the broken covenant laid heavily upon the people in this diaspora, and he may well have had Deut 28:65,66 or the like in mind:
“And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life”.
When Mordecai became aware of the decree of destruction levied against him and his people—the flock of the LORD— it is said of him, “When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry” (4:1). Who is to say that this “loud and bitter cry” was not to Jehovah of hosts in the presence of all, for doom had openly been pronounced upon him and all his kindred, the people of the living God? Why must this suspicion of his character be read into the text when it is certainly not inherent in it?
When, later, Mordecai, upon hearing of Esther’s reluctance to gain entrance to the king unbidden on possible pain of death, it is recorded,
“Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. 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?”
Where could such “enlargement and deliverance arise” for the Jews but from El Shaddai? Who alone could have brought her where she was “for such a time as this”? This is faith speaking! And this was the appointed time to reveal to the king the true identity of the woman he loved. Her obedient—and famous—response was,
“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.” (4:16)
Can one possibly think that these particular Jews, familiar with the Law, had no faith? Can one imagine that Esther told Mordecai to have the people merely cease from eating three days, and not to call upon the LORD who is a very present help in time of trouble? The narrator skillfully chose to keep overt faith—and God’s name—hidden in the background.
This precious book of God’s word is not only about the wisdom and courage He gives His people, but a poignant display of His hidden providence in the caring of them, even applicable in our day, as we see the horizon darken with a gathering storm.
We see this providence again when she approached king Ahasuerus: “And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight” (5:2), and he welcomed her in with a glad and generous heart (showing the truth of Proverbs 21:1).
We continue to see the loving and spectacular providences of the Almighty as the story goes on. As for us in 2015, even though we have the full canon of God’s revealed word to humankind, as well the final and crowning climax of prophetic vision to His people—the Apocalypse of John—we tend to worry about how it will fare for us
when all around our souls gives way in the days to come, and this story is a good antidote to such worry. God’s providential care operates in the minutiae of our circumstances and lives, with the remarkable precision of timing it did for Esther and Mordecai. We can fully trust Him.
In part our worry is that we do not have a physical Goshen, or (generally speaking) physical deliverances where we will be safe from the horrors of persecution and the poundings of consequent divine judgment on persecuting nations (in which we live), but instead a
spiritual Goshen of safety and deliverance in the presence of our Shepherd, “our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim 1:10). Resurrection changes everything; suffering and death are no longer destroyers, but usher us into everlasting peace and the hearty love of our great King.
