The book of Esther is a unique book in the canon of Scripture. At no place in the entire book is the name of God mentioned, yet the book is unrivaled in showing the fingerprints of God and His overruling in the affairs of men.
Hadassah is obedient. She is an excellent example of a young lady who finds herself caught up in an ungodly world around her yet remains virtuous. The secrets of the book are unlocked with the key found in chapter 4, verses 13-14:
“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?”
We can learn two truths about God’s sovereignty from this passage. Firstly, God’s purposes cannot be thwarted. God orchestrated the situations in a national way to cause Esther to become queen. She was put into place for such a time as the Jews needed someone desperately.
No possible human way existed for the Jews to realize they would be put in such danger. For however brilliant or astute men can become, they cannot predict the future. God was already there, and moved Mordecai and Esther into positions, much like a chess player carefully places strategic pieces into their positions on the board, ready for the coming situations.
God would not allow the Jews to be destroyed, and He worked in such a way to put the pieces together so there would be a way of escape. What a wonderful God we have! No matter what situation, what trial we find ourselves in, we can know that God has gone before us. No man can know how God is even now placing him in key positions to have influence on others in His time. Nor can we understand how that God has superintended the situations in our lives to bring us to the points of learning that teach us more about ourselves and about God Himself. We can only step back in amazement and say, “Only God could have accomplished this!”
Doesn’t that give us reason to praise Him? This God that knows when the smallest sparrow falls to the ground, this God Who possesses the heart of the king in His hand, this God Who has already determined the time of Satan’s final punishment, only He can receive the praise for governing in the affairs of men.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you could see how God had worked to bring a certain situation to pass? Some have compared our lives to a giant quilt, with threads running to and fro, interweaved with each other throughout. Our lives are spent viewing this life quilt from the underside, where most everything looks confusing and unorganized. I am convinced that God is working all the time, behind the scenes, using seemingly inconsequential events to work His purpose. Every once in a while, He lovingly pulls back the curtain just a bit to allow us to see a few of these connections He is making. He sometimes lets us see a part of the “right side” of the quilt, where we can see that all those confusing threads do indeed make sense, and that He is crafting an image in us that is a reflection of His own dear Son, our “oldest brother.” I’m so thankful for those little glances that remind us that God is still weaving! He is still working both in us and those around us. God is truly sovereign and nothing can stay His hand or His purposes.
As several have stated in years gone by, “Man may rule, but God overrules.” Praise God for His incredible sovereignty!
The second truth we learn from this passage is equally important, for we possess responsibility for fulfilling God’s purpose for us. Although God had orchestrated the situation in such a way that Esther was in the right place at the right time, she still had the responsibility to act. What a beautiful biblical picture of the harmony between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man! Esther still possessed a choice for action. In fact, Mordecai recognized this so much that he reminded her that should she choose not to act, God would still work His purpose and protect 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”. Esther could have opted to stay silent. God would still have delivered the Jews; His purpose would not be thwarted. However, Esther was not a robot. She was not forced to act. She still possessed the responsibility to do what she was brought to this point to do.
I see this as a wonderful picture of the sovereignty of God working at the same time as the responsibility of man. This flies in the face of both extreme Calvinism and Arminianism.
A growing number of believers are longing for today’s church to return to the Bible view of the majesty and power of God. They are right in that regard. Unfortunately for many, this leads them from one extreme of man-only doctrine to the other extreme of man-absent doctrine; namely, extreme forms of Calvinism which teach that God has made every person a virtual robot, unable to make choices.
The truth is found in neither fatalism[1] or open theism[2], but as we see in Esther, God’s sovereignty is in no way diminished by the existence of the responsibility of man to act. Esther acted rightly, and resigned herself to the fact that she might die. Rarely do we get to see an inspired account of what might have happened had she not obeyed. Do you ever wonder that? What if I don’t do what I know God wants me to do? Some say that it is impossible for us to do something that God has not already ordained us to do, so, then, it would have been impossible for Esther not to obey. Others say that God is learning the future right along with us, so that nothing is under His purview.
This passage proves that she could have indeed disobeyed God. She could have run away from her responsibility. Would that have thwarted God’s purpose? Clearly not! As we are reminded, God would have raised up deliverance [literally, “respiration”] from another place. God is so sovereign and powerful that He can allow for the poor choices of man and yet still accomplish His purposes. This exalts the position of God higher, contrary to the opinions of some well-meaning believers who see any allowance of man’s free will as a detriment to the greatness of God.
It takes a greater God to allow, even imbue man with free will and still accomplish His purposes than a God who programmed everything in from the beginning of time down to each sin (aside from the numerous problems with the false doctrine that God is the Author of sin). Friends, God is not bound by our small minds or our theological systems we have devised to help us understand Him! Where our systems help us, then let them help. However, where they force us to decide between either man’s free will or God’s incredible sovereignty then let us embrace both truths and leave our theological systems to fend for themselves.
The higher sovereignty of God is seen in the book of Esther as He moves about in the heart of the king; as he influenced Mordecai’s route in order that he might overhear the plot to assassinate the king; as he enabled Esther to keep her heritage a secret until just the right time; and yet, through it all, taking into account the variableness of men. Had Esther not obeyed, God would still have saved the Jews; she, however, would have paid serious consequences for refusing to play her part in God’s story.
Are there believers today who refuse to obey God? Certainly. Are there men and women who should have surrendered to the mission field long ago? Most definitely. Will God raise up deliverance and opportunity for those unbelievers who would have heard the gospel from those who refused to go? Yes! God is powerful enough to overcome the disobedience of man! Isn’t that more power? Does that not bring even more glory to His name? Praise God for His incredible sovereignty! Let us find in Esther a picture of how God works in life to accomplish His purpose through finite man. Let us also draw courage and confidence in our great God Who is certainly able to overcome our own shortcomings and times of disobedience to work great good in our lives as He weaves a tapestry of glory for His Name.
[1]The practical outflowing of Calvinism taken to its logical extreme.
[2]The extreme teaching that God does not know everything, that He is growing and learning with the passing of time.