Fatalism - or faith?

If I die, I die. Esther 4:16

They sound a bit grim, don’t they, these words of Esther?

They remind me of a song from my childhood days, way back in the 1950s: Que sera sera, whatever will be will be… They suggest fatalism, a hopeless shrugging of the shoulders in the face of the future.

What has brought Esther to this sorry state? Piecing together the history involves various complex questions, but a likely scenario is this. It is nearly 500 years before Jesus, and the people of Israel are under the rule of the Persian empire and their king, Xerxes. The action of the story takes place in the royal citadel of Susa, where many Jews live. Among these is a man called Mordecai, who has been responsible for bringing up his young cousin Esther, or Hadassah, who was orphaned in childhood.

King Xerxes falls out with his wife Vashti, who refuses to obey him and allow herself to be put on display as a trophy wife. He divorces her and decides to find a new queen to take her place, so a search is started to find a suitable young woman; and Esther is chosen. It is not generally known that she is a Jew.

Enter Haman, an official of the royal court – who has a deep-seated hatred of the Jews. He uses the influence he has with the king to urge him to pass a decree that all the Jews in the empire should be killed. Xerxes foolishly agrees, with the result that “there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing…” (4:3). Esther realises that, queen or not, her position will be pretty precarious once her Jewishness becomes known. But what can she do?

This is the point at which the wise Mordecai comes up with an answer: she must approach the king and plead with him on behalf of her people. Only one problem, says Esther: anyone approaching the king without express permission is liable to be put to death – once again, queen or no queen. Fair enough: but Mordecai tells Esther that there is nothing for it but to take that risk. After all, as a Jew she is liable to be put to death anyway. Esther sees the sense of this; so after urging Mordecai and all the Jews in Susa to fast and pray (let’s not overlook that), she agrees with his plan. And so… “if I die, I die…”

If you don’t know how the story unfolds, just take a few minutes to read the remaining chapters, 5 to 10.

The great lesson from the book of Esther for us today - in fact, for all God’s people down through time – is summed up in the word providence. This, in essence, means the way in which God works his purposes out, both in history and in people’s personal lives, in ways that are often hidden from us. We may, at the time, put it down to coincidence or luck. But looking back later we realise that there is a pattern and a purpose in what has happened and, by faith, we see what we may call “the hand of God” at work.

Mordecai obviously knew something of the providence of God. When he and Esther become aware of how desperate their situation is he puts it to her: “who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (4:14). As if to say, “Look, Esther, you remember how amazed we all were when, you, an unknown Jewish girl, were chosen to be Xerxes’ new queen. Well, suddenly it seems as if there might be some divine purpose in that of which we couldn’t then so much as dream! Perhaps God himself has brought this about, and intends to give you a big place in the working out of his will”.

God’s providence doesn’t only work in big world events. It works too in the lives of the “little people”, like most of us, who simply seek to walk with God day by day. The classic Bible text for this is Romans 8:28: “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” – where “all things” really means all things! Clinging to that conviction even in the hard times, when events in our lives seem chaotic, is a severe test of faith. May our faith not fail us! Remember Job!

It's worth noticing one particular peculiarity in the book of Esther – the word “God” never appears. How strange is that in such a God-filled book as the Bible!

What’s the significance of it? Simply this: While God is certainly at work for the good of his people, he nowhere makes himself known (as far, that is, as we are told). There seems to be no prophetic voice raised, no miracles performed, no charismatic leader to rally and inspire the people. The fact seems to be that events unfold in entirely “natural” ways with just one very brave man and one very brave woman at the heart of it all. The faith they have inherited from their ancestors seems to be so deeply rooted in their hearts that they simply assume that God is there, though unseen, and can be trusted. It’s in their very DNA. And, of course, that faith is ultimately vindicated.

This can be true also for us. We believe in our loving God – of course we do. But there are times when it is hard. We pray earnestly, even desperately, perhaps even despairingly. We live with heartache, deep down quite disappointed with God. But ultimately (an important word, that!) God chooses to show his hand, and we see things in a completely new light…

Oh, so he was there all the time! Thanks be to God!

Loving Father, give me the faith of Mordecai and the obedience of Esther, especially during hard and even desperate times - if not immediately, then to see the unfolding of your hidden purposes as time goes by. Amen.

Lord of the world, as we reflect on the story of Esther, we cannot help but think of  the current grave situation in the middle east. We pray for your intervention in the conflict between modern Israel and the Palestinian people, asking that wise and peace-making voices will be heard on both sides and will soon prevail. Have mercy, Lord! Amen.