Esther 3 - God's Sovereignty

One of the primary themes in the book of Esther is the sovereignty or providence of God. Although we don’t see God’s name mentioned we see him working quietly in the lives of people to accomplish His will. Sovereignty means that God is in complete control and that His will is going to be accomplished regardless of our actions. He works in the lives of those who don’t know Him as well as those who do to accomplish His will. As Christians God gives us the opportunity to participate in carrying out His will, but if we choose not to do so, someone else will. We simply miss the blessing that we would have attained had we obeyed God. God’s will is not frustrated by our lack of obedience.

Let’s look at several places in Esther where we can see God’s providence in action. The first place that I notice it is when Queen Vashti is removed as Queen (1:10f). We talked earlier about her refusal to obey the king. It is because of her removal as queen that Esther had the opportunity to gain a place of prominence so that she can be the tool that God uses to protect His people, the Jews.

We see several instances of God’s sovereignty in the second chapter. First when Esther was taken into the king’s palace, she found favor with Hegai (2:8), the individual responsible for those to be considered to be the queen. Because of this she was given the best place in the harem and most likely the best opportunity to impress the king. Secondly, she did not make known her nationality. Had her nationality become public, she most likely would not have been chosen queen. This step is unusual because the Jewish people are proud of their heritage and usually make it known. In verse 17 we see that the king loved Esther more than any of the other women. Certainly this was God working in the heart of the king so that Esther could be in this place of responsibility. In verse 21 Mordecai hears of a plot to kill the king which leads to the traitors being arrested and killed and the instance written in the kings book of records. Later the king reads about this and Mordecai is honored just when Haman wanted to put him to death.

In 3:7 lots are being cast to determine when the king’s order to kill all the Jews is to be carried out. The date that is selected is almost a year away, so that the events we read about in the rest of the book have time to take place and the Jews are not killed.

We mentioned earlier Esther 4:14. Here Mordecai explains that Esther has an opportunity to save her people but that if she doesn’t do it, God will find another way to carry out His plan for His people. God has influenced events so that she is in a place to mold the will of the king. It is her responsibility simply to be faithful.

The fifth chapter also contains several instances of God’s sovereignty. First we see that when Esther approaches the king she finds favor with him. She actually placed her life on the line in doing this and God had prepared the king’s heart so that he welcomed her. In verse 14 we see Haman having gallows prepared for Mordecai and subsequently they are used to hang Haman.