DRAMA, power, romance, intrigue - this is the stuff of which best-selling novels are made. But far from a modern piece of fiction, those words describe a true story, lived and written centuries ago. More than entertaining reading, it is a story of the profound interplay of God's sovereignty and human will. God prepared the place and the opportunity, and his people, Esther and Mordecai, chose to act. The book of Esther begins with Queen Vashti refusing to obey an order from her husband, King Xerxes. She was subsequently banished, and the search began for a new queen. The king sent out a decree to gather together all the beautiful women in the empire and bring them into the royal harem. Esther, a young Jewish woman, was one of those chosen to be in the royal harem. King Xerxes was so pleased with Esther that he made her his queen.
   Meanwhile, Mordecai, Esther's older cousin, became a government official and during his tenure foiled an assassination plot. But the ambitious and self-serving Haman was appointed second-in-command in the empire. When Mordecai refused to bow in reverence to him, Haman became furious and determined to destroy Mordecai and all the Jews along with him. To accomplish his vengeful deed, Haman deceived the king and persuaded him to issue an edict condemning the Jews to death. Mordecai told Queen Esther about this edict, and she decided to risk her life to save her people. Esther asked King Xerxes and Haman to be her guests at a banquet. During the feast, the king asked Esther what she really wanted, and he promised to give her anything. Esther simply invited both men to another banquet the next day.
   That night, unable to sleep, the king was flipping through some records in the royal archives when he read of the assassination plot that Mordecai thwarted. Surprised to learn that Mordecai had never been rewarded for this deed, the king asked Haman what should be done to properly thank a hero. Haman thought the king must be talking about him, and so he described a lavish reward. The king agreed, but to Haman's shock and utter humiliation, he learned that Mordecai was the person to be so honored.
   During the second banquet, the king again asked Esther what she desired. She replied that someone has plotted to destroy her and her people, and she named Haman as the culprit. Immediately the king sentenced Haman to die on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai.
   In the final act of this true-life drama, Mordecai was appointed to Haman's position, and the Jews were guaranteed protection throughout the land. To celebrate this historic occasion, the feast of Purim was established.
   Because of Queen Esther's courageous act, a whole nation was saved. Seeing her God-given opportunity, she seized it! Her life made a difference. Read Esther and watch for God at work in your life. Perhaps he has prepared you to act in "such a time as this" (4:14).

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VITAL STATISTICS
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PURPOSE:
To demonstrate God's sovereignty and his loving care for his people.

AUTHOR:
Unknown. Possibly Mordecai (9:29). Some have suggested Ezra or Nehemiah because of the similarity of the writing style.

DATE WRITTEN:
Approximately 470 B.C. (Esther became queen in 479).

SETTING:
Although Esther follows Nehemiah in the Bible, its events are about 30 years prior to those recorded in Nehemiah. The story is set in the Persian empire, and most of the action takes place in the king's palace in Susa, the Persian capital.

KEY VERSE:
"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" (4:14).

KEY PEOPLE:
Esther, Mordecai, King Xerxes I, Haman

KEY PLACE:
The king's palace in Susa, Persia.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Esther is one of only two books named for women (Ruth is the other). The book is unusual in that in the original version no name, title, or pronoun for God appears in it. This caused some church fathers to question its inclusion in the canon. But God's presence is clear throughout the book.

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THE BLUEPRINT
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1. Esther becomes queen (1:1-2:23)
2. The Jews are threatened (3:1-4:17)
3. Esther intercedes for the Jews (5:1-8:17)
4. The Jews are delivered (9:1-10:3)

The book of Esther is an example of God's divine guidance and care over our lives. God's sovereignty and power are seen throughout this book. Although we may question certain circumstances in our lives, we must have faith that God is in control, working through both the pleasant and difficult times so that we can serve him effectively.

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MEGATHEMES
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THEME
God's sovereignty

EXPLANATION
The book of Esther tells of the circumstances that were essential to the survival of God's people in Persia. These "circumstances" were not the result of chance, but of God's grand design. God is sovereign over every area of life.

IMPORTANCE
With God in charge, we can take courage. He can guide us through the circumstances we face in our lives. We should expect God to display his power in carrying out his will. As we unite our life's purposes to God's purpose, we . benefit from his sovereign care.

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THEME
Racial hatred

EXPLANATION
The Jews in Persia had been a minority since their deportation from Judah 100 years earlier. Haman was a descendant of King Agag, an enemy of the Jews. Lust for power and pride drove Haman to hate Mordecai, Esther's cousin. Haman convinced the king to kill all the Jews.

IMPORTANCE
Racial hatred is always sinful. We must never condone it in any form. Every person on earth has intrinsic worth because God created mankind in his image. Therefore, God's people must stand against racism whenever and wherever it occurs.

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THEME
Deliverance

EXPLANATION
On February 28th, the Jews celebrate the feast of Purim, which symbolizes God's deliverance. Purim means "lots", such as those used by Haman to set the date for the extermination of all Jews from Persia. But God overruled, using Queen Esther to intercede on behalf of the Jews.

IMPORTANCE
Because God is in control of history, he is never frustrated by any turn of events or action of man. He is able to save us from the evil of this world and deliver us from sin and death. Because we trust God, we are not to fear what people may do to us; instead, we are to be confident in God's control.

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THEME
Action

EXPLANATION
Faced with death, Esther and Mordecai set aside their own fear and took action. Esther risked her life by asking King Xerxes to save the Jews. They were not paralyzed by fear.

IMPORTANCE
When outnumbered and powerless, it is natural for us to feel helpless. Esther and Mordecai resisted this temptation and acted with courage. It is not enough to know that God is in control; we must act with self-sacrifice and courage to follow God's guidance.

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THEME
Wisdom

EXPLANATION
The Jews were a minority in a world hostile to them. It took great wisdom for Mordecai to survive. Serving as a faithful official of the king, Mordecai took steps to understand and work with the Persian law. Yet he did not compromise his integrity.

IMPORTANCE
It takes great wisdom to survive in a non-believing world. In a setting which is for the most part hostile to Christianity, we can demonstrate wisdom by giving respect to what is true and good and by humbly standing against what is wrong.

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1. Esther becomes queen

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Queen Vashti Deposed
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1. What is the book of Esther about, from where did King Xerxes reign, and what did he do in the third year of his reign?

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   Esther's story begins in 483 B.C., 103 years after Nebuchadnezzar had taken the Jews into captivity (2nd Kings 25), 54 years after Zerubbabel led the first group of exiles back to Jerusalem (Ezra 1; 2), and 25 years before Ezra led the second group to Jerusalem (Ezra 7). Esther lived in the kingdom of Persia, the dominant kingdom in the Middle East after Babylon's fall in 539 B.C. Esther's parents must have been among those exiles who chose not to return to Jerusalem, even though Cyrus, the Persian king, had issued a decree allowing them to do so. The Jewish exiles had great freedom in Persia, and many remained because they had established themselves there or were fearful of the dangerous journey back to their homeland.
   Xerxes the Great was Persia's fifth king (486-465 B.C.). He was proud and impulsive, as we see from the events in chapter 1. His winter palace was in Susa, where he held the banquet described in 1:3-7. Persian kings often held great banquets before going to war. In 481, Xerxes launched an attack against Greece. After his fleet won a great victory at Thermopylae, he was defeated at Salamis in 480 and had to return to Persia. Esther became queen in 479.
   In this context, "citadel" means "palace."

2. What did King Xerxes do for a full 180 days, what did he do when these days were over, how long did it last, where did he give it, who did he give it for, what did the garden have, what were the couches made of, what was the wine served in, and what was in abundant, in keeping with the king's liberality?

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   The celebration lasted 180 days (about six months) because its real purpose was to plan the battle strategy for invading Greece and to demonstrate that the king had sufficient wealth to carry it out. Waging war was not only for survival; it was a means of acquiring more wealth, territory, and power.
   Persia was a world power, and the king, as the center of that power, was one of the wealthiest people in the world. Persian kings loved to flaunt their wealth, even wearing precious gemstones in their beards. Jewelry was a sign of rank for Persian men. Even soldiers wore great amounts of gold jewelry into battle.

3. What were each guest allowed to do by the king's command, and what did the king instruct all the wine stewards to do?

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   "Each guest was allowed to drink in his own way" means that the guests could drink as much or as little as they wished. (Usually the king controlled how much his guests could drink.)

4. What did Queen Vashti do also?

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   Ancient Greek documents call Xerxes' wife Amestris, probably a Greek form of Vashti. Vashti was deposed in 484/483 B.C., but she is mentioned again in ancient records as the queen mother during the reign of her son, Artaxerxes, who succeeded Xerxes. Toward the end of Xerxes' reign, either Esther died or Vashti was able through her son to regain the influence she had lost.

5. When he was in high spirits, what did King Xerxes do on the seventh day, why did he want her to wear her royal crown, what did she do when the attendants delivered the king's command, and what did the king become?

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   Some advisers and government officials were castrated in order to prevent them from having children and then rebelling and trying to establish a dynasty of their own. A castrated official was called a eunuch.
   Xerxes made a rash, half-drunk decision, based purely on feelings. His self-restraint and practical wisdom were weakened by too much wine. Poor decisions are made when people don't think clearly. Base your decisions on careful thinking, not on the emotions of the moment. Impulsive decision making leads to severe complications.
   Queen Vashti refused to parade before the king's all-male party, possibly because it was against Persian custom for a woman to appear before a public gathering of men. This conflict between Persian custom and the king's command put her in a difficult situation, and she chose to refuse her half-drunk husband, hoping he would come to his senses later. Some have suggested that Vashti was pregnant with Artaxerxes, who was born in 483 B.C., and that she did not want to be seen in public in that state.
   Whatever the reason, her action was a breach of protocol that also placed Xerxes in a difficult situation. Once he made the command, as a Persian king he could not reverse it. While preparing to invade Greece, Xerxes had invited important officials from all over his land to see his power, wealth, and authority. If it was perceived that he had no authority over his own wife, his military credibility would be damaged - the greatest criterion of success for an ancient king. In addition, King Xerxes was accustomed to getting what he wanted.

6. Whom did the king speak with since it was customary for him to consult experts in matters of law and justice, who were the seven nobles of Persia and Media he consulted with, and what did he ask them?

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   Middle Eastern kings often did not have close personal relationships with their wives. Xerxes demonstrates this because (1) he had a harem (2:3); (2) he showed no respect for Vashti's personhood (1:10-12); (3) Esther, when she became queen, did not see him for long periods of time (4:11).

7. Whom did Memucan say Queen Vashti did wrong to, what did he say will become known to all the women, what did he say the women will say to their husbands, and what did he say will happened this very day?

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   Perhaps the men's thinking had been clouded by drinking. Obviously this law would not cause the women of the country to respect their husbands. Respect between men and women comes from mutual regard and appreciation for each other as those created in God's image, not from legal pronouncements and orders. Forced obedience is a poor substitute for the love and respect wives and husbands should have for each other.

8. What did Memucan recommend the king to do if it pleases him, what did he recommend the king to do with Vashti's royal position, what did he say will happen when the king's edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, how did the king and his nobles respond, and what did the king do?

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   A Persian king was thought to be a god by many of his people; therefore, when he issued a law or command, it stood forever. The law could never be canceled, even if it was ill-advised; but if necessary, a new law could be issued to neutralize the effects of the old law.

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Answers to Esther, chapter one
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1. What happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush...his royal throne in the citadel of Susa...he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present
2. He displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty...he gave a banquet...seven days...in the enclosed garden of the king's palace...all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa...hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars...gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones...goblets of gold, each one different from the other...the royal wine
3. To drink in his own way...to serve each man what he wished
4. She gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes
5. He commanded the seven eunuchs who served him - Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas - to bring before him Queen Vashti...in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at...she refused to come...furious and burned with anger
6. The wise men who understood the times and were closest to the king...Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan..."According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?" "She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her."
7. Against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes...the queen's conduct...'King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.'...the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord
8. To issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes...to give it to someone else who is better than she...all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest...they were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed...he sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people's tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household

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The Life Application Study Bible - Zondervan