The Sovereignty and Providence of God in Esther

Esther 4:13-16 KJV 
He [Mordecai] sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you [Esther] are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 
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 your royal position for such a time as this?”

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Have you heard? Nobody’s reading anymore.

However, if you are at all interested in suspenseful stories you MUST read the biblical book of Esther which is a dramatic and fast-paced story positioned like a political thriller found in the Hebrew Bible.

Esther is one of two books of the Bible that never mentions the name of God; the other is The Song of Solomon or (The Song of Songs).

The book’s plot is set in the ancient Persian Empire and is filled with secret identities, assassination plots, and sudden reversals of fortune.

Though the name of God is never explicitly mentioned, the plot plays out in such a way that through human strategy, tension, and what appears to be sheer coincidence the sovereignty and the providence of God are on brilliantly dynamic display.

How Might We Define the Sovereignty of God?

God’s sovereignty is God’s absolute right, ownership, and capacity to do whatever He decides to do.

For example, the scriptures say:

Jeremiah 32:17 “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

Daniel 4:35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth;and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Colossians 1:16-17 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Providence, Though Deeply Entwined with Sovereignty, is Different

Providence has been defined as “God’s purposeful sovereignty by which he will be completely successful in the achievement of his ultimate goal for the universe.” Dr John Piper, Providence

Did you catch that? Purposeful sovereignty is God’s application of His loving, wise plan which is often but not always beyond the ability of men to perceive and understand even as they are being acted upon and are themselves acting providentially.

Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

James 3:13-15 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

God providentially “sees to it,” that is God Himself brings about and orchestrates

situations,
seasons, and
circumstances that fulfill all of His divine purpose.

For example, we can reasonably conclude that Mordecai raised Esther as a devout Jew in a non-Jewish society:

When Esther heard about the genocide decreed and she was convinced to act on the Jews’ behalf, she decided to fast and to pray.

Fasting and prayer were then and are still valid, spiritual methods through which we can know the will of the sovereign God.

God Uses Flawed People

However, earlier, when Esther, among the other virgins in Persia, was selected for what the biblical writer, I believe, euphemistically calls a beauty contest, but what is actually a sex contest, to determine the next Queen, Esther and Mordecai don’t look so devout or set apart as God’s special people.

However, we would have to conclude that God sovereignly and providentially moved Esther and Mordecai into position to be able to influence a foreign king on behalf of His people, the Jews.

It appears that God used Mordecai and Esther to accomplish His divine purposes despite actions which may be perceived as complicit with the pagan culture.

Thank God! For we too have not always been salt and light in our society.

This is the same God who, today, in the 21st century, sovereignly moves and providentially works according to all of good purpose and His will.

You and I can trust God.

Help! Love, MOM