Esther
Weldon Scott

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ESTHER - SALVATION FROM ANNIHILATION

Esther - Outline

I. How the plot was formed (Ch. 1-3)
  1. The power of Ahasuerus, the king (Ch. 1-3)
  2. The marriage of Esther to the king (Ch. 2)
  3. The service of Mordecai (Ch. (2)
  4. The malice of Haman (Ch. 3)
II. How the plot was fought (Ch. 4,5)
  1. The cry of Israel (Ch. 4)
  2. The courage of Esther (Ch 4,5)
III. How the plot was foiled (Ch. 6-10)
  1. The death of Haman (Ch. 6,7)
  2. The decree of Ahasuerus (Ch. 8)
  3. The deliverance of Israel (Ch. 9)
  4. The feast of Purim (Ch. 9)
  5. Mordecai's advancement to second in kingdom (Ch. 10)

The events of this book take place sometime between the first returning remnant by Zerubabbel and the second returning remnant by Ezra.These events occur sometime around 480-485 BC.The book describes events which took place at the Persian capital of Susa, or Shusan.It is strange to consider that no mention is made of Palestine, Jerusalem, the temple, the law of Moses, or Hebrew history in the book.The Persian king is mentioned 190 times in the book, but God is not mentioned at all. No, nothing mentioned of Elohim, Jehovah, Shaddai, or Adonai, descriptive terms of God.

Haman, a chief administrator, or prime minister of the king, plotted for the extermination of the Jews because Mordecai refused to bow before him and pay homage to him. (This wasn't the first time the Jews were hated, for we see Pharaoh in Egypt trying to rid the world of the Jews in his order to kill all the Hebrew male babies. In the mid 1900's, Hitler tried to do the same in the committing of the Jews to the gas chambers.)But God was with the Jewish people and He still had plans for them in future history.

God uses no supernatural intervention to stop Haman. He merely allowed the working of events by natural sequences. This is what happened:Esther becomes queen, Mordecai renders a great service to the king, and the king cannot resist the beauty, courage, and pleas of Esther. The king ordered Haman hanged on the gallows intended for Mordecai, and he also promoted Mordecai to the position of prime minister. The Jews are delivered from their plight, and the Jews have continued to the present day to remember the salvation of the race by Esther in their Feast of Purim.

With the books of Esther, Ezra and Nehemiah the historical portion of the Old Testament comes to a close.Looking back over the unfolding of this history, we see the divine providence overruling in the affairs of men. Behind the scenes, God rules.



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