Unseen Hand
Esther chapter one is interesting reading, but not particularly spiritually insightful. It isn’t in the 23 Psalm or the Sermon on the Mount territory.
So, why is it here among sacred writ?
Yes, it is setting the stage and giving us the backstory for how it came to be that a Jewish woman became a queen in the Medo-Persian empire, but it is doing more than that.
Vashti’s refusal to come into the king’s banquet, the advice King Ahasuerus received from his trusted advisors, and the king’s subsequent banishment of Vashti all played a part in the purposes of God.
To be clear, there was nothing spiritual about any of these actions. By that I mean that the king and his counsel didn’t make their decisions after prayer and seeking God’s guidance. What they did – what Vashti did for that matter – is not written as an example for us. This isn’t marriage advice. They aren’t set before us as examples of godliness.
What we see here and throughout the book of Esther is that God can and does move even through messed up human decisions. To say this is not saying that God made them do these things. Rather, it is to say that even when people act in ungodly or unreasonable ways, God still works to accomplish His purposes.
This passage is not here to show us what to do, but to show us what God does.
When we consider this idea in light of the most important event in human history, the death and resurrection of Christ, we see that even there God’s hand was working through the messed up decisions of men. God did not make Judas betray Jesus, or Pilate unjustly condemn Him, or the crowds turn against Him and cry out for His death.
But in all of that God was accomplishing the glorious purposes of our redemption.
The worst evil ever committed became the means of the greatest good ever accomplished.
As you face the messiness of life in this world, when people around you are making horrible decisions, remember that God is working for His people even through a world that works against them.
You may not see what God is doing. In fact, most of the time you won’t. But that doesn’t mean He is absent. It means He is unseen.
