Some have said that the book of Esther should not be in the bible,
that it is not fitting, that it is not a necessary book.
Esther has many miraculous lessons that the Lord taught us
and it is indeed a very important book.
She was given the position of Queen after a previous queen had shamed the king.
As you read these scriptures and the entire book of Esther,
notice how God sets up His enemies to receive the very plans
Satan created by Haman to destroy the Jews.
Satan tries to destroy God’s People through Haman
And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus,
There is a certain people scattered abroad
and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom;
and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed:
and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries. Esther 3:8-9
God often gives His people favor in the sight of others for His purposes
Esther was favored by Hegai, the keeper of the women:
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him;
and he speedily gave her her things for purification,
with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens,
which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house:
and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women. Esther 2:9
The importance of honoring our parents
Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai,
the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity
which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah,
whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter:
for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful;
whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. Esther 2:5-7
God taught us the importance of fasting
Esther knew that God honors fasting and this was a complex situation:
She needed His help. the lives of the Jews were in danger and her life as well.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me,
and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day:
I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king,
which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. Esther 4:16
The importance of respect and reverence to the King
Esther did not storm the Kingdom, she petitioned the King, in reverence:
And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court,
that she obtained favour in his sight:
and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand.
So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Esther 5:2
God gives wisdom to those who ask for it
Esther demonstrates God’s wisdom as she caught Haman in a snare:
Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste,
that he may do as Esther hath said.
So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. Esther 5:5
Satan’s plan is being set up and we see God’s hand preparing to bring it to a halt:
Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him,
Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high,
and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet.
And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made. Esther 5:14
The importance of trusting the Lord and the importance of waiting on the Lord
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water:
He turneth it whithersoever He will. Proverbs 21:1
On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh,
two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door,
who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him,
There is nothing done for him. Esther 6:1-3
God taught us how He honors His people
God used Haman, Mordecai’s enemy to honor Mordecai when,
at first, Haman thought he, himself would be honored by the king:
Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse,
as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.
Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai,
and brought him on horseback through the street of the city,
and proclaimed before him,
Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate.
But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
Esther 6:10-12
God taught us how He stands up for His people
And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee:
and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.
Then Esther the queen answered and said,
If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king,
let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish.
But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.
Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen,
Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.
Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. Esther 7:2-6
Our enemies will receive retribution
And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king,
Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai,
who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman.
Then the king said, Hang him thereon.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
Then was the king’s wrath pacified. Esther 7:9-10
Standing for righteousness honors God
And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman,
and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet,
and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite,
and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther.
So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight,
and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes,
let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha
the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces:
Esther 8:2-5
God Raises up His people that trust and obey Him
The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities
throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus,
to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them;
for the fear of them fell upon all people. Esther 9:2
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews,
and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people,
and speaking peace to all his seed. Esther 10:3