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Most commentators agree that if Esther teaches any kind of theological “lesson” at all, it is the doctrine of providence. Providence is the term used to describe the way that God orchestrates the seemingly random events of life to fulfil his wider purposes. The clearest example can be found in Esther 6:1-6. It is the

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“Pride comes before a fall” (Prov 16:8), and you won’t find many better illustrations of that than Haman’s humiliation in Esther 6. He went from thinking he was about to be treated like a king, to having to treat his most despised enemy like one. We tend to assume that pride is all about thinking

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Paul Barnett is also the author of the much larger volume on 2 Corinthians in the New International Commentary series, so this book is clearly his area of expertise. Having said that, I think that this contribution to the Bible Speaks Today series precedes his work for the NICNT. 2 Corinthians is a more personal

if people only knew

Whilst we have admitted that we don’t know exactly why Esther chose to delay her request until the moment she did, we can certainly say that it was a wise thing to do. She comes across in several places as a shrewd young woman, knowing not just when but how to act. Here she seems

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Most action movies climax at the moment where the villain gets his comeuppance, usually by being killed in a particularly gruesome way. But no one is overly bothered by this, since it is understood as justice being meted out. The story of Esther reaches a similarly satisfying climax, as Haman ends up being impaled on

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I got back today from Together at Westpoint, a regional newfrontiers camping weekend featuring Bible teaching, worship and kids’ work. We had teaching from Guy Miller and Dave Stroud, with Chris Kilby finishing off with a gospel appeal. Probably my favourite talk from the week was Dave Stroud on Noah and the life of faith.

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Chapter 7 ends with Haman being impaled on the pole he set up for Mordecai (Esth 7:10). If this was a movie, we might expect the credits to start rolling – the arch-villain has been defeated and now things are surely going to be OK. But there is still work to do. Haman’s edict of

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Esth 8:11 is one of the most troubling verses in the book of Esther for many Christian readers. Not only does Mordecai’s counter-edict effectively authorize a civil war, but its provisions seem unnecessarily barbaric. Although many English translations smooth things over somewhat, many commentators agree that the edict permits the Jews to kill the women

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There is a remarkable statement in Esth 8:17 which says that “many people of other nationalities became Jews”. What does that mean? Did they really convert to Judaism, worshiping the Lord and being circumcised? Or is it that they just claimed to be Jews, or were supportive of the Jews, or respectful towards them? A

oh i can’t beleive it

Naturally the great deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s wicked plot was the cause of much celebration and feasting (Esth 9:17-18). But Mordecai and Esther were determined that the story should not be forgotten, so they instituted an annual holiday to commemorate it – the festival of Purim (Esth 9:20-21). Although Christians do not celebrate