This is the outline of the book of Esther:
- Chapter 1:1 – 2:23: Jews in the Persian court
- Chapter 3:1 – 5:14: Jewish people threatened
- Chapter 6:1 – 10:3: The Jews triumphant
The events of the book of Esther took place in Persia, where Nebuchadnezzar had captured many Jews during his conquest of Israel. At the time of this story, Xerxes, also called Ahasuerus, is the King.
Beginning of the story
The narrative commences with the King hosting a grand feast for the populace, while Vashti, the queen at the time, hosts a separate one for the women. The Queen is invited to the King’s feast, but she declines to go. She will lose her title of Queen as a consequence of her refusal. After some time passes and the King starts to second-guess his choice, his advisors advise him to locate all the attractive girls in the realm and select one to succeed Queen Vashti.
Esther chosen
Haddasah, or Esther as most people would call her, was one of the females brought into the palace. Esther approached the king four years after the removal of the previous queen Vashti, and he selected her over all the other ladies to be the next Queen. Having raised her since childhood, Esther’s uncle Mordecai had advised her not to disclose her nationality. Every day, Mordecai visited the palace to find out how Esther was doing.
Haman furious
Simultaneously, the King elevated a man named Haman to a very high rank and commanded all to submit to him. When Mordecai refused to comply, Haman became enraged and, upon learning of Mordecai’s ethnicity, he made the decision to exterminate all Jews, not just Mordecai. Unaware that Esther would also be impacted, the king approved the idea.
Mordecai asked Esther to help
Mordecai instructed Esther to approach the King and request assistance. After spending three days in fasting and prayer with her attendants, Esther approached the king to extend an invitation to him and Haman to a feast. As the King was eating, Esther realized she had a request for him, and she requested him to put an end to the destruction of her people. The King gave the order to murder Haman after realizing that Esther would be a part of the plot to eliminate the Jews. After being elevated to succeed Haman, Mordecai was first introduced to the King by Esther.
The King gave permission
The King allowed the Jews to destroy their adversaries instead of rescinding the order to destroy the Jews. This chain of events led to the establishment of the Purim feast. Pur means “drawing lots,” and the day that the Jews were to be destroyed was selected through a drawing process, thus the name. This day honors Haman’s defense and salvation of the Jews.
God controlled the situation
Although God isn’t mentioned once in this book of the Bible regarding the Jewish people, it is clear from the text that God was in charge of everything. The God of the Jews and, in this case, the God of the Christians, was prayed to by Mordecai, the Jews, Esther, and her attendants. It is to Him that they attribute the honor of assistance, protection, and deliverance from Haman’s dastardly scheme.
Read more in What is the Bible?
