Just like for Mordecai and Esther, our lives are also sustained by the hand of God in the ordinary, in events begging to be seen as the work of Christ in our lives.
“Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Es. 4:13-15)
In contrast to the overarching narrative of Scripture, the name of God is never mentioned in the book of Esther. In the account of creation we hear over and over that God spoke and our world came into existence. When the people were called out of slavery and wandered in the wilderness they heard over and over the reassuring words that God will bring them to the promised land. At just the right time, the Word Incarnate came and dwelt among his creation. The people heard from the fleshy lips of Christ and were healed by his hands.
And yet, the book of Esther mimics our own lives with the absence of a narrator telling us where the hand of God is working. The absence of God’s name does not mean he is not at work. Events in the story beg to be attributed to the hand of God.
Esther is a Jewish orphan who ends up queen through a dramatic sequence of events. Her adopted uncle held a position which allowed him access to the royal courts. Her place as queen and Mordecai’s access to the royal courts allowed her to make a plea to the king to save the lives of her people.
Mordecai’s words in Esther 4 could be misinterpreted as an isolated challenge to Esther: “Stand up now or suffer the consequences.” Yet, read within the larger context of God’s promises to his people and his continued saving work throughout Scripture, we can see that Mordecai also echoes God’s promises to Esther and God’s people. Generationally, the people of Israel would be preserved. His words are not devoid of hope that redemption will come, even if it is from “another place.”
Mordecai’s reference to “another place” may seem out of place when he speaks of an assured deliverance. It reads as suspiciously vague and without any other context, as a difficult promise to interpret. As the reader, we want to jump up and say, “Mordecai! Give credit where credit is due. The relief and deliverance will be from the hand of God and chances are high he will use one of his people.”
While we may be able to connect the dots due to the larger narrative revealed to us on the pages of Scripture, how often do we miss God’s work as God’s work in our own lives?
Just like for Mordecai and Esther, our lives are also sustained by the hand of God in the ordinary, in events begging to be seen as the work of Christ in our lives. A few we recognize. Perhaps a couple we tell others about. Yet countless instances wash over us without even a hiccup.
Thankfully, the hand of God does not rely on our recognition of it. We do not always have the eyes to see the hand of God or the words to proclaim his redemption. Yet in spite of our blurred vision and speechlessness, he still works. He works in hiddenness and obscurity to continue to redeem and protect in such a time as this. Even when we miss his faithfulness, his Word and his promises to us remain faithful.
