The writer of the book of Esther tells us the story of the great deliverance granted to the Jews throughout the extensive dominions of Ahasuerus, from the spiritual standpoint of the Jews of the dispersion. He puts on record a true story which is almost stranger than fiction. The story abounds in what men would call dramatic situations and the most remarkable coincidences.
Fancifulness is a thing much to be shunned in handling the Holy Scriptures. We shall seek to avoid it by not claiming as coincidences various details which many might be disposed to regard as such. We do not think that any would be disposed to deny as remarkable coincidences the following:
Remarkable Coincidences
1. That, when, according to the corrupt customs of those days, large numbers of fair young maidens were assembled at Shushan for the king, Esther out of them all obtained universal favor. That one maiden would obtain the king's favor was pretty certain, but Esther obtained not only that but also the favor of the king's chamberlain and indeed "of all them that looked upon her." (See Esther 2:9,15,179And 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)
15Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her. (Esther 2:15)
17And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. (Esther 2:17).) Thus was she lifted suddenly into a position of extraordinary influence.
2. That, when amongst the many intrigues of that Eastern court a plot was set afoot to assassinate the king, news of it leaked out to Mordecai, of all people in the world, and thus he was able to warn the king and establish a claim upon the king's favor.
3. That Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the Agagite (or, the Amalekite) "after these things" (Esther 3:11After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. (Esther 3:1)). Thus the sworn foe of the Jew did not obtain his exalted position with its vast potentialities of mischief until after the lines were laid for checkmating his evil designs.
4. That, when Haman, invested with power and full of wrath at Mordecai's lack of reverence, determined to destroy, not Mordecai alone, but all his people, he resorted to the practice of casting lots to determine "the lucky day"; and further that the lots when cast in the first month of the year, indicated so late a day as the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, thus allowing ample time for the various steps that brought about the downfall both of his design and of himself (Esther 3:7,137In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. (Esther 3:7)
13And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. (Esther 3:13)).
5. That the necessary measures for the defence of the Jews having been taken by Mordecai and Esther, the success of which so largely depended upon the king being in a favorable frame of mind on the day of the second banquet, "on that night [the night before] could not the king sleep" (Esther 6:11On 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. (Esther 6:1)). Unaccountably his sleep departed from him.
8. That the king's memory thus stirred on the point, his curiosity was awakened as to what reward had been given to Mordecai; and, learning that his notable services had so far been totally ignored, that his sense of gratitude, which had been hitherto unaccountably quiescent, sprang into ardent activity, and he determined to reward him in a handsome and striking fashion (Esther 6:3-63And the king said, What honor 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. 4And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. 6So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? (Esther 6:3‑6)).
9. That just at that early hour of the morning Haman, intoxicated with pride and full of the imagined success of his schemes, was standing in the court, seeking an audience of the king that he might get his permission to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared (Esther 6:44And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. (Esther 6:4)).
10. That Ahasuerus forestalled his petition by a question as to what should be done to the man whom the king should delight to honor, and that assuming in his pride that the man to be thus honored could be none other than himself, Haman answered suggesting that he should be elevated into almost regal dignity and that in the most public way imaginable, and that he should be thereupon deputed by the king to carry out his own suggestions in regard not to himself but to Mordecai (Esther 6:6-116So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? 7And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honor, 8Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: 9And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. 10Then 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. 11Then 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 honor. (Esther 6:6‑11)).
Results of the Coincidences
The rest of the story proceeds quite simply. As the fruit of this remarkable series of coincidences Haman is hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, the Jews are empowered to resist any acts of aggression against them, and consequently the thirteenth day of the twelfth month only witnessed the destruction of the enemies of the Jews, the Jews being not only preserved but prospered.
But were all these remarkable happenings just a series of coincidences? By no means: they were the movings of the hand of God, though He Himself remained hidden. God was behind the scenes of man's busy little world; but then, as has very well been observed, He moves all the scenes that He is behind. Moreover He moves them in favor of His people, and if not always for their temporal preservation and advancement, always for their spiritual good and the advancement of His own purposes.
Providence and Government
Dispensations vary, but the ways of God both in providence and government do not vary; they proceed upon principles which remain the same whatever the dispensation. We are assured, therefore, that God is still at work behind the scenes in a similar way today. And our assurance of this is fortified by a further consideration: that is, while His people are marked by faithfulness, power and brightness, He is pleased to make His presence amongst them very manifest. And on the other hand, when there is defection, weakness and failure, it suits Him to withdraw the manifestations of His presence in large measure, and perhaps altogether, as in the book of Esther. Defection, weakness and failure certainly mark the professing church today.
Do We Grieve Too?
Are you grieved and tried in spirit by the absence of visible signs of a genuine sort in connection with the testimony of Christ, and the church's pilgrim pathway through this world? Well, at any rate do not fail to look for these more hidden workings of His hand. They exist on all sides in abundance. Look for them also in the much smaller and humbler circumstances of your own individual pathway.
If you feel inclined to ask, “But may I do so? May I look for the moving of the hand of God amidst such very insignificant affairs as mine?” The answer is, that you certainly may. God does not forget one sparrow out of the five which are sold for two farthings (see Luke 12:66Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? (Luke 12:6)), not even the odd one unceremoniously thrown in by the seller, since two farthings and not one are spent. He bids you draw near to Him in prayer and supplication concerning simply everything (see Phil. 4:66Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6)). You may be perfectly sure then that He takes the deepest interest in all your concerns and in all your pathway here. You may confidently expect His direction and control. And if perchance you feel yourself to be weak and feeble and not equal to discerning and receiving His guidance in more direct and manifest fashion, you may the more confidently rest assured that His hand is at work behind the scenes, and you may look to see it.
F. B. Hole