Well, the drama! What a brilliant book! I don’t think I’ve read all of Esther in one day before. There’s dunkneness (several times), a stubborn queen, a bride finding ball (to quote Slipper and the Rose), jealousy, anger, plotting, royal decrees, strong and steadfast heroes who save the day… what’s not to love?

Let’s talk about Esther, who becomes Queen Esther in this story. She’s loyal to her people and the man who raised her. She’s brave, risking her life to get her point across to the powers that be. She’s clever as she manages to save her people from destruction. She’s shrewd as she uses political structures and culture to her advantage. Esther is one of the names we were considering for Aidan if he had been a girl!

In many ways, I was reminded of the book of Ruth as I read along. God isn’t a character in this story, just like the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth is a widow, and Esther is an orphan. Ruth is encouraged and influenced by an older and wiser family member, as is Esther. They both play the system to their advantage. Both stories see the fortunes of God’s people change, even though there is no voice of God in the story. They are the only two books of the Bible to be named after women.

I’ve googled it, and I’m definitely not the first person to notice similarities such as these. Apparently, they are often read one after the other in Bible study classes.

I found that Ruth was a welcome change after the first seven books of the Bible, which are very law heavy. I’ve found Esther a welcome break at the end of the historical texts, just before I dive into the wisdom literature next.

My favourite verse is the classic Esther 4.14: If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

Sophia didn’t get the chance to fall asleep as I read this to her. I started it this morning and finished before she was asleep!

Thanks to Pexels on Pixabay for the image.