The Word Made Fresh
1King Ahasuerus levied taxes on the land and the islands in the sea. 2All his deeds, including the high honor he granted to Mordecai, are written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia. 3Mordecai the Jew was next in authority to King Ahasuerus. He was well known and honored among all the Jews, and highly esteemed among his many relatives because he had sought the good for his people and contributed to the welfare of all his descendants.
Commentary
1-3: Now, you might wonder if things happened just the way it is told in this tale, but take the author’s word for it, the story of Esther and Mordecai is well documented.
Takeaway
The lack of any direct mention of God has made the story of Esther suspect in the estimation of many teachers and scholars. It is the first and only time in the Bible that a story of God’s people Israel being rescued is told without mentioning God’s direct involvement. Of course, without Esther and Mordecai the entire Jewish race would have been annihilated (and we know the Jews have been threatened with that more than once – remember Hitler?). Their rescue in the book of Esther allows their story to continue and eventually result in the birth of God’s son.