Where is God in this Story? (Esther): The unlikely victory of the Jews in Persia, brought about by the wisdom, humility, and courage of Esther and Mordecai, was commemorated by the Festival of Purim. However, the entire book of Esther raises a crucial question: Where is God in this story? Recorded on Aug 24, 2025, on Esther 9:20-10:3 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of our series, For Such A Time As This, from the book of Esther in the Bible. Twenty-five hundred years ago, a courageous young Jewish woman named Esther became queen of Persia. Far from home, Esther and her cousin Mordecai had to navigate palace politics, power, and danger to prevent the annihilation of their people. They needed humility, wisdom, and extraordinary courage. Esther’s story is dramatic, inspiring, and surprising. Because while God’s name is never mentioned, His fingerprints are everywhere. In our series, we’re reminded that God has faithfully worked behind the scenes in a lot of messed-up situations with messy people for a long time now. He did it then. He can do it again. But will we have the courage to do the right thing, whatever the cost?
Sermon Transcript
For the last two months, in our preaching ministry, we’ve been working our way through the book of Esther, in our series, For Such A Time As This, but today we get to bring it to a close. And I do hope this has been an encouraging and helpful series for you. Next week, we’ll start a two-part mini series considering two of our key ministry priorities this coming year, including 1) Helping people come to faith in Jesus. 2) Helping people grow in their faith in Jesus. After that, we’ll start our main series for the fall and winter, which will track the life and impact of King Solomon, which I’m very excited about. But first, let’s finish Esther’s story. Almost twenty-five hundred years ago, in Susa, the capital of the mighty Persian Empire, a courageous young Jewish orphan named Esther became the queen. But then, Haman, the enemy of the Jewish people and the villain of our story, but also the second in command over the whole kingdom, sent out an edict that on the 13th day of the last month of the year, all the Jewish people could be attacked, plundered, and killed without punishment. Mordecai, Esther’s older cousin who had raised her after her parents had died famously told her, “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Es 4:14). Mordecai convinced Esther to risk her life by going to the king to see if she could somehow undo what Haman had set in motion. And we saw that Esther’s plan, executed with such wisdom, humility, and courage, actually worked! Haman fell into his own trap that he had set for Mordecai, and was killed. Mordecai was promoted in Haman’s place and was able to send out a second edict that allowed the Jewish people to defend themselves. Last week, when the 13th day of Adar came, the Jewish people won the day, their enemies were destroyed, and the Jews celebrated. Today, we’ll consider something like the epilogue to Esther’s story, which describes the national festival that was started to commemorate this unlikely victory for the Jews in exile — the festival of Purim, which is celebrated by Jewish people to this day. But throughout this series, we’ve noted one of the unusual design features of Esther, that it’s the only book in the Bible where the name of God isn’t mentioned at all. In fact, our narrator seems to go out of the way to keep from mentioning any direct involvement of God in all of these events. What does that mean? We’ve asked several times, “Where is God in this story?” But isn’t that a relevant question for our lives today? Where is God in my story? Where is God in our story? Have you ever wondered, “What is God doing?” or “Does he know about the events of our lives, sometimes in the deep pain and struggle of our lives, or is he far off and removed?” or “Is God even real?” Especially when times are hard or when the right thing isn’t black and white, these are questions even the most devoted follower of Jesus might wrestle with. But as we think back through Esther’s story and ask, “Where is God in this story?” I think you’ll see that even though God’s name is never mentioned, his fingerprints are everywhere. So, if you have your Bible/app, please open it to Esther 9:20. We’ll unpack this as we go. Let’s finish this story.
Esther 9:20-23 (NIV), “20 Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, 21 to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22 as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them.” One question the commentators wrestle with is who wrote the book of Esther. I think it’s likely that most of our account comes from Mordecai, as it says that he recorded these events and sent copies throughout the kingdom of Persia. But in response to their great but unlikely victory, Mordecai helped establish an annual celebration to commemorate their dramatic reversal there in Persia, still so far from home, still vulnerable in many ways (though less so with King Xerxes listening to Esther and Mordecai instead of Haman), but they were saved from annihilation. Besides all the dramatic reversals and seeming to forget about God, another design feature of Esther is that there are many parallels. If you think back to how our story started, you’ll find that Esther starts and ends with a great feast. The first drunken banquet was an opulent display to celebrate King Xerxes’ wealth and power. The last banquet celebrates the victory of justice and includes humble sharing and generous gifts to the poor and those who were in need. But there are many other parallels throughout the story that invite us to compare and contrast what the characters are doing and what the outcomes are. The first feast resulted in nothing but chaos, confusion, injustice, mourning, and eventually, death. The last feast resulted in joy, generosity, justice, and care for the vulnerable. There were many morally ambiguous parts to this story, but this is clearly such a good thing. This victory was worth celebrating, and all the Persian Jews were on board with Mordecai’s plan to keep it going in an annual festival. Let’s continue.
Esther 9:24–28 (NIV), “24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. 25 But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. 26 (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.” So the festival became known as Purim because when Haman decided to kill the Jews, he had cast the pur, that is, the lot (something like flipping a coin or rolling the dice) to see when this plot was to happen. This was fairly common practice to see what God’s will (or the gods’ will) was for something. Yahweh God wasn’t necessarily opposed to this practice. But Haman wasn’t looking for Yahweh’s approval in destroying his own people. So Haman cast the pur, and instead of receiving God’s will, he marched right into his own trap. This is a small point of application, but be very careful where/how you seek God’s will. You might think you’re being led by God, but it may not be God at all. The best test for God’s will is God’s word. God will never lead you in a way that disagrees with his word. It’s ironic that the Jewish people decided to call their festival Purim. It made a statement something like, “You rolled the dice to see when we should be destroyed. But when we won the victory, we called that day The Day of Dice.” It became a warning as much as it was a celebration. I believe Esther’s story is one reason why the practice of casting lots became less common for the Jews after this time. Let’s finish our story.
Esther 9:29–10:3 (NIV), “29 So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance—31 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. 32 Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. 1 King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the empire, to its distant shores. 2 And all his acts of power and might, together with a full account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.” This is God’s word. So we could almost end our story with a “and they all lived happily ever after.” That is, except for Haman and the enemies of the Jews who had been defeated and killed, of course. And also, we know from history that King Xerxes was assassinated about 8 years later (in 465 BC) by the captain of his bodyguard. And though Esther and Mordecai achieved great things, we don’t know what other struggles or pain they faced after this. I’m sure Xerxes wasn’t easy to live with or work with, given what we saw of his serious lack of character. In other words, Esther’s story is not a fairytale. This isn’t some idealized portrayal of the life of a queen. This was real life. Through wisdom, humility, and courage, Esther and Mordecai navigated the rough terrain not just of life in this broken world, but of life in exile. They weren’t perfect people; we questioned their decisions and motives at several points in the story. But when facing the annihilation of their people, they courageously did the right thing, not knowing how it would all turn out. But today, instead of a big idea from our text, I’d like to come back to the big question of our whole series: Where is God in this story? Seriously, was God even involved? Or was it all up to Esther and Mordecai to figure out how to fight for their lives and the lives of their people all by themselves? Was God providentially working or not? Well, as we’ve said, these questions are relevant because, at least for me and my life, I’ve wondered about that at many points. Is God at work in my life, or am I basically on my own? A little over twelve years ago, we made the decision to sell our wonderful first little house and try to find a bigger house with more room for our growing family and for our ministry. We were a mobile church meeting at the YMCA, and our home was used for all sorts of ministry groups and events, and more room meant more people we could love and serve. Well, after looking for several weeks, we found a house in our price range that was far better than anything we had seen. It wasn’t even close! Our realtor actually set up the meeting before talking with us because it was listed overnight, and she saw it in the morning, and she told us she knew it was our house. And she was right. We made an offer that afternoon, and it was accepted that day. Then, we put our old house on the market, and it sold to the first couple that walked through it. At this point, does it feel like this was God’s will for us? Yes, right? Like God was obviously providentially caring for us. And why wouldn’t he? Our motives for the move were good and godly, right? Why wouldn’t he bless that? But it goes even further. We found out later that the sellers were motivated to sell and had asked for a price well below what they could’ve gotten because they were going through a divorce and had to sell. That’s why it was such a good deal. We moved out of our old house, but there was going to be a two to three-week time before we could move into the new one. So we moved all our earthly belongings into storage and moved ourselves into Holly’s parents’ house. But that’s when the problems started. Not with Curt and Diane! But with the bank. The bank had so many errors and was so incompetent that what should’ve taken a few weeks ended up taking three months. Every day, it seemed, I got a new checklist of things the bank needed to close. Once I met their requests, a new list came the next day. It was so stressful and exhausting. Our realtor hadn’t seen anything like it. Eventually, the sellers gave us a hard deadline. If you can’t close by this date, the deal’s off. Every day, I prayed that God would help us, but I also had to pray that he would help me trust that he would provide for us. But wouldn’t you know it, on the day of our deadline, we were finally able to close. The house was ours. But you know what happened after that? We found out that the sellers were selling because of the divorce. We didn’t know that was going on behind the scenes. But then, we found out that the closing process took so long that it allowed time for the sellers to reconcile! They didn’t need to sell after all, which is why the deadline came up. But when we were able to meet the deadline (barely!), they were happy about it because they told us later that it would be a fresh start for their marriage. From our vantage point in the middle of the story, it felt like all pain and suffering. But God was doing something bigger. God was working behind the scenes, not just for us, but for the sellers, too. And though it was painful, I could tell that God was growing my faith in the process. With every prayer for help, I could tell I didn’t really trust the Lord with all my heart. I was leaning on my own understanding far too much. That alone would’ve made the pain worth it, but God had even bigger plans. Now, who was responsible for us getting this house? Was it God’s providence or my hard work? The answer, truthfully, is both. I had to trust God, but I also had to work hard to make it happen. This was Esther’s story, too. Mordecai and Esther had to do the right thing. They had to be wise and courageous and humble. But there are just far too many coincidences in the story for God not to have been involved. And some things can only be attributed to God. Who gave Esther the beauty that initially won the favor of the king? And was it an accident that a man as wise and discerning as Mordecai would be willing to raise Esther when her parents died? Who put Esther and Mordecai in the same family? And was it random chance that Mordecai overheard the plot against the king, that he was able to tell Esther about it, and that it saved the king’s life? And then later, was it a coincidence that Xerxes was reminded of that when Haman was plotting to kill Mordecai? Were all the dramatic reversals meaningless accidents? Was the casting of the lot by Haman directed by the gods for the destruction of the Jews, or was it appointed by God to be their vindication and the judgment of God against his enemies? Did Esther lead the Jewish people in a time of fasting alone, or were they also desperately crying out to God to save them? Where is God in this story? God was at work in every scene and in every chapter and verse. God was at work in the dark valleys of fear and uncertainty, and in the heights of victory. But what about your life? Where is God in your story? Can you look back and see God at work, providing for you, protecting you, helping you, guiding you, and growing you through all sorts of unlikely circumstances? Can you see God’s providential care over the course of your life? It doesn’t mean that you’ll never experience pain or struggle. And it doesn’t mean that you won’t have to work hard to do the right things when the right things are not always obvious. But I can’t look back and say, it was all me. Every victory was mine. God has been faithful to me in so many ways and in so many messed-up situations, time and time again. But no situation was more messed up than when the perfect Son of God was sent from heaven and was hated and rejected and ultimately killed. But the cross of Christ wasn’t an accident or random chance, either. No one saw it coming, but God knew what he was doing. Because only God knew that Jesus Christ had to die on the cross, not to save his people from Haman, but to save his people from the greater enemies of sin and death. And only God knew the plan of salvation included a resurrection. What looked like a great defeat became the greatest victory in all history. For all those who trust in the person and work of Jesus will receive this salvation as a gift of God’s grace. You have to receive it by faith, and continue to trust in Jesus as you walk forward in this life. But this is the good news that is for all people today, both Jew and Gentile. God is doing something far bigger! So, let’s be people of joy and generosity, just like the festival of Purim. By the way, the Passover festival takes place during the first month of the Jewish calendar. That celebrates when God saved his people from captivity in Egypt. Purim is celebrated in the last month of the year. So from Exodus to exile, the whole Jewish calendar is bracketed by God’s saving work. When you can see him and when you can’t, our God is with us. He is faithful. So let us put our faith in him. Let us pray.
