Overview of the book of Esther
The book of Esther is an interesting topic. However it never mentions God by name, this book deals with God’s working through the lives of people. This book is about the story of a Jewish girl who became the queen of Persia. This is the story of a good man who was hated without reason and also the story of a wicked man whose plan of action backfired.
who is Esther in the bible
The character of Esther is Courage, Faith, Betrayal, and Plots of genocide. The story of Esther in the Bible tells us about how two Jews risked everything to save their people. Queen Esther was the wife of King Ahasuerus. The story was held in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire. These Jews were taken from their land to live as convicts in Babylon for 70 years.
God had brought his people back to their homeland, but not everyone had returned. Later The Jewish people separated across the Middle Eastern world, including a woman named Esther and her cousin Mordecai. When the Jews were enjoying a time of renewal, there were still those who wanted them all dead.
This story has all of the emotion and suspense of a modern book. This is an ancient account of how God saved the Jews from destruction. The book gives us the beginning of Purim, a feast celebrated in the last month of the Jewish religious year, corresponding with our March month.
Our yesayya.com will help your understanding to aid in your study of God’s word. We hope this overview, outline, and summary of Esther, Book of Esther bible study are helpful to you.
Who wrote the book of Esther?
The book of Esther has no hint as to who wrote the story of Esther’s book. It was believed that the author was a Jew, living in the Diaspora, perhaps in a foreign court, as a way of entertaining and inspiring his or her Jewish community and establishing the festival of Purim.
The author’s main motive was to write about how the yearly festival of Purim started and to make people remember the saving of the Jewish people during King Xerxes’ reign. The Esther bible storybook shows both the start of the festival and why it should continue to be celebrated.
The first half of the book of Esther opens with a feast and lays out problem after problem for Esther and Mordecai, while the second half sort out those problems in reverse order and come to an end with the Jewish feast of Purim.
When was the book of Esther written
The circumstances of this book cover 10-years. The word Ahasuerus is in the form of Hebrew, comparable to the Persian Khshayarsha and the Greek Xerxes. The events recorded in Esther occurred between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra.
Purpose of Writing
The Book of Esther’s main purpose is to display the providence of God, especially His God chosen his people, Israel. The story of Esther in the bible records the tradition of the Feast of Purim and the responsibility of its constant observation. The Feast of Purim to commemorate the great salvation of the Jewish nation brought about by God through Queen Esther.
Outline of Ester
I. The Danger to God’s People, 1:1-3:15
A. The Divorce of Vashti, 1:1-22
B. The Discovery of Esther, 2:1-20
C. The Devotion of Mordecai, 2:21-23
D. The Decree of Haman, 3:1-15
II. The Decision of God’s Servant, 4:1-5:14
A. Mordecai’s Appeal to Esther, 4:1-14
B. Esther’s Answer to Mordecai, 4:15-17
C. Esther’s Audience with King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), 5:1-8
D. Haman’s Arrogance over Mordecai, 5:9-14
III. The Deliverance of God’s People, 6:1-10:3
A. The Defeat of Haman, 6:1-7:10
1. Haman humbled, 6:1-14
2. Haman hanged, 7:1-10
B. The Decree of King Ahasuerus and Mordecai, 8:1-17
C. The Defeat of Israel’s Enemies, 9:1-19
D. The Days of Purim, 9:20-32
E. The Description of Mordecai’s Fame, 10:1-3
The book of Esther from the bible centers on four central characters:
Queen Esther, the star. When Esther becomes queen, she retains her Jewish ethical secret (Est. But when Esther hears of a plot to destroy all the Jews in the Persian provinces, she bravely uses her position to intercede on behalf of her people.
Mordecai, Esther’s cousin. Mordecai is a faithful Jew described by his condemnation. He is loyal, strong, and determined. He protects the king from an assassination plan portending his work to save the Jewish people. Mordecai denies bowing to Haman, which instigates the central conflict of Esther: Haman vs. Mordecai. Mordecai is a father figure to Esther, advising and informing her through the story.
Haman, the enemy of the Jews. He hated the Jews and he plotted to destroy them. Haman ascends to power in Susa, but Mordecai refuses to bow to him. Haman escalates the dispute by getting the king to sign an edict against all Jews in the empire and planning to hang Mordecai. Esther intercepts his plans and the king kills Haman. Haman is called an “Agagite,” probably referring to the King Agag the Amalekite the Amalekites had defended Israel for hundreds of years.
King Ahasuerus, The king deposes Queen Vashti when she disobeys him at his banquet. Later Ahasuerus holds a feast and selects Esther as his queen. Ahasuerus is a reactive character in the story and he deposes Vashti and goes along with Haman’s plot and makes grand promises to Esther and allows Esther and Mordecai to write their own counter-laws and enact their feasts.
Role of Esther in the Bible
The story of Esther is unique among the books of the Bible. There is no mention of God and covenant. Later, it comes across more like a political novella than a movement in the biblical narrative.
However, when you read Esther in the context of God’s covenant relationship with Israel, it becomes clear that something bigger is stirring below the surface:
- For what purpose did Esther and Mordecai fast?
- How was Mordecai so confident that the Jews would be delivered?
Mordecai and Esther act in faith that someone or something will intercede for their people. Their both boldness and faith propels the story to end, the deliverance and prosperity of the Jews.
The book of Esther gives us an idea of what faith looks like when it’s played out, and challenges us with the question.
Is my faith as apparent as Esther’s and Mordecai’s?
What can we learn from this book
The Story of Esther in the Bible explains the choice we make between seeing the hand of God in our situations in life and seeing things as mere coincidence. God is the sovereign King of the universe and we can be assured that His plans will not be moved by the actions of mere evil men.
God’s name is not mentioned in the book. For instance, we cannot fail to see the Almighty exerting influence over King Xerxes’s timely insomnia. Through the example of Mordecai and Esther, the silent love language of our Father can be known and often used to communicate directly to our spirits.
Esther in the bible was determined to have a godly spirit that also showed great strength and obedience. Esther’s humility was marked differently from those around her, and this made her be elevated into the position of queen. She shows us that remaining respectful and humble, even in difficult if not humanly difficult circumstances, often sets us up to be the vessel of untold blessing for both ourselves and others.
When we read the scriptures, she won the “favor” of those people around her. Such kindness ultimately saved her people. We can also accord such favor when we accept even unfair persecution and follow Esther’s example of maintaining a positive attitude, added with humility and the determination to lean on God.
Summary of the Book of Esther
The name of God did not mention in the book of Esther. It features the theme of God’s control of all situations and His purpose and plans in all things. Sometimes God seems to be silent. We might also think that our God does not care about us.
Through these Esther bible stories, everyone wants to realize that God is always in control. Although we cannot see God, he is always doing miracles in the world. No one can’t stop his plans. The book of Esther shows that God is in control in those circumstances.
Queen Esther’s story is similar to the story of Joseph. She manifested a most worthy opponent, all the while remaining humble and respectful of the position of her husband-king. Trust and obey, Esther followed these two.
His plans eventually end up with his own departure, and the elevation of his enemy Mordecai to his own position, as well as the salvation of the Jews. When jews started praying the way was cleared for their prayers to be answered. Queen Esther prospected her life by going not once uninvited before the king but twice. Esther was not content with the eradication of Haman; Her intent was on saving her people.
Our God is a great Promise Keeper. Mordecai’s words resembled his faith that God would honor His eternal covenant with Abraham and David.