Notes from Esther

We finished OT 501 with a quick discussion about Esther. As you may know, there was some question about its inclusion in the canon. Part of that was because of the lack of any mention of God's name. However, check this out:

You probably remember the Israelites' battle with the Amalekites where Aaron and Hur held up his hands. The passage ends with:

Exo 17:14-16 ESV
(14) Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
(15) And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD is my banner,
(16) saying, "A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

Moses makes mention of the Amalekites later on:

Deu 25:17-19 ESV
(17) "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt,
(18) how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.
(19) Therefore when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

So we know that the LORD was going to give the Amalekites into their hands once they had rest from their enemies. Note that they were to blot out the Amalekites. Saul had a chance to do this, but:

1Sa 15:7-11 ESV
(7) And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.
(8) And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.
(9) But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
(10) The word of the LORD came to Samuel:
(11) "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments." And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night.

So it looked like the Amalekites were spared and that was it, right? Not so. It turns out that:

Est 2:5 ESV
(5) Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

You may recall that King Saul was also a Benjamite and a son of Kish. What about his nemesis in the story of Esther?

Est 3:1 ESV
(1) After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him.

An "Agagite" means that he was from Agag. In other words, Haman was from the line that Saul spared. What ends up happening?

Est 7:10 ESV
(10) And the king said, "Hang him on that." So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

and

Est 9:13-14 ESV
(13) And Esther said, "If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day's edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows."
(14) So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged.

Basically, Mordecai got to finish what Saul wouldn't. We tend to think of God's hand in the book of Esther in how she saved the Jews, but I think this is pretty amazing when you consider the centuries that passed between Exodus and Esther.

Yet there are those who would maintain that man has a will that can resist God if He has chosen a man for election.