An Introduction to Esther

Intro: Who are the Bible heroes you think of? I hope Jesus is the first on the list and I wonder if Esther made it (and do you think she would have made the list if you didn’t know you we were talking about her book)? What makes these people heroes? All the heroes in the Old Testament are what we call ‘types’ of Jesus Christ: they foreshadow what he does or what he is like. There are also people in the OT, when they are given the same choice as Jesus, who disobey God and by their mistakes and failure they show us what the real Messiah won’t do. These people are called ‘foils’ to Jesus. In Esther there are 4 main characters: Esther, Mordecai, Xerxes and Haman and they are always either showing us what Jesus would be like - or what he really wouldn’t do.

Discussion Questions:
Watch the excellent summary from the Bible Project and as you do think about these questions:
When does this take place in Biblical history? The important thing to note is that this takes place after the exile, where Israel (and Judah) have to leave the Promised Land.
What else do we know about Xerxes and Persia? There’s a fair amount of hisorical evidence for Xerxes that backs up what we read about him here. And he’s also been fictionalised in Frank Miller’s 300.
What’s the pattern of the book? There’s the mirror pattern that is in the video, but each chapter can also be described as a rise or a fall for someone.

Why do you think God isn’t mentioned at all in the book?
Why should we read Esther?