I honestly feel like this week has been finals week….and it’s only midterms!  This quarter, like all the other quarters, has been very busy.  Amidst the business, I’ve really enjoyed Writings class.  I feel like my homework and readings really help me question my own analysis and assumptions of the Bible.  I’ve learned to not get too attached to certain thoughts and perspectives about the Bible.  I know the Bible is truth, but it may not look the way we think.  The truth can be different shapes and forms and colors.  Play-doh is still play-doh even when it’s in the shape of a yellow star or a red heart or a blue ball.  I cannot believe I just compared the Bible to play-doh.  I can tell that I’m spending way too much time thinking about children and babysitting them.

Here’s some snippets from my paper about Esther for class:

Since Esther is just but one book in scripture, Christians can interpret Esther through the lens of both the Old and New Testament, which offers insight into God’s story of humanity’s salvation.  First, the story is similar to that of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon.  Joseph, Daniel, and Esther were all Jews living in exile, strategically placed by God in foreign courts of power.   Despite their daunting circumstances, they trusted the Lord, and He delivered them into positions of power in order for them to display His power and majesty.  In addition, God utilized all three characters to demonstrate His faithfulness to the Israelites.  For example, Joseph interpreted pharaoh’s dreams; through which he became the pharaoh’s viceroy and helped the Israelites migrate to Goshen, Egypt to endure the famine.  Similarly, Daniel interprets the king’s dreams and gains power in his court, allowing him to influence the king’s decisions in sending the Israelites back to their homeland.  Finally, Esther found favor with the king, becoming queen and permitting her to persuade him to revoke the decree against the Jews.

Reading Esther in conjunction with Joseph and Daniel, it is apparent that the stories are about God’s faithfulness to His children, who were marginalized minorities.  Today, marginalized minorities should find hope in this collection of stories, knowing God has been and will always be loyal, even in the midst of seeming hopelessness.  In light of anti-Semitism, past and present Jews, especially during the Holocaust, most likely did and do find solace in God’s continual providence exhibited in these stories.  Furthermore, women have been continually marginalized in societies all over the world, so they may find hope and comfort in Esther, reading how God utilized and redeemed a young, sexually exploited girl.

More importantly, the book is reminiscent of Passover, detailed in Exodus 12, in which God instructed the Israelites to smear the blood of a lamb over their doors so the angel of death would pass by their homes and not kill their firstborn.  Like Passover, Esther is also a story about God delivering His people from death.  In fact, Haman cast lots by rolling dice, determining when his gods would give him victory over the Jews, in the month of Nisan and announced the decree on the thirteenth day of Nissan, which is the day before Passover (Longman and Enns 2008, 166).  However, the Lord once again remembered the covenant He made with Moses on Mount Sinai and delivered His children from death.  Therefore, the rolling of Haman’s dice did not matter because the Lord’s plans were not and will never be determined by chance or threatened by false gods.

Although similar to Passover, the Lord utilized His fallen and yet prized children to save His chosen people instead of a lamb.  He chose the crown of His creation, humanity, instead of an animal to enact His plan.  Through Esther and Mordecai, the Lord worked miracles, giving them wisdom and courage to respectively approach the king and withstand worshipping the Persian Empire and its officials.  Ultimately, God worked in and through the king as well as Esther and Mordecai’s obedience, courage, and wisdom, reversing Haman’s decree to kill the Jews.  Thus, this story further establishes God’s faithfulness to His covenant with the Israelites as He once again saved them from destruction, which the Purim festival commemorates.

While Esther resembles Passover and celebrates God’s faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant with the festival of Purim, the book also points to the supreme Passover, the ultimate covenant to all humanity:  the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Instead of appropriating animals or humans for His plan of salvation, God sent His son to save all of humanity, not just the Jewish elect.  Jesus was both divine and human, allowing the Lord to redeem His children by constituting a new covenant through the sinless blood he shed.  Jesus’ blood far surpassed the lamb’s blood, and his divine and perfect humanity far surpassed Esther and Mordecai’s fallen and sinful humanity.  Through this story, God reiterates His faithfulness to the Israelites and foreshadows His promise of salvation to humanity.  Essentially, the book of Esther resembles Passover, celebrates the festival of Purim, and anticipates Easter.  Praise the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who was slain for all of His children!