MARCH 1

Esther 1:1-2

MORE THAN THE WORDS OF MAN
Did you know that the word "God" is not mentioned in the book of Esther? You can read through the whole book, but you won’t find the name of God anywhere. For this reason, critics reject the book of Esther as part of the Bible and that it may not be completely trustworthy. Is that a good reason to dismiss the book of Esther as merely the words of man?

Think about it this way: We may not see God, but we can see with our eyes the effects of His power. He reveals to us that He exists and He is powerful through His creation. Similarly, the name of God may not be mentioned in the book of Esther, but we can see how He works through every event. Everything that happened, whether big or small, didn’t happen by chance. It was God working all things together in order to protect and save His people, the Jews.

Let’s roll back the curtains to see the backdrop of this great story of God’s deliverance. The time period is 464-435 BC. Some of the greatest nations today may be America and China. But during this time, the empire of the Medes and the Persians was the greatest and its king was Ahasuerus. The empire was made up of 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia. at’s a very huge area covering Asia and Africa!

This sets the background of the book of Esther. Through the events that will soon unravel in this vast empire, we will witness how God is sovereign and in control over everything that happens. Everything. And we cannot help but acknowledge that this precious book of Esther is more than the words of man. It is the words of God, with the Holy Spirit as the divine author inspiring the earthly writer. We can boldly say of the book of Esther – us saith the Lord, it is written!

Thought: e Bible is not the words of men, but the Word of God.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, Your words are precious words inspired and preserved for my spiritual bene t. I pray that as I read Your Word, that You would help me to understand spiritual things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.