”Esther - For Such a Time as This” by David Chang

June 5, 2022 - Sunday AM Bible Class

 

Today, David starts a new study of the book of Esther.

 

Esther - For Such a Time as This

• Esther: A Book without God?
  • Esther is one of two books of the Bible in which the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) does not appear at all
  • Even During the development of the Hebrew canon, Esther was contested as an apocryphal work because of this reason
  • There are also skeptics of the book among modern scholars, manily because of the aforementioned absence of the Tetragrammaton, the lack of extra-biblical record of the events of Esther, and the book's strong nationalistic theme
  • Some of these theorize that someone much later wrote the book to give more authority to the origin of Purim
  • It is true that there are difficulties in reconciling the events of the book of Esther with the extra-biblical records and/or archeological finds
  • It is also true that the name of God is absent in the entirety of the book, and the focus of the Jewish identity is more ethnic and cultural rather than religious. 
  • But are these current realities justify the dismissal of Esther as a canonic book of the Old Testament? What possible lessons can we learn from such a doubted book - one that doesn't even mention God?
• Humility
• Esther: A Lesson of Humility
  • • In our perspective of the present time, it is easy for us to criticize ancient texts and question their place in the biblical canon
    • Through critical thinking about the canon itself is not wrong, it must be done with utmost care and humility.
    • Here is why the book of Esther - before even reading the text itself - gives us a lesson on humility:
  • The Bible is a book of faith first and foremost
    • The Bible has a lot of manuscripts, archeological discoveries, and other evidences that "validate" it.
      • While those evidences can be instrumental in strengthening our faith, it cannot replace it. 
      • There is danger in depending too much on archeological findings and extra-biblical material:
        • Archeology as a field is not static
        • There will always be different interpretations of archeological discoveries
        • So, even with "better" or "more" evidence, there will always be a debate.
  • Our Perspective depends on what we've found
    • In other words, we are working with theories based on what we have found so far.
    • Because these are educated guesses, they will change if new information gets discovered.
    • When you look at a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, do you dismiss the existence of the whole picture or the missing piece because you can't see it in front of you?
  • Frankly, we just don't know a lot
    • Compared to what God can see and what human history has actually been throughout the millennia, our knowledge of the ancient world is very limited
    • While it is difficult, books like Esther challenge us even before we open the text: God's will demands humility on our part.
    • Think about it; if either "side" had definitive and undeniable evidence, do you think there would be a debate? It is because both "sides" are working with limited information.
• Opinion:
  • Instead of putting up walls with the little information that we have, our time is better spent trusting God and learning what books like Esther has to teach us.
  • Its harmony with the rest of the Bible is far more important. If its principles and messages are sound, then it is better to learn from it than doubt it.
  • Sometimes, this takes a lot of intellectual humility to do. Acknowledging that we do not have all the pieces also takes strength.
• The arguments about Esther are not very strong either:
  • Absence of God
    • Though God is not mentioned explicitly, the author indirectly hints at God and his presence with the practices and culture of the Jews (Esth. 3: 8, 4:3)
  • Purim "Chicken or the Egg"
    • If it were the case that someone made up the story of Esther to authorize the feast of Purim, then why didn't he make more mention of God? Why risk it with the ambiguity?
• Esther is not a Godless Book
• What to Expect from this class
  • Overview of the narrative of Esther
  • Further discussion about some of the challenges to Esther
  • Exploration of structure, themes and the choices of the author that play into the message of the book
  • Comparison of Esther and Mordecai's circumstances to modern Christianity
  • ... and more.
• Homework
  
  • Please read Esther all the way through as many times as you can!

 

Duration 27:32