The Encourager
“God's Providence - Jeff Curtis”
God’s Providence
By Jeff Curtis
In the book of Esther, the Jews were about to be annihilated. Using the language of a mystery novel or a play, we might ask, “Who did it?” Who is responsible for bringing them to the brink of destruction? That question could be answered in a number of ways. Of course, Haman did it. He was responsible, in that he was the person who was so enraged by Mordecai’s lack of respect that he schemed to find a way to have all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, destroyed.
In addition, Ahasuerus did it, though he might not have wanted to counted guilty. He allowed himself to be tricked, once Haman possessed the signet ring, he had the authority to do whatever he wanted with the people. The king didn’t have to be so gullible; he could have investigated the situation and discovered the truth instead of trusting Haman.
Besides that, the king’s servants did it. Haman had not even noticed Mordecai’s insolence until they brought it to his attention. It really was none of their business. If they had not been talebearers, Mordecai might not have come to Haman’s attention and the Jews might never have been endangered.
In a sense, Mordecai himself did it. He probably could have acted respectfully toward Haman without breaking God’s law. In a sense, he was responsible for his own (and his people’s) danger.
What should conclude about who was responsible for this sequence of events? The answer is “All of the above!” In the providence of God, all of the various elements worked together to produce the result God desired.
We are reminded of the case of Joseph in Egypt. Joseph, a former slave, became prime minister of Egypt; then Jacob and his family moved to Egypt. After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he would take vengeance on them. Joseph said, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:19-20). To think of all that was involved in bringing about that result is amazing; a father’s unfortunate favoritism, Joseph’s lack of wisdom in bragging about his dreams, the brothers’ enmity and sinful selling of Joseph into slavery, the lust the lie of Potiphar’s wife, dreams interpreted and fulfilled, the cupbearer’s forgetfulness, “natural” prosperity (seven years of plenty) and a “natural” disaster (seven years of drought), and Joseph’s own faithfulness to God. All these elements combined in the providence of God to draw the Jews into Egypt and prepare the way for their deliverance and their becoming the chosen people of God. Who did it? God. In Joseph’s case, all these things worked together to bring about “good” (Romans 8:28).
In the case of Mordecai and Esther, we might still wonder; if God wanted the Jews to be saved, why didn’t He just prevent all these troubles from happening? We don’t know the mind of God, so we can’t answer with any certainty. Possibly, God didn’t want to see them elevated. That, in fact, was the result of the story told in Esther. The Jews not only escaped annihilation, but they even ended up better off than they were before. Maybe, that is the answer as to why God allowed it to be done.
