Esther 1:1-2:4 - The Vanity of Decadence

Redemption Hill Church

Over the next two months, our theme will be “Sovereignty in the Silence.” As we read the stories of the Bible, it can be hard to imagine seeing some of the miraculous and majestic moments firsthand. It’s inspiring and awe-inducing, but outside of our regular experience. We’re not likely to cross the Potomac or Anacostia River on Monday and see it part like the Red Sea or Jordan River. It makes it hard, at times, to understand God’s presence and action in life now, when it can feel like He is silent.

Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not mention God. Like, at all. It was written when God’s people were scattered, taken into exile by Assyria, then Babylon, and now under the Medo-Persian Empire, but so many were displaced in what became known as the diaspora. God seemed silent.

As we head into a new year, Esther will help us to see and recognize God’s presence and power, even in the silence. We will see the place we hold in the grand, vast story of this world like a thread in a Persian tapestry. As God’s people in this place, at this time, with these governmental leaders, how to we live faithfully for the glory of God and the good of all people? Esther will help us to find our way.