Bracket Winner: Esther
283 | “I Put On an Audiobook”
Walk by Faith Not Sight
Our Bible bracket has a winner, and it's none other than the cinematic, high-stakes Queen of Persia — Esther! But why is God's name totally missing from the script? This week, we're geeking out on the "shadow cabinet" of the Persian court, looking for the fingerprints of a God who works through insomnia, coincidences, and "reverse cards" to save His people. Whether you're dealing with your own Haman or feeling stuck in exile, Esther’s story reminds us that silence doesn’t mean absence. Ready to see how God's hidden hand is at work in your own "for such a time as this" moment? Tune in study with us!
Takeaways
The Big Idea: God’s providence is often hidden, but his character is certain, and that’s enough as we walk in faith.
This Week's Challenge: Look back at your own life and identify the "dominoes" where God’s hidden providence worked through seemingly random circumstances to bring about a good outcome.
-
Esther Wins Bracket
Ryan: you do when you can't sleep? I put on an audiobook, and so he pushed play.
Bryan: [ On the white noise machine. "
Ryan: Hey, get- get the reader guy over here. Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to the Bible Geeks podcast. I'm Bryan Schiele.
I'm Ryan Joy.
Bryan: And thanks so much, everyone, for tuning in. You know, our Bible bracket voters have spoken. And Esther is our listeners' favorite woman in Scripture. And for good reason, I think. Her story is full of daring faith, dramatic twists, and some really unexpected reversals.
Ryan: But maybe what's most surprising is what's missing, which is God's name. In this episode, we celebrate our Bible bracket winner, Esther, exploring how God works behind the scenes, what his hidden providence means for our lives, and how to live with faith, courage, and wisdom when we can't see what he's doing Well, it seems obvious now that we are here, if you had taken a straw poll at the beginning with my kids and many of the people in my life, they would have told you, "Well, Esther's a shoe-in to win this whole thing." But, uh, I- She wasn't even a one seed. But it's pretty cool to end up here and have such a great character and a great story for us to discuss and learn from here as we celebrate the Bible Bracket winner.
Bryan: I think it was, uh, absolutely appropriate. I-I felt like it was... I don't know, I have to say, when I walked into our Bible classes, uh, that Wednesday after she won, I realized that our young kids are actually... were right in the middle of studying Esther. So, like, on all the boards and stuff were all, like, these details about Esther, and I was just like, "It was meant to be!"
[Laughter] Just like, she was meant to win! Like, everyone was thinking about her at that moment. [Laughter]
God Unnamed Presence
Ryan: This story is just one of the just most compelling, cinematic, exciting, interesting, just- just amazing stories. And I don't say that, of course, it's historical, but- but the way that it's put together, it just has such dramatic turns and such power. And the biggest thing, though, is, as we'll be getting into, it's a story about God acting that doesn't mention God.
And so-
Bryan: Yeah. So weird, right? Like, of all the stories that totally should be talking about, "And then God did this, and then God moved these people into their posi..." Nope. Not even a mention. It's crazy.
Ryan: [Laughter] It's- it's- it's like the author, through the Holy Spirit, of course, is putting these different things in place in a way that forces us to think about, like, "Do you really think this was an accident? Come on now, do you think?" kind of like the way we look at evidences in the world, like, look at fine tuning or, you know, DNA or- or different things like that, and think, "Okay, this much design, this much careful, perfect, you know, symmetry to things, it can't be coincidence, right?"
And, you know, designer demands- or design demands designer. There's, like- it's almost like poetry, like, we see this rhyme and this rhythm in the way that the story begins and then is reversed in the way it ends, and the way it all plays out, and the wink-wink, nudge-nudge that the author isn't really doing, but- but the- the events themselves are.
So, maybe that's a good start to this conversation as we just get ready to just walk through it quickly.
Dominoes Begin Falling
Bryan: Yeah, let's fly through the book of Esther, 'cause it's a short book, but there's a lot going on here. Ow! Alright, so, uh, the first couple chapters here are where the dominoes really start getting set up here at the beginning of the book, and we've got Queen Vashti, who decides, or is removed, from her palace in this great dramatic event, and, like, the narrative here, like, clearing the throne for somebody who is going to take over, but no one knows who's actually going to take over, is kind of like...
I mean, it's just so cool to see that it's like, "Alright, now there's a vacancy here. Who's gonna fill it?" And then we get to this moment, of course, where Esther is taken, in chapter 2, verse 8, it talks about her being taken, and it's kind of an unsettling thing, right? It's like, Esther is not exactly in a position where she has a lot of control here.
She's, uh... Yeah, she's being put into a situation. She's, like, not volunteering or anything. But I think the author is, like, quietly signaling to us that God's providence often doesn't work through circumstances that we would necessarily choose. Um, how he's putting her into a position that is not somewhere she would have naturally been.
Ryan: How did I end up here? Well, things keep- keep playing out, and then- and then Mordecai also, there's another domino, him saving the king from this assassination plot from- from two of the eunuchs, he overhears it, he gets the message across through Esther, and, um, so she gets maybe a little bit of the credit there, but it's all forgotten very quickly, and the- the payback, the favor that that will bring is saved for a time when God feels like it's really needed, right?
Bryan: I love the part of that story, right? Because it's like, there's this detail mentioned, but it's totally not paid off, and you're like, "Well, why even mention that?
Ryan: Yeah, why even mention it? It's like when you see, you know, you're- you're watching a movie, and, well, why did they just pan in on that- that SUV? Something's going on there. And so, you- you know, nothing is wasted in good storytelling, and the- the author here is definitely brilliantly setting us up for us to see, "Yep, God was doing something this whole time."
Haman Threat Emerges
Ryan: So that leads into the escalation of this, like, super villain that is Haman. I mean, he's like- like one of- if we ever did do our bracket of villains, he would be one of the top- top villains here, and he just keeps escalating this plot against the Jews.
Bryan: [laughs] Yeah, I really, like, I still don't understand why you won't let me do a favorite Bible villains draft, but...
Ryan: [laughs] Okay, okay. We gotta at least do an A-list or something at some point. Yeah,
Bryan: yeah. I think it's, uh, I think it's definitely on the table at some point. But, yeah, Haman is not a good dude, and really just has it out for... I feel like he is very much, um, he's very much prideful, he's very self-centered, and not the kind of guy that you really want in a position of power. But then you've got, like, Mordecai, right?
As a, as in comparison to him. And Mordecai is just, you know, he knows something. He has got some discernment and real wisdom behind him.
For Such Time
Bryan: Like, there's this famous line, of course, in chapter four, "Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Like, Mordecai knows something, but he's not really saying it.
Like, I think he's got some information behind the scenes that he's working off of, but he doesn't claim to know God's plan, he just understands, like, he knows who knows. He knows what's about to happen here, and, like, trusting that God is gonna do something, even though he may not know the details.
Ryan: Yeah, like, not prophetic information, not like God has, like, shown him a cheat sheet of what's gonna happen, but just, like, he- and this is maybe at the heart of what we want to do, we'll unpack this more, but he knows who God is, and he does- there's so much he doesn't know. Think of, like, the- the three Hebrews of Daniel 3.
Our God can deliver us, and he will deliver us, but if not, we still won't serve you. And there's all these echoes of different stories that maybe we'll- we'll bring up some others, but here, Mordecai and Esther are challenged to do something,
And Esther then responds by saying, "Okay, let's- let's fast, have a bunch of people fast." And it doesn't mention prayer.
And it's like, just this- again, this intentional, I think, under-the-sun perspective that the author is forcing us to keep. I mean, this is- this is a prophetic author repeatedly showing only the earthly side of things, where prayer would indicate, well, obviously, they were praying with the fasting. This was a- a statement of- of pleading and devotion to God, but it just describes the silence and the fasting, and then she's preparing herself.
She's finding the faith and the courage to go do what she needs to do and trying to see the right moment to do these things.
Bryan: mean, she has a unique position to help out. And so, you know, it is interesting to me, as we'll talk about in a little bit, I'm sure, that, you know, Mordecai, he knows that deliverance is coming, whether or not Esther actually does something about it, but he still asks her to act, like, he's still getting her to do something.
So, like, her involvement in it is going to be important, but even if, like, she didn't do this, I still feel like Mordecai believes that this is gonna work out, that God is gonna do what he needs to do, even if she's not involved. So, there's a conversation to have about that, I think.
Sleepless Night Reversal
Bryan: But, you know, chapters five through seven is then when all these things turn around, and This great hinge here in chapter six, verse one, where it says, "On that night, the king could not sleep." And, you know, for two dudes who, like, really love their sleep, you know, for you not to have a good night's sleep, it's like, is there something behind this? And apparently, the king couldn't sleep, and it all changed.
It's where everything got reversed. You know, he decided to read a little bit, and in his insomnia, he calls for the Chronicles and finds out about this story that, like, of course, Mordecai was involved in, and he decides the next morning, like, "Hey, let's reward Mordecai for the thing that we didn't even know he did."
And so, I mean, that's where everything starts to turn here.
Ryan: you do when you can't sleep? I put on an audiobook, and so he pushed play.
Bryan: [laughter] On the white noise machine. On- on- on the noise machine. "Hey, get- get the reader guy over here. Read me- read me my own story. Read me the chronicles. This is gonna put me to sleep for sure." All this stuff that's been happening. You know, you don't want the best story. You want some- some chronicles. And in just reading about these events, this is the page or the section of the scroll that- that is turned to.
Ryan: And so this starts to set up this really, I mean, darkly humorous turn for Haman for him to, have this giant hangman's pole set up, for him to be asked what should be done for the one that is, uh, that the king favors and to think it's about him and to describe what he wants, like, everybody to do to him and then to find himself utterly humiliated, following around the man who wouldn't bow to him, Mordecai, um, and- and having to, you know, heap glory on him as he's paraded through town on the king's horse and- and everything.
This is, like, Haman just wants to crawl under a rock. His wife is like, "This is- this is bad, buddy. This is not good."
Bryan: Like, with all of this, with all of his words and his frustration with Mordecai and everything else that was going on, you get this point where it's like, "Okay, dude, you are, like, you are just about to be paid back for it." And you're starting to see it, right? You're starting to see that it's leading up to that moment here.
And, you know, like, revenge is a dish best served cold, right? He's just getting it all back on his own head. And you love to see that in these stories, but it is amazing. Like, you know, as we start thinking about, like, this can't just be a coincidence. This can't just be a coincidence. And it's like, if this one moment here in Chapter 6 where the king doesn't have a bad night's sleep and doesn't turn to that book and doesn't, you know, hear that story, all of the links in this chain, like, come crashing down or whatever metaphor you want to use.
Like, everything is broken because, you know, things don't just happen to wind up leading to all of this stuff working out for Mordecai instead of Haman.
Purim And Providence
Bryan: So that's where we kind of get to the end of this book here in Chapters 8 through 10, where everything is resolved and it is like, as all of, you know, our favorite stories want to be, everything works out pretty well, actually, in spite of it looking pretty bad at the beginning of all of
Ryan: And the feast of, uh, Purim, this- this feast that they will continue to celebrate about the deliverance of the Jews, "pour" means "lot" because Haman had cast a lot for what day he would have the Jews eliminated, and even that is- feels to me like a wink-wink, nudge-nudge from- from God and then from the author that, you know, "Hey, it's all random, right?
It's all just a throw of the dice. Who- who can know?" And yet, you know, Proverbs says, "The lot is cast, but its answer is from the Lord." And so the idea is that God- what looks from under the sun, as Ecclesiastes would put it, as time and chance, well, things are meaningful in the hands of God, and God doesn't randomly just let his people get annihilated.
He- he was at work, and he happily uses those servants who will make themselves available to him, and he knew, you know, what he could do with Esther and Mordecai throughout it. And so the morning is turned to celebration, and there is feasting at the end that is like a much more beautiful version of the lavish, over-the-top, crazy feast at the beginning that- that the king was having.
And there's all this weirdness about- the king is kind of a- he's not a bad guy, he's just kind of like a stooge throughout. He- he kind of- maybe that's too strong, but he- he has, you know, his hands are tied by his own decrees, he keeps tripping over himself, he likes Esther, and he likes the people that are- are good to him and loyal to him, like Mordecai, but, you know, he's just advised by everyone to do these ridiculous things, like, you know, bring in all of the virgins from all over, like way over the top, you act like you have a lot of power, and in some ways you do, but it's all ultimately in God's hands, and God has placed these authorities
Deep Thoughts Setup
Ryan: here.
Bryan: just 10 short chapters, but there's a lot here, and we've kind of even just scratched the surface on some of these things. Let's get our deep thoughts out of the way here on this great story from Esther.
Okay, so here we're going to do kind of the normal progression that we like to do in these Deep Thoughts segments where we're going to start on the surface, and then we're going to make our way down deeper and deeper. So on the surface, do you think somebody can read this whole story as just like an interesting set of coincidences in human history?
Is that kind of like-- is that what this author is really presenting to us? It's like just a bunch of random stuff that all kind of-- oh, look how it all worked out together.
Ryan: think that's how a lot of people in the world view the events in their life, even whenever it's like a giant arrow pointing to why did this happen this way, or in history, or, you know, whatever. And yeah, I mean, that's- I think that's the setup is, okay, I dare you to think this all happened by accident, you know?
And so it's told- I really think this is what is happening with this book. I mean, it's a Bible book that is all about God and never mentions Him, never mentions prayer, never mentions obedience, never mentions faith. I mean, and yet it's all about faith and trying to step into it. Do you think somebody could read this that way?
Bryan: Well, I totally think they can read it as just a series of coincidences. I want to reframe or maybe clarify what you were saying. You're not saying that you think this is a bunch of coincidences, right? Like, you're saying that you don't read this as like, oh, just a bunch of random events that all happened together.
Like, there has to be something else going on underneath the surface. I think that's what you're saying, right?
Clues Of Gods Hand
Ryan: Yeah, well, and you're bringing us to the next level here, diving below the surface, that like, what tells us that God wants us to see His hand here? And there are, I think, all kinds of clues, like, you know, like if we're being challenged to bring our magnifying glass and look for God's fingerprints all over this, I think we can see it everywhere in this story.
I mean, what would be your first- we've talked about coincidences, but maybe we could frame this a little more specifically. What do you think that the inspired author and the Holy Spirit want us to take from this, and how have they set us up to see God's hand here?
Bryan: [laughs] Okay, so I think there's a lot here in this story that really helps us to see that something else is going on. I think we really do understand that God is doing something powerful here. And I think one of the comparisons that just strike me so obviously here is like shared language in this story between other
Ryan: Yes. Oh,
Bryan: And there are comparisons here to like the story of Joseph that are really hard to like move past. As you start to read Esther and Esther's story, you start to see how like there is this really deep connection to what is going on in the story of Joseph. And more specifically, like when you get to this point when this signet ring is given to Mordecai, and you see it being given to Joseph from Pharaoh.
Like, this should be a, as you're an Old Testament reader, as you're a Jewish reader at the time, like you're reading these stories and you're like, is this about Joseph? Or is this about this guy Mordecai? Like, are you thinking, are you seeing a connection here? And I'm seeing that like, obviously, that what the author is wanting you to see is a story where you absolutely 100% know that God was bringing about these things for good, even though the brothers meant it for evil.
You know that in the story of Joseph. It may not need to be said here in the story of Esther, but because you can see the shared language and you can see the shared comparisons here, this Israelite who winds up going into a seat of power and becoming such an important figure in this foreign nation, really unknown and kind of a secret Israelite, you know, behind the scenes saving the people.
It's like, hello, this is the story of Joseph.
Ryan: Maybe this was in that first book that we gave you.
Bryan: yeah, exactly. And so I think for a lot of the readers, even though God's name isn't mentioned specifically, it should just be ringing so many bells. It's like, oh yeah, I see what's going on
Ryan: the words even within the book that are paralleling from the beginning to the end, and these rhyming events that I was kind of- to use my poetic metaphor, and the beginning and the end, there's these bookends within bookends within bookends that play their way down to this central turning point that are just reflecting each other perfectly.
this avalanche of reversals from Haman being honored to humiliated, Mordecai being forgotten to exalted, the death decree and deliverance, and there's this phrase, I think in chapter 9, "The reverse occurred," you know, and that's like a good summary of the book.
Reversal, which is a major theme throughout the whole Bible, that those who exalt themselves will be brought low, those who lower themselves will be brought up. I mean, Jesus talks about this, it's in James, in Peter, it's in Hannah's song back in 1 Samuel chapter 2, that this idea that Haman and Mordecai become a living parable of.
Living In Esther
Bryan: fact that God's name isn't mentioned here is also, you know, I mean, I think it's telling, right? Because they're having to figure out how to live everyday life in difficult circumstances without knowing that God is right there involved or without like it being explicitly stated. And I think for something that means a lot to me because that's my experience, right?
So often that is my experience. I don't feel like there are often these like big, you know, parting the Red Sea moments where it's like, oh, and God is with us. And look, he's there in the cloud of deliverance as he's walking us to the. No, he's like, where is God in this moment? And what does God want from me in this moment?
And I feel like this is a good it's almost. Could I put it like it's almost like taking off the training wheels and really learning to live with the presence of God without it being so overtly obvious. And I think Esther is teaching us how to do that here in her life and in this story and Mordecai and his example.
It's like this is how this is how we live life. And this is what we all experience every day.
Ryan: We don't live in Exodus, we live in Esther, you know? This is what it looks like, is God isn't saying, "Okay, and now I'm going to send an angel over here," or "And now watch what I do next, and here's why I'm doing it." We live in this place where he might seem absent sometimes, especially as things get dark, and it seems like, you know, all the world is framed against us, which is what it must have felt like living in chapter 4 of Esther.
And as things are mounting, and the worst person you can imagine, a literal enemy of, you know, an Agagite, you know,
this idea of like, why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people?
think about the exile situation. Maybe you could talk about this for a moment, how here we're like 100 years removed from the fall of Jerusalem, and things are not as they always were.
And God's people have to be like trying to make sense of the silence and what God has done and allowed his people to go
Bryan: yeah, I mean, I think we're that's that's really the focus of what we're talking about here is like living inside of this story, we're off in the middle of this sea of people who don't believe in God and don't see what we see and they don't view things the way we view them.
And that's that's where Esther was, you know, when she was in her exile there. I think he's teaching us to trust him. And, you know, because of because of our conviction, because of our faith, even though we can't see, you know, because of our fasting, because of our awareness, the fact that we've decided that we trust God, even though we can't see what's going on and why we should be trusting God in this moment, maybe.
I think for all of us, like it reminds me so much of Job, right? Like, why does why does Job have to go through this suffering? Why does he have to go through this difficulty? So often, like we view difficulty and temptations and trials as the negative thing, but it is almost always God's sharpening ability on us to make us who he wants us to be, to strip away what's unnecessary.
And boy, like for so many times in my life that I've gone through difficult times, not that it was fun, not that I loved it, not that it was like, you know, I'm going to hold it up as like, yeah, you all should go through this too. But I can always see benefit and blessing in having gone through difficult times.
And I'm sure that that's what the exile was for the remnant who would eventually return. Like, boy, I mean, that was a time that really told us who we should be and who we should have been all along.
but like, I think he's teaching them a lot and putting myself into their position. I can see why this is really a good thing being in this difficult situation they're in.
And
Ryan: If the whole story didn't play out, if there wasn't conflict, then there's no rescue, and there's no opportunity for faith and courage and obedience, and, you know, all of the virtues show up in the challenge and in the trial, and they get refined, as you're saying, in the trial.
I mean, the exile is really where the Jews become a much more devout and clarified people in their monotheistic just devotion to this is how God allows us to become who we're meant to be.
Bryan: like there was a purpose for the people being in Egypt. There was a reason why they were there and God knew what it was. The people didn't quite realize it at the time, but like, you know, they were driven to Egypt because of the famine. And so that's where they stayed and just exploded.
Like, they became a people there. And how amazing is that? That like, you know, God led them there in that time of difficulty so that they could grow and then come out of that on the other side just so much better. I mean, he obviously had to put them through some difficult times to like squeeze them out of Egypt and like get them wanting to go back home or whatever.
But like, you know, we see that being a time of encouragement for them and a time of blessing for them. And I think God can do that even today in our difficult times. So, I love the story of Esther. I think, you know, this has been helpful to kind of think through this stuff. And I find myself being in Esther's story way more than I thought about, you know, when we first started this episode.
That's where I live. That's where I'm at right now.
Trust Without Blueprint
Ryan: of like, "Hey, maybe there's more to explore about this idea that Mordecai says, you know, deliverance is going to come from somewhere, and it's going to come from you, or it's going to come from somewhere. Who knows? Maybe this is why that weird circumstance that threw you into this place happened, because God wanted to use you in this way."
And so that, I think that tension is you're sort of bringing us into this application mindset. How do we live in the "who knows" How do we live in that while being both purposeful and faithful and trusting that God is acting?
You know, he knows God will act. He doesn't know how he will act. And so the confidence is rooted in God's character, But he also recognizes that I'm living on one side of the curtain here, and I don't see, you know, all the things that are, I don't know the blueprint.
I don't know the timeline. I haven't read this play before, so I'm trying
Bryan: Yeah.
Ryan: it out.
Bryan: isn't that kind of what God tells Job, right? In his response to Job. It's like, "Do you know? Do you have the answers? Do you have the blueprint?" You know, and for like chapter after chapter, just like, you know, bombarding Job with these questions of like, "You don't know? Of course you don't know." And really, you know, I think for me, you know, you get to stories like Philemon, you get to stories like Job and all of these kinds of comparisons where it's like, "I don't know what God is doing.
I have no idea. I don't know. I don't know where he's leading me, but I know who God is. And I know his character.
And I know his character is loving and compassionate.
And for so many of us, it's that reason-making, blueprint-wanting, under-the-surface thoughts that we have that like, "If I can't make sense of it, then I don't know that it's worth trusting in God. And boy, like, I just don't have to make sense of it."
Ryan: like certainty is kind of a booby prize, you know?
Like it's like a certainty sounds like it's the thing that you want, is I know exactly what's going to happen. But that's not exactly what faith is. Faith is this other thing of I am a hundred percent confident in the character of God. I do not know. I might die. I don't know what's going to happen, but I trust him, and I'm going to try to, I'm going to pray to him.
I'm going to try to act faithfully to him, and I'm going to live in a certain kind of confidence that says, I don't know why these things are happening, but I know God is going to do the best thing here. He's going to deliver his people. He's going to do good things throughout all of this, and we walk by faith and not by sight.
And, you know, I think about Daniel purposing in his heart what he, what was the right thing to do, or like Moses, you know, Hebrews 11 talks about how Moses chose, didn't choose the pleasures of sin for a season or something like that, but, you know, he acted in faith, and that's really what in some ways Mordecai does, but mostly what Esther does in her faith, which is a little different than courage, just like we might normally define courage.
It is, if you, as I do, think that Esther is acting in a consciousness of who God is and a desire to be faithful to him, then you have to say she is doing what she has to do in stepping into the plan of God. That's a little bit different, you know? It's like, okay, I am part of a story that God is writing.
I'm going to do what I'm supposed to
Bryan: Yeah. To see ourselves as part of the story is just maybe the best reframing we can give to our thoughts. It's like, not that we've been forgotten or not that we've been abandoned or whatever, but like, we're just part of God's story. However he wants to use us, we are a vessel for his use. And, you know, just that reminder could make all the difference in just reframing the way we think about things we just don't understand.
Finding Jesus In Esther
Bryan: Okay, so maybe it'd be helpful here to kind of zoom out from Esther and zoom into Jesus and see what, you know, if we can find him in this story. And I was thinking about the parallels here between Esther and Jesus as a mediator and just how much she puts herself in the middle and puts it on the line for her people.
You know, she is risking her life in front of the king to plead for her people. And of course she's accepted. Her people are spared, as the great story, you know, that we've been talking about tells us. But then I think about Hebrews chapter 4, how the Hebrews writer says, "Since then we have a great high priest who's passed through the heavens.
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. So let us then draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy to find grace to help in time of need."
So, of course, Jesus makes us confident before God as our mediator and now lets us go before God in that same kind of way. It's such a cool parallel to see how Esther risked her life to mediate and Jesus gave his life so that we could become welcome in the presence of God. And isn't that just so cool to think about?
But I see Jesus here in her mediation. What about you?
Ryan: theme of the intercessor. We're about to, in the next episode, talk about Moses stepping and putting himself between the people and God and leading and God shows favor to the one person and therefore favor to others, and that's what Jesus does, of course, and that's what Esther does to a lesser degree, of course.
She says, you know, "If I perish, I perish," which is, you know, just a beautiful line, but she doesn't perish. Jesus does perish. You know, he raises from the dead, but, you know, Esther risks death, but Jesus embraces death and this intercession before the king that she is given favor as she comes in and access to the throne and therefore all of these events play out from her intercession.
So you really see a journey from the lesser to the greater when you start putting Esther and her amazing bravery to save her people up against Jesus and an unthinkable kind of a sacrifice and love. She steps into possible death to save her people. Jesus steps into certain death, you know, to save the whole world, whoever will come to him.
Bryan: So your takeaway is the same as my takeaway. Are we agreeing on this? Are we on the same page here with finding Jesus? We both found him in mediation.
Ryan: I mean, I could try to find him somewhere else, but it's just so clear in that moment. Yeah,
Bryan: Yeah.
Ryan: In some ways, you can find him in the reverses of this king and like sometimes you see in Jesus the opposites and, you know, Jesus is a different kind of king than all the kings who came before him. And this is another example of that is Jesus is not seeking his own pleasure and riding on the shoulders of the people.
The people ride on his shoulders, which is the Isaiah 9, 6 and 7 reversal, that the government will rest on his shoulders. He's carrying all of us on his very broad shoulders, and praise God for that.
Bryan: I think it's one of the most powerful stories here in all the Old Testament. And of course, God isn't mentioned.
Final Takeaways Next
Bryan: And so one of the things I'm thinking of, you know, as we sort of sum up this discussion is just how like when God is silent, that doesn't mean God is absent. And faith is really about walking in that kind of trust that doesn't have to see.
It doesn't have to have the proof, doesn't have to have that blueprint right out in front of you, but just to know that God is there. And I think for, you know, in our discussion, we talked about the dominoes. I think it is helpful for us when we want to look at our lives and see how things have worked out.
Like notice the dominoes. Maybe that's a takeaway I'm taking away from this is like just start looking at your own life and seeing, you know, God is not going to like write you a letter to tell you exactly how all of this is working out. Or, you know, you may never hear a voice that comes from the heavens about like the plans God has for you.
And of course, as you start seeing how things work out and maybe with some amount of hindsight, I know in my own life, I've seen that so often is like, why did that happen at that moment to then work out to do that thing for that person? Oh, yeah, I gotcha. What about you? What do you take away from this conversation?
Ryan: You know, it's so funny. We're about to next week talk about this other verse, but come back for that and connect it to this where God talks about who he is. And yes, he's not going to explain all of the events in your life to you, but he did write you a letter in a way about who he is. And so what do we actually know when we don't know what God is doing?
Well, we know his character. We know his promises. We know his wisdom. And that is enough. And that's why we live in who knows about this, but we know who God is and he knows what's going on here. And that's enough. And that's what it means to live by faith and not by sight, is trusting who God is and what he has told us.
Bryan: Well, I mean, you've teased it enough. So, yeah, on the next episode, we are going to talk about grace in the Old Testament. We're going to go back to a really powerful verse, Exodus 34. We're going to talk about how God speaks his own name over his people. And that name is a very different name than many of us would expect in the circumstances.
So we'll talk about that on our next episode.
Outro And Links
Bryan: Thanks, everyone, for tuning in to the Bible Geeks podcast. You can find us on our website, biblegeeks.fm. If you want to find show notes for this episode, they'll be there on our website. Get in touch with us. Reach out. Contact us there through our website. We'd love that, too.
And until that episode, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
Ryan: Shalom.