Jews in the Second Temple Period: Esther I. Introduction A. The Second Temple Period (ca. 530 BCE – 70 CE) 1. Also known as the “post-exilic” period 2. Often subdivided by ruling empires a. Persian (ca. 538-334 BCE) b. Ptolemaic (334-200 BCE) c. Seleucid (200-167 BCE) d. Hasmonean (167-63 BCE) e. Roman (63 BCE – 70 CE) B. A challenging time in Jewish history 1. At the beginning the people were recovering from the fallout the political, social, economic, and religious apocalypse known as the Babylonian destruction in 586 2. A Davidic king was not on the throne; the land of Israel did not belong to Israelites 3. Some or all of the Jews lived in foreign lands; they all were subject to a foreign, pagan king or emperor 4. How was YHWH still Lord despite it all? How could Jews live faithfully in such conditions? C. Near the beginning of this period YHWH continued to inspire prophets and instructors to provide Israel with guidance about what would come to pass and how they could serve Him until Messiah came D. We can gain much from considering the character of the people through whom YHWH worked to deliver His people and to instruct them in His ways during the early Second Temple Period E. Let us consider Queen Esther II. Esther’s Life A. We learn about Esther from the book bearing her name (Esther 1:1-10:3) 1. The Greek Septuagint preserves some additions to the story of Esther, among other things purporting to provide greater detail about her entrance before the king (Esther 15:1-16), and of a dream Mordecai had regarding the whole narrative (Esther 10:4-11:12) 2. She is not mentioned otherwise in the Bible B. Esther (derivative of Ishtar, Sumerian goddess of love among other things) is originally named Hadassah (derivative of Hebrew for myrtle tree), daughter of Abihail; she is orphaned as a child and raised by her uncle Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of Benjamin (Esther 2:5-7, 9:29) C. Mordecai and Esther are in Susa at the gate of King Xerxes (Ahasuerus; ca. 480 BCE); Esther is very beautiful, and when a search was made for a new queen to replace Vashti, Esther entered the king’s harem (Esther 2:8) 1. She gains favor in the sight of Hegai the keeper of the harem; she is elevated to a high place and given the necessary things for purification (Esther 2:9) 2. She spent a year in preparation and listened to Hegai and his instructions; she won favor in the sight of Xerxes and was made queen (Esther 2:10-18) D. The main highlight of Esther’s story is her response to Haman’s plot (Esther 4:1-8:17) 1. Esther hears of Mordecai’s distress, sends clothes for him and then received word about the condemnation of the Jews (Esther 4:1-9) 2. Esther is very concerned: she understands the gravity of the situation but knows the decree of death for anyone who comes to the king without having been summoned; she would need to receive mercy from the king (Esther 4:10-12) 3. Mordecai sufficiently warns her of the danger and suggests that perhaps she was elevated as queen for this very time and reason; she calls for a 3 day fast before she enters in before the king and to accept her fate (Esther 4:13-17) 4. She enters before the king and receives mercy (Esther 5:1-3) 5. She then puts her plan into motion: she invites Xerxes and Haman to a feast, and they come; when Xerxes asks what she wants, she invites both to a feast the next day during which she will make her request (Esther 5:4-8) 6. At the second feast she asks for her life and the life of her people to be spared; she could have endured slavery but not death (Esther 7:1-4) 7. Xerxes wants to know who planned this; Esther identifies Haman; Xerxes goes out to the garden for a moment, Haman pleads to Esther for his life; Xerxes presumes Haman is propositioning Esther, and has him executed (Esther 7:5-10) 8. Since Mordecai is now known to be Esther’s uncle he is elevated to Haman’s old post; Esther again goes before the king without having been summoned to plead for the lives of her people and the reversal of Haman’s decree; it is granted for Esther and Mordecai to write and proclaim the reversal decree (Esther 8:1-13) 9. In the midst of the Jewish revenge, Xerxes asks Esther what more she desires; she asks for another day of revenge and for the execution of Haman’s sons; it is done (Esther 9:13-14) E. It is by Esther’s authority that Purim is established as a Jewish holiday over a two day period to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s plot (Esther 9:29-32) F. Such is what we know of Esther’s life III. Survival Despite Opposition A. The book of Esther is the first chapter of a sadly long saga of Israel’s experiences in attempting to survive under the dominion of capricious foreigners B. Israel is small and peculiar, an easy target, and yet perseveres 1. Mordecai will not give the pagans the honor they think they deserve on account of his devotion to YHWH (Esther 3:2) 2. On account of it all the Jews are endangered by Haman’s decree (Esther 3:5-6) 3. Mordecai remains faithful, convinced deliverance will come somehow from somewhere (Esther 4:14) 4. As it happens, he and Esther are the means by which God will deliver the Jews, and they in fact get revenge on their enemies! 5. Israel will continue to face existential threats, and by some means or another, God will deliver them (from the Seleucids by the Maccabees; from sin by Jesus) 6. A dose of reality for Israel during the Second Temple Period! C. But the book is not called Mordecai, but Esther! 1. It might seem that Mordecai is the main figure in the story; he’s the catalyst for everything that seems to happen 2. Yet, in the end, everything he does is dependent on Esther and her position 3. Esther is the one with authority! D. Esther as the embodiment of Israel’s precarious position 1. Esther is an orphan, a girl with beauty 2. She lives under foreign domination, living in a harem, to many a very degrading position, useful primarily for pleasure 3. And yet she uses her mind and charms to gain favor with the right people and gets into the most favorable position possible: Queen 4. As queen she knows the customs and how things get accomplished in the palace; she uses all such knowledge, insight, and wisdom to gain favor again with the king and rescue her people 5. She risks great danger, even death, but remains firm in faith 6. Yes, in many ways, she is being used for what others find favorable in her; but even in such a position she herself uses her advantages and opportunities for the betterment of herself and her people 7. The book of Esther is well-titled; the Jews were to learn the lesson of her life, to recognize that despite their lowly status there are ways to curry favor and use advantages to preserve and better themselves! E. Innocent as Doves, Wise as Serpents (cf. Matthew 10:16) 1. Jesus exhorts His disciples to be as innocent as doves yet as wise as serpents while out in the world (Matthew 10:16) 2. We can see an example of such in Esther! 3. She recognized the danger and even brought it nearer to hear, inviting Haman to feasts 4. Throughout she maintained her purity and integrity but wisely and shrewdly used her position, charms, and protocols to advance to queen and then to outmaneuver Haman and his plot 5. Thus the people of God must continue to uphold integrity and purity in an ungodly, sinful world (cf. 1 Peter 1:13-16) 6. They will find themselves as a peculiar minority, at best tolerated, at worst persecuted on account of their faith in the Lord (1 Peter 2:11-12, 4:3-5) 7. They will be in danger of harm, even death, but are to remain firm in faith to the end (1 John 3:16) 8. They do well, therefore, to use wisdom in whatever circumstances they find themselves to proclaim the Gospel, outmaneuver their opponents, and use whatever position and situations they might have to advance the purposes of Jesus! F. How can we know whether we are where we are for such a time as this? IV. Conclusion A. We have seen the example of Esther 1. A woman with a lot of things working against her 2. Uses good sense and wisdom to advance herself to a high station, delivers her people B. We do well to learn from the example of Esther, be innocent as doves yet shrewd and wise as serpents, and use whatever standing and opportunities we have to proclaim the purposes of God in Christ! C. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter (Esther 2:7). Esther, or Hadassah, was an orphan raised by her uncle Mordecai. Even though she came from lowly beginnings she was able to serve God and her people and work to deliver them. May we find ways to advance God’s purposes through our lives! 2: And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti (Esther 2:17). Esther knew what she was doing. She gained the favor of the steward of the harem, learned what she needed to learn, and then found favor in the sight of the king. She became Queen of Persia! We do well to consider how we can most effectively take advantage of opportunities given to us to proclaim God’s purposes! 3: Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16). Mordecai had to convince Esther of the danger of Haman’s plot, but once convinced, Esther proved resolute. She was willing to suffer death to possibly deliver her people. May we prove as willing to lay down our lives for the brethren! 4: And the commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book (Esther 9:32). While Mordecai is an important part and catalyst of the story, the book is called Esther for good reason. She is the Queen; she is the one with authority. She worked to rescue her people, and she validates the customs for Purim. May we consider well how we can use our circumstances and opportunities for God’s glory!