| "The Esther Principle", Part 1 |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, November 13 2006 00:00 |
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In a time when the very existence of the people of Israel was in jeopardy because of the influence of the anti-Semitic Haman over King Xerxes of Persia, the Jewish queen Esther wavered in understandable concern for her life. Her cousin Mordecai persuaded her to continue in the court to contravene Haman’s plot with this famous exhortation: “‘Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’" (Esther 4:13-14). Mordecai seems to be saying that God intends to deliver the Jews and has probably raised Esther up for the task, but if she declines, God will simply use someone else. From this statement people often deduce the conclusion that God has plans and purposes, asks us to help him, but leaves it to us whether or not we shall do so (our “free moral agency”). If we decide against helping God, He will raise up someone else. There are some problems with this conclusion. First, Mordecai was not a prophet of God and was not even sure that God had placed Esther there at that time for the deliverance of the Jews. He was relying on his own observations of the situation, although he was indeed correct. It is certainly true that God could raise up anyone else to do the work, but as we look back on it, it is apparent that He raised up Esther. It is also indisputable that God could have raised up someone else had Esther remained silent. However, the problematic issue is, would God have allowed Esther to remain silent if indeed He raised her up for that purpose? The deeper issue concerns the sovereignty of God. Those who hold to “the Esther principle” say that God is sovereign and has purposes, but He has chosen to let the people He raises up refuse to serve Him, thus forcing Him to go to someone else: a “plan B,” if you please. Let us see next week if “the Esther principle” is supported in Scripture. |
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