Not A Coincidence

When Haman told his wife, Zeresh, and all his friends what had happened, his wise advisers and his wife said, “Since Mordecai—this man who has humiliated you—is of Jewish birth, you will never succeed in your plans against him. It will be fatal to continue opposing him.” Esther 6:13 (NLT)

The book of Esther is a different book. It’s a story of a young girl, captured and placed in the king’s palace until she was brought before the king. If he liked her, she might become queen. If he didn’t she would like as his concubine for the rest of her life. Strange book to be in the Bible, huh? What’s even more unusual is that God is not mentioned in it at all.

As you follow the story, there are a series of events that happen.

  1. Esther is captured and groomed for her night with the king.

  2. The people helping Esther really liked her and went out of their way to help her succeed.

  3. The king loved Esther more than any of the others and made her queen. (Esther 2)

  4. Mordecai, her uncle, just happened to over hear a plot to kill the king and saved the king’s life by revealing it to the authorities.

  5. The second in command, Haman, hated Mordecai and decided to have all the Jews killed. He did not know Esther was Jewish. (Esther 3)

  6. Esther decides to reveal her identity and Haman’s plot but she is terrified that she will die. She and all the Jews pray. (Esther 4)

  7. She goes before the king, invites him and Haman to a banquet, but does not yet reveal her purpose. (Esther 5)

  8. That night, King Xerxes could not sleep so he asked his servants to read him the King’s chronicles. They just happened to read the part where Mordecai had saved his live and he discovered that Mordecai had never been rewarded. (Esther 6)

  9. He forced Haman to honor Mordecai. This humiliated Haman.

There is turn of events after turn of events that move the story in favor of Esther and the Jews. Some people would call these coincidences. But, I would not and apparently, neither did Haman’s wife. She said “Since he is of Jewish birth, you will not succeed in your plans.” Had she heard of the God of the Jews who went before his people and protected them? Did she know of the stories where they miraculously triumphed over those seeking to destroy them? Obviously, she believed what she had heard before.

The story goes on and the Jews are saved. God was working in the background all along to work things out for his people. He is still doing this for us today. We are not left to chance. God is always at work. Even if things look coincidental, they are not. There is a Divine Plan in place. Trust in the One who is setting that plan into motion.