Such A Time As This

2012-04-12

“Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)

The book of Esther does not use the words God or LORD anywhere in the entire narrative. However, it is very clear that God’s fingerprints are all over the story, and this selection makes that clear. Mordecai knows that if they all were to perish, he was confident that another deliverer would come other than Esther. As a man of faith, he knew that God would use someone to preserve the Jews, because they were God’s witnesses upon the earth.

There is significant typology in this story:

• There is a wicked man who seeks to destroy the godly from the earth (Esther 3:8-9)
• A deliverer enters into the throne room of the king on behalf of the godly. This deliverer is basically dead, unless the king extends his power (here, it is his scepter) to save this deliverer (Esther 4:11; 5:1-2)
• The deliverer pleads with the king to change the decree, which he does in a roundabout way (Esther 8:3ff)
• The wicked man who sought God’s people’s destruction was killed, along with all of those who shared his hatred (Esther 7:9-10; 9:12-16)
• Many turned to the faith of the godly because of the fear of the decree (Esther 8:17)

Now I did not use any names, because I do not want you to miss the correlations here:

Type: The godly
In Esther: The Jews
Fulfilled: Anyone who is saved

Type: The wicked man
In Esther: Haman
Fulfilled: Satan

Type: Those who hated the godly
In Esther: Those who were to kill Jews
Fulfilled: Satan’s minions

Type: The deliverer
In Esther: Esther
Fulfilled: Jesus Christ

Type: The king
In Esther: Ahasuerus
Fulfilled: God the Father

Type: Those who turned godly
In Esther: Pagans became Jews
Fulfilled: People became Christians

Correlations between the shadows of the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New Testament sometimes are not perfect. However, the striking similarities are not coincidental. The significance of Mordecai and perhaps even of Vashti should not be ignored, but I am not certain if and how they may fall into this typology. It is most important to see this correlation between the book of Esther and Christ, because the Old Testament is rich with these types of things. We must be careful to avoid plain allegory that is without warrant. Be assured, however, that by the decree of God, by the mediator Jesus Christ, that our salvation is sure, and that we can know that our adversaries will perish, if they do not respond to the fear of the king.