Esther: Heroes, Villains, and the Grand Storyteller

There is something about a well-written story that draws me in. You can likely relate. For me it’s in the pages of a novel; for you it may be the short span of a movie or the weekly evenings with your favorite show. Perhaps it’s even in the video game you secretly or unabashedly play.

Stories are everywhere. Fiction or nonfiction, they call to us, inviting us to come into their world and stay for a while- whether as an outside observer or an active participant. There are people to meet, worlds to discover, problems to solve, and enemies to be defeated. 

Stories are so appealing to us because we are part of one- the biggest one, in fact. The grand storyteller, God himself, can craft and communicate stories like no other. After all, there is no one like him (Isaiah 46:9). We see this across the entirety of the Bible, throughout the course of history, in our own individual lives, and we see it in the book of Esther. 

It’s been frequently pointed out that Esther never once mentions God. Yet as we read the pages of this (true) story, we cannot deny the active, sovereign, and guiding presence of the God who writes all stories according to his purpose.

We see all of the main parts of a well-written story in the book of Esther. How could we not? God is the first and best storyteller. We have heroes (Esther and Mordecai), villains (Haman, his wife, and his wicked friends), relational conflict, mortal danger, salvation at the eleventh hour! When given proper appreciation and attention, these ten chapters evoke in us shock, disgust, anger, surprise, anticipation, and finally, relief. The people are saved! The enemy is defeated! The lowly are exalted!

Behind it all and running through it all is the unnamed but ever-present God of all nations. The one who has already written all of our days in his book, even before we lived a single one (Psalm 139:16). Nothing happens outside of his control and nothing happens apart from his plan. For those of us who love him, all things work together for our good and his glory (Romans 8:28). 

And so regardless of the villains, the problems, the sufferings, we can entrust ourselves to our faithful Creator, the grandest and unsurpassed Storyteller. The only one who could think up such a redemptive story as our own: villains saved by the ultimate hero- the King himself.