Providence pervades the narrative.24 It is the same One who preserved the nation of Israel in the oppressions of Pharaoh, and through such devastating judgments as those of the wilderness journeys, the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions, the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D 70, and Hitler’s mass slaughters XIII SURVEY OF ESTHER Follow the usual procedures of survey study After you have scanned the book, read the entire story more slowly Because of its intriguing plot, the book holds one’s attention throughout Four people are the main characters of the narrative: King Ahasuerus, Esther, Mordecai, and Haman Observe the part played by each, as you read the story Where is the turning point of the Jews’ situation? Try making an outline of the book In your own words, state the book’s theme Study survey Chart 64 Compare its outlines with your own observations Observe the elevation of a Jewess, Esther, in chapter 2, and the exaltation of a Jew, Mordecai, in chapter 10 What were the occasions for the feasts of the book? Note the comparison made of the feasts of chapters and XIV PROMINENT SUBJECTS OF ESTHER A THE JEWS ARE THREATENED A key word of the book is “Jew.” The singular form appears eight times; the plural form, forty-three times The term Jew is derived from the word Judah Since most of the returning exiles were of the tribe of Judah, the title Jew was applied to them, and extended in later years to all Hebrew people The fate of the Jews throughout centuries of unbelief has been one endless tragedy Wars, famines, broken homes, political upheaval, plagues, and premature death were some of the judgments of the years of judges and kings Then came the deprivations of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities; coldness of heart in the four hundred years before Christ; and a worldwide dispersion to the present day for the rejection of the Messiah The slaughter of millions of Jews by the Hitler regime reveals how much hatred the human race is capable of heaping upon people The story of Esther concerns deliverance for the Jews during exile years The book does not intend to extol the Jew, but to show that the fate of the nation—good or bad—is in the hands of a sovereign God There have been tragic pogroms in the history of Israel, but there have also been miraculous deliverances, and the book of Esther records one such deliverance As of chapter 3, the extermination of all Jews in Xerxes’ empire merely awaited the arrival of the day of slaughter, eleven months later, on the thirteenth of Adar (3:13) That date had been determined by lot (“Pur,” see 3:7) The decree was distributed in letter form by couriers throughout the empire, ordering the authorities “to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day” (3:13) What made the king sign such a decree? (3:2) (4:1—10:3) From time to time God has raised up B THE JEWS ARE SPARED ... exaltation of a Jew, Mordecai, in chapter 10 What were the occasions for the feasts of the book? Note the comparison made of the feasts of chapters and XIV PROMINENT SUBJECTS OF ESTHER A THE JEWS... premature death were some of the judgments of the years of judges and kings Then came the deprivations of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities; coldness of heart in the four hundred years before... to the present day for the rejection of the Messiah The slaughter of millions of Jews by the Hitler regime reveals how much hatred the human race is capable of heaping upon people The story of