Esther vs Elijah: the always miraculous presence of God in the life of faith

God rained down fire.

In an answer to Elijah’s simple, two-sentence prayer, God rained down fire that consumed the sacrificed bull, the chopped wood, and the twelve jars worth of water that soaked the altar and filled the surrounding trench. The mighty display proved decidedly that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the one true God and there was no other.

On the other hand in the book of Esther, God’s name isn’t mentioned, not even once. His name isn’t uttered in prayer. His name doesn’t accompany visible and miraculous signs and wonders. Sure, He rescued Israel from Egypt with ten supernatural plagues and Elijah and his people with a downpour of flames, but his children in exile in Persia would be delivered another way, a more human way.

In this way, Esther highlights an overarching truth about God: He is trustworthy and He is sovereign even in our broken, human systems. He was, is, and always will be victorious.

When we cannot see His hand, we trust His heart.

When Jesus walked upon the earth, his disciples expected fire to come down once more. James and John made the connection. “Lord,” they cried in response to insult, “call down fire— just like Elijah did!” But no. Instead, Jesus went before a corrupt ruler (much like Esther) to present himself on behalf of his people— human to human, much like Esther. (And much like the story of Esther, Jesus’s betrayer died by hanging).

However, unlike Esther, our Great Deliver is Jesus.

Yes, Esther went before the king, and yes he issued a new edict allowing the Israelites to fight for their freedom but something had to be added to Esther’s “obedience unto (potential) death.” Nothing need be added to Jesus’ sacrifice. We can read the story of both Elijah and Esther and see that in the overtly miraculous and in the “miraculous mundane”, Jesus reigns and rules victoriously. When we cannot see his hand, we can trust his heart— and his sovereignty.

Much like Mordecai, Esther, and Elijah, our response is faithful obedience. We walk by faith— faith in the One true God who set the earth upon its foundations and wrote our names in the Lamb’s book of life. From beginning to end, He is worthy of our life’s long obedience and allegiance.