Will Vaus

The closing chapters of the book of Esther focus on the revenge that the Jews took upon their enemies, on the sons of Haman and upon thousands of others. Personally, I cannot imagine anything more contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ who said, “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.” (Luke 6:29) Rather than taking the lives of others, Jesus laid down his life for us. Through that gift of his life, we can receive new, everlasting life. The one good thing that came out of these events recorded in Esther is the feast of Purim. I say that is a good thing because on that feast day the Jews were instructed by Mordecai to give gifts of food to one another and offer presents to the poor. However, I find it hard to imagine a holiday that is more unlike the supposed event it commemorates than Purim. Hopefully, as we read the story of Esther in the context of the whole of Scripture, it reminds us what an evil thing the act and spirit of revenge can be...

If nothing else, the book of Esther is great literature. In fact, I believe it is one of the greatest literary pieces, one of the greatest bits of storytelling, in the entire Bible. It ranks right alongside the book of Ruth in that regard. Much of the reason for this assessment can be attributed to timing. The story draws the reader in and builds slowly to a climax. In these middle chapters of the book, we see the wisdom of Queen Esther. In order to save her people, the Jews, from catastrophe, she does not immediately ask the king to fulfill her desires because she probably knows that to make her request immediately and straightforwardly will not meet with success. Instead, she invites the king and the wicked Haman to a banquet. Then, when the king again offers to meet her request for anything, up to half of his kingdom, she again strings him along with an invitation to another banquet. Meanwhile, Haman’s anger towards Mordecai begins to bubble up to the boilin...

Numbers 28 and 29 contain commands having to do with sacrifices and holidays. These chapters repeat much of what has gone before. The one big difference is that there is no mention of the Tabernacle or the Tent of Meeting. Friedman explains: Other laws clearly indicate that sacrifice can be performed only at the entrance of the Tabernacle. If I was correct in my commentary on the Tabernacle (Exodus 26)—that the Tabernacle was actually located in the First Temple—then it is critically important that these laws come now picturing sacrifice even without reference to the Tabernacle. By no reckoning was the Tabernacle in the Second Temple. (Nor were the ark, the tablets, the cherubs, or the Urim and Tummin.) It is these two chapter (and Num 15:1-31, which likewise does not mention the Tabernacle) that make it possible for there to be sacrificial worship at the Second Temple. [1] Friedman’s commentary begs the question: “Were these chapters, that mention sacrifice wi...

Chapters 41-44 continue the story of Joseph. It is interesting to me that we do not have any comment from C. S. Lewis about this story in the Bible. It seems to me that this piece of Scripture would have interested Lewis as an ancient example of a classic short story. For those who are looking to get some point out of every Bible reading, or some spiritual lesson, this story, or at least these chapters of the story, may prove disappointing. I imagine the first hearers of this story enjoyed it for the story itself. Only later do we get the moral of the story. Perhaps, since the first readers were simply enjoying the story itself, the moral at the end came as more of an “aha”. One curious cultural point stood out to me as I was reading these chapters. That is that when Joseph was first brought to Pharaoh, he first had to shave. I wondered why this would have been important in that culture. According to what I was able to find on the Internet, there was a period in Egy...

Chapters 33 and 34 provide a poignant contrast between forgiveness and revenge. In chapter 33, Jacob is anxious about meeting his brother Esau again because Esau had wanted to kill Jacob before he left for Laban’s house. However, the anger of Esau turns into forgiveness and welcome. This passage reminds us that many of the things we worry about in life never happen in the end. How much better it is to follow the advice of Jesus in Matthew 6 and Paul in Philippians 4:6-7… “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The C. S. Lewis quote at the end of chapter 33 is a meaningful one. Referring to his forgiveness of a cruel headmaster whom Lewis had as a boy, he writes… “Last week, while at prayer, I suddenly discovered—or felt as if I did—that I had really forgiven som...