If you [Esther] keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives [the Jews] will die.  Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14 (NLT).

God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, but His presence fills the pages.  The book of Esther reminds us that God cares for His people (Jews and non-Jews).  God will use His providential hand to direct the lives of believers and unbelievers alike to accomplish His divine will on earth. 

Although the book of Esther never mentions God, the Book’s central purpose teaches that God works providentially in the background to take care and deliver His people.  The story of Esther is similar to the stories of Joseph (Genesis 37-48) and the Book of Ruth.  The stories of Esther, Joseph and Ruth show God’s hand in history to save, protect and provide for His people, despite any oppositions or setbacks (see also Psalm 37:23; Psalm 91; Matthew 16:18; Romans 8:26-39; and 1 Peter 3:12). 

Esther was queen of Persia during the reign of Xerxes and a Jew.  She was an orphan and raised by her cousin Mordecai.  God miraculously through Esther’s wisdom, courage and willingness rescued thousands of Jews from being massacred by Haman, an enemy of the Jewish people.  The Jewish Festival of Purim was instituted to celebrate God’s deliverance of the Jewish people in the Book of Esther.