Esther

The women of our small group Bible study have going through Beth Moore's study of Esther.  I love going through Bible narratives piece by piece and studying the historical and cultural nuances that we quickly pass over when we are reading English in our Western culture.  Last week in our video study Beth pointed out some intriguing literary structures that are found in the book of Esther.

Don't worry I am not going to bore you with a literature lesson, but I have to admit it was very refreshing.  In school I was never a strong reader so literature was by far my least favorite class.  However, since learning that reading can be quite enjoyable when one is not forced into it and constrained by time, I have become intrigued by the elements of story, good metaphors, foreshadowing, irony, allegory, and theme.  I mean don't you love when a good book is wrapped up nice and neat and you can look back and see that the author had a specific reason for everything that was written?  Don't you love when good triumphs over evil and the wicked characters get what is coming to them?

It makes me think of Harry Potter.  I have heard that J.K. Rowling knew each character's past and future before she began writing.  I don't know if that is true.  But when reading her books (or rereading) it seems that that must have been the case.

Anyway, back to Esther.  Esther is so packed full of literary elements and seemingly coincidences that I am tempted to think when reading and studying it, "Is this not a bit exaggerated just to make a good story?"  I mean does real life really work out this way?

Beth wrapped up last week's session by saying "At the end of our life it will have theme and beauty."  And it hit me, yes, life IS full of irony and metaphors.  We are surrounded by the plot of God's story of redemption.  He is the great author and He created all of those things that we love to see in our favorite stories.  Just as a good author works out the story just perfectly how he/she wants it, God does the same.  He weaves our story (or more appropriately His story) so that at the end of it all we can see the beauty of it all.

Why do the most beloved stories involve love, a rescue, good triumphing over evil, some type of "Cinderella" figure, the list could go on and on?  Not because we are trying to escape reality and make life more lovely.  It is because God put inside us the desire for these things.  He wants us to see the beauty in those themes because those are the themes that He uses.

How comforting it is to know that when it is all said and done my life will not only have purpose but it will be a literary masterpiece!  That makes the trials of life seem much more bearable!