Recently reading how God intervened in the life of Israel’s King David in a most peculiar way, led to the writing of this article.
In fact, God’s intervention was so calculated, the extraordinary consequences of that intercession manifested five hundred years later; as recorded in the Book of Esther.
Surprisingly, while reading the fascinating story of Esther, a couple of passages jumped off the page. The passages were a chilling reminder, a foretelling of the return of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, to judge the enemies of God.
Two Esther Passages that Parallels Christ’s Return
“Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. (Esther 7:7)
“When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, ‘Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?’ As the words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.” (Esther 7:8)
While reading these two passages, the characters mentioned seemed to parallel other Bible passages. For clarity, I plugged in the characters’ counterpart, using the same passages.
“Then the king (Jesus the Messiah) arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine (The Lord’s Passover; his covenant of wine) and went into the palace garden (leading him to the Mount of Olives, to the Cross, to the Garden Tomb, to rising from the dead, to sitting at right hand of God until the time of his return). But Haman (representing Satan) stood before Queen Esther (representing The Church/Saints), pleading for his life, for he saw that evil (Judgement – Eternal Damnation in the Lake of Fire) was determined against him by the king (Jesus, the King of kings).” (Esther 7:7)
“When the king returned from the palace garden (returned from sitting at the right hand of God) to the place of the banquet of wine (Earth, where his blood covenant was given), Haman (Satan) had fallen across the couch where Esther (The Church/Saints), was. Then the king (Jesus the Messiah) said, ‘Will he also assault the queen (The Church/Saints), while I am in the house?’ As the word left the king’s (Jesus the Messiah) mouth, they covered Haman’s face (Satan was judged and banished to Lake of Fire).” (Esther 7:8)
Parallel Characters Reveal Future Events
If you find the character parallels plausible, as mentioned in the passages above, then for further context, consider a closer view of the Story of Esther; the characters and their counterparts. In addition, below are some comments and interesting historical considerations.
King Ahasuerus parallels King Jesus the Messiah
♠ King Ahasuerus: A Persian king of kings, with immense wealth and power.
Also known as King Xerxes; some scholars say Artaxerxes reigned from 486 BC until 465 BC over Persian Babylonia. The point is, whether known as Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes or Xerxes, all the Babylonian kings were identified as “king of kings” in their communications:
Ezra 7:12 refers to Artaxerxes as king of kings.
Ezekiel 26:7 records: “For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre, from the north, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people.”
Esther 1 records: “King Ahasuerus showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty with a great feast for certain elect people. And had an additional feast for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.”
♠ King Jesus the Messiah: The King of Kings with all power, glory and majesty.
Revelations 19:16 records: “He has on His robe and on His thigh, a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
1 Chronicles 29:11 records: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.”
NOTE: Most Christians recognize Jesus the Christ, as not only the Messiah, but as GOD in the flesh.
John 1:14 records: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Queen Vashti parallels Rebellious Israelis/Jews
♠ Queen Vashti: Wife of King Ahasuerus was exceptionally beautiful and powerful.
The Book of Esther records: Queen Vashti did the unthinkable. She refused to come to her husband’s feast where King Ahasuerus wanted to show the beauty of his wife to the people of his kingdom. She had become proud, forgetting it was her husband who gave her that position of power. In short, she rebelled against the king her husband.
As a result of her rebellion, the king banished Queen Vashti from the kingdom in accordance with Persian law.
♠ Rebellious Israel/Jews: Jews who turned their back on God’s and His commandments.
Romans 10:9 records that God provoked Israel to jealously, because they rebelled against God. Paul the Apostle records that Israel was God’s FIRST adopted, to whom He gave the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises. Therefore, for their rebellion, he gave their position to another—the Church. In like manner, King Ahasuerus gave Queen Vashti’s position to another.
Interestingly, Esther 2:10 records that after King Ahasuerus’ anger subsided, he remembered Queen Vashti. In like manner, God also remembered a rebellious Israel.
Psalms 98:3 records that God remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; His love for Israel.
For this reason, I believe King Ahasuerus never stopped remembering his love for Queen Vashti; however, due to Persian law, the king did not offer grace.
NOTE: A good study for a lesson in Grace.
Queen Esther parallels The Church, the Bride of Christ
♠ Esther: An adopted orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai a righteous Jew from Persia.
After Queen Vashti’s banishment as the kings first wife, a search went out to the Persian kingdom, to find a beautiful virgin replacement. As a result, Esther, an orphan, became Queen Esther, the new replacement bride of King Ahasuerus.
Est. 2:17 records that the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained GRACE and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Sadly, in the book of Esther, we discover Esther turned her back on God’s commandments. Whereby, compromising her virginity by joining King Ahasuerus’s harem, hopefully to obtain the crown of queen.
In addition, after achieving her goal of becoming queen, she feared the possibility of losing her queenship, if found to be a Jew.
Esther 2:9 Records: “Now the young woman pleased him (King Ahasuerus), and she (Esther) obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women (The king’s harem).”
Thankfully, Esther repented and laid her life on the line to save her people, the Jews. As a result, she received grace from King Ahasuerus.
♠ The Church the Bride of Christ: Adopted into the Jewish Family
The Church was adopted into the Jewish family just as Esther was adopted by Mordechai a Jew. More importantly, the Church became the Bride of Christ when Rebellious Israel rejected their Messiah, Jesus the King of kings.
Eph 1:3-6 records: “Blessed be the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
NOTE: The Church was adopted and obtained GRACE from God through King Jesu
Haman parallels Lucifer/Satan
♠ Haman: A Prince of Persia
Haman was seated above all other princes in King Ahasuerus’s kingdom, decreed to destroy the Jews in Persia.
Est. 3:1-2 records: “King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above ALL the princes who were with him. And, ALL the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would NOT bow or pay homage.”
Est. 8:2 records that King Ahasuerus gave Haman his Signet Ring to write decrees/laws as if the king himself gave the order. Whereby, Haman decreed persecution of the Jews in his plot to destroy them.
♠ Lucifer/Satan: A Prince of Heaven
Satan was a chief angel in God’s kingdom. Some argue he was head angel.
Ezekiel 28:13–15 records: v.13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created.”
v.14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.”
v.15 “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”
Satan, throughout history, decreed and carried out many atrocities in his quest to destroy all Jews.
Mordecai parallels Repentant Israel
♠ Mordecai: A Jew who adopted his orphaned cousin, Esther.
Mordecai also set in King Ahasuerus’s gate indicating that Mordecai was a prominent figure with important position.
Esther 2:5 records: “In those days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. Mordecai discovered a plot of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, to assassinate the king. Because of Mordecai’s vigilance, the plot was foiled.”
This foiling of the plot to assassinate the king played a major role in saving the Jews from annihilation.
Whereby, King Ahasuerus eventually made Mordecai his chief advisor.
♠ Repentant Israel: Israeli Jews who turn back to God and keep his commandments.
1 Samuel 7:3 records: “Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning (repenting) to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.’”
Isaiah 55:7 records: “Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return (repent) to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
When reading the book of Esther, we discover that Mordechai’s motive, to see his adopted daughter rise to Queen of Persia, was self-serving. In short, he compromised the commandments of God and influenced his adopted daughter Esther to do likewise.
However, later in the story, Mordechai repented of his self-serving actions. More importantly, he influenced Esther to repent. Because, he now perceived the gravity of the Jewish situation in Persia and how God would deliver the Jewish people from the hands of Haman (Satan). He ultimately understood God’s purpose in Esther’s rise to become Queen of Persia.
♦ Decisions of Former Jewish Kings Altering Esther’s Future
King David’s Obedience
In the beginning of this article, I mentioned the fact that God had intervened at an EXACT and peculiar moment in the life of King David. Whereas, God impressed upon David, NOT to kill a man by the name of Shimei. Consequently, by NOT killing Shimei, the course of Jewish history was altered in a positive way—some five hundred years later; altering the life of Queen Esther and all Jews living in Babylon.
Esther 2:9 records that Mordecai was a Jew who was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.
As shown above, Mordecai was a descendant of Shimei a Benjamite.
This man Shimei is the same person who cursed King David, whereby David’s soldiers wanted David to kill Shimei. However, David refused, as he felt somehow that God did not want Shimei killed at that time. The full story can be found in 2 Samuel 16:5-11.
Also keep in mind, that the first king of Israel was, Saul a Benjamite. One of the reasons Shimei cursed King David was that Saul and Shimei were both Benjamites; family members. For this reason, Shimei’s loyalty was still with King Saul whose kingship was taken away by God and given to King David.
ULTIMATELY, had King David killed Shimei, then Mordecai, Esther’s adopted father, Shimei’s direct descendant, would NEVER have been born. Therefore, there would have been no Esther, Queen of Persia! And, the Jews would have been annihilated.
King Saul’s Disobedience
The Book of Esther records, Haman was the direct descendant of King Agag, an Amalekite AKA the Agagites.
Interestingly, in 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was commanded by God to COMPLETLY destroy the Amalekites the enemies of the Jews, including their king, Agag. In short, leaving no Amalekite alive.
However, King Saul, unlike King David, did NOT obey. Sadly, Saul left King Agag alive. As a result, Agag was able to pass on his seed (offspring) before Samuel the Prophet removed Agag’s head. Consequently, Haman was born, a direct descendant of King Agag.
IF King Saul had obeyed God’s command, then Haman would NEVER have been born. So, the plot to kill all the Jews in Persia by an evil Haman would never have occurred.
In conclusion, God sees the beginning and the end, and is therefore in full control of the past, present and future.
For this reason, we should believe and trust, God’s judgements are perfect!
[Take time to the book of Esther, as it is only 10 chapters]
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