The Hidden Hand of God in Providence

The Hidden Hand in the Vacuum

Well, it’s good to be with you here today. If we have not met yet, my name is Brad, and I get the privilege of hanging out with you here today. If you have your Bibles, we are continuing in our series in Esther, and we are in chapter eight. To those joining us as guests here in person, welcome. To those at one of our campuses or gatherings via video, or those hanging out at home—wherever life finds you—welcome to The Well.

We have been in this series now for a number of weeks. Some of you are joining us mid-series as we trace the hidden hand of God in a pretty fascinating book of our Bible. Most books of the Bible, as you would expect, talk about God. They quote other books of the Bible. People pray. But not this one. In fact, God is never mentioned. No other Scripture is quoted. These people never pray. God is never even referred to, and this book is not quoted by any other book of your Bible. It’s as if it takes place in a vacuum. And yet, it is here for us as part of the canon of Scripture.

So, we have the task of walking through the book and asking, “Why is this book here?” What we’ve been tracing is that although there is no explicit mention of God, He is implicit everywhere. We’re talking about the hidden hand of God all throughout the book of Esther. Last week, we talked about the hidden hand of God specifically in justice. As we did so, we met the villain of the book, Haman. He ended up getting impaled on the gallows that he built to impale a guy named Mordecai. It was an incredible reversal of fortunes.

At the end of the message last week, we said that text seemed to be there for a couple of critical reasons. One, it was a cautionary tale to the abuser—to those who wish violence or bring violence on other people, especially those who feel they are getting away with it. We were happy to remind you that our God is both omniscient and omnipresent. He knows everything and is everywhere. He notices everything, He keeps really good notes, and at one point, the abuser will pay a price for that abuse.

The second thing we talked about was how that passage gives hope for the afflicted. Some of you have been on the receiving end of hardship, and you wonder how to endure. Thankfully, the text reminded us that our God sees, our God hears, our God is involved, and our God is good. The hidden hand of God in justice brings hope.

As I was reflecting on last week, I was reminded of a number of Psalms. Your Psalms can be categorized by different themes, and one is called “Imprecatory Psalms.” These are Psalms where the psalmist cries out for God to bring justice. For example, Psalm 35 says, “Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life. Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.”

Psalms 35:4 (NASB)

Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.

I don’t know if you feel the freedom to pray like that, but I would really encourage you to. One, it’s soul-cleansing—it gets it off your chest. Two, I think it’s very biblical to commit to God how you are really feeling. If you’re interested in more imprecatory Psalms, you can Google them or write these down: Psalms 5, 10, 17, 28, 35, 55, 59, 70, and 71. They are actually super refreshing.

Defining Providence: God is in Control

What we’re going to cover this week is something a little bit different. If last week was the hidden hand of God in justice, this week is the hidden hand of God in providence. Now, “providence” is a big 50-cent theological word that just means God is in control of all things. It’s associated with “sovereignty,” which means God is in control of all things, both actual and possible.

It also relates to “foreknowledge.” God is not trapped in time and space as we are. We look at life linearly, wondering what’s ahead. God is above time and space; He’s able to look out on the horizon and see what is going to happen already. He’s not stressed about next week or next year. He already knows. Finally, it involves “predestination.” This makes some people nervous because we like to be captains of our own ship. I don’t mean to break your heart, but you are not God. God is the one who has the ability to predetermine circumstances for His glory and our good.

The reason we often don’t like this is that we really like free will and being in charge. But honestly, providence is one of the most comforting doctrines I have ever been exposed to, because this world—if you haven’t realized it—is completely nuts. I am very thankful to know there is a sovereign God who is working out His will.

But it’s worth noting that this does not mean life will always be awesome. We tend to have this misnomer that if God is good, He wouldn’t allow difficult times. Think about how illogical that is in the context of parenting. If you saved your kids from everything difficult—every hardship, every burden—would that be the highest expression of love? I would argue probably not. You wouldn’t be preparing them. It’s the times of difficulty, the weight of life, the tears, and the suffering that actually produce a maturity in them that good times never would.

So, when we talk about God’s hidden hand in providence, it doesn’t mean life will always be pleasant. But we can rest assured that even in the tough times, God is there. He is moving on our behalf. The outcome is in the hands of a faithful and sovereign God. We can rest assured that God is working all things for the good of those who love Him.

Romans 8:28 (NASB)

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.

Now, I don’t encourage you to quote that verse to someone while they are in the middle of suffering. Romans 8:28 is biblically correct, but it’s often not helpful in the heat of the moment. If someone is in sackcloth and ashes, the best gift you can give them is to weep with those who weep and just be present.

The Reversal of Fortunes

Let’s take a look at chapter eight, starting in verse one.

Esther 8:1-2 (NASB)

On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had disclosed what he was to her. The king took off his signet ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

We talked last week about momentum. Up until chapter seven, Haman had all the momentum. The brother could literally do nothing wrong. Well, that momentum swings very quickly to the other side. He is hung on his own gallows. The King takes the signet ring off Haman’s cold, dead hands and gives it to Mordecai. Esther is put in charge of Haman’s household, and she appoints Mordecai as the steward. The roles have been completely reversed.

But more work needed to be done. Esther had brought deliverance for herself and Mordecai, but the edict from chapter three—to kill, annihilate, and plunder all Jewish people—was still in place. Esther decides to steward her position. Remember in chapter four, Mordecai told her she might have been exalted “for such a time as this”? She leans into that. She puts her life on the line again and goes before the King unannounced.

Esther 8:3-4 (NASB)

Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil [scheme] of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews. The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king.

Even though Haman was dead, her people were still not safe. The original decree was given in chapter three, and in the Persian Empire, a King’s decree cannot be undone.

Esther 3:13 (NASB)

Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.

Esther is trying to get this undone. Keep in mind, this was a big ask. She was asking the King to give up something lucrative. He had just wasted his fortune on a disastrous campaign in Greece and was trying to replenish his coffers. The plunder from the Jewish people would have helped him financially. But notice her language in verse five:

Esther 8:5-6 (NASB)

Then she said, ’If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter [seems] proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. ‘For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’

The King responds and says, “Look, I’ve given you Haman’s house. He’s been hung. But I can’t revoke the original edict. The law of the Medes and Persians just doesn’t work that way.”

Esther 8:7-8 (NASB)

So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ’Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews. ‘Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king’s name, and seal [it] with the king’s signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring may not be revoked.’

Essentially, the King says, “The bad news is I can’t repeal the old law. The good news is we can write a new one, and you can say whatever you want.”

A New Decree for a New Day

In verse nine, the King’s scribes are called together to write a counter-decree. This decree is sent to all 127 provinces of the Persian Empire—an empire that stretched from India to Ethiopia. This was serious. It went to the satraps, the governors, and the princes. It was translated into every script and every language.

Esther 8:9-10 (NASB)

So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces which [extended] from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to every province according to its script, and to every people according to their language as well as to the Jews according to their script and their language. He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud.

There were things the Persian Empire brought that were unique, including their incredible road system. They had the Royal Road and the Khorasan Road. This was like expedited shipping or next-day air before that was a thing. If you wanted to get a message out quickly, Persia was the place to do it. Add to that the fact that these letters were carried by horses sired by the “Royal Stud.” The best couriers on the best horses on the best roads were carrying this message.

And what was the decree?

Esther 8:11-12 (NASB)

In them the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city [the right] to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil, on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar).

This was a counter-edict. It gave the Jews the right to assemble and the right to defend their lives. If anyone attacked them—man, woman, or child—the Jews had the right to strike back and plunder their homes. It wasn’t a right to go on the offensive; it was a right of self-defense. This was issued on the 13th day of the 12th month. The first edict went out in April; this one went out in June. They now had eight months to prepare for the final showdown.

This decree did two major things. One, it discouraged attacks. If you knew your neighbor could fight back, you’d think twice. Two, it made them financially whole. If everyone thought you were going to be killed in a year, nobody would do business with you. This decree changed the economic reality for the Jewish people.

I cannot help but think about our modern day. The desire of the Jewish people today is still the same: the desire to defend themselves. Just over a year ago, when the Jewish people were attacked, all they wanted was the green light to defend themselves. On October 6th, there was peace in that region. There were no civilians being killed until Hamas attacked Israel. In some ways, not much has changed since the days of Esther.

Just as Joseph was exalted in Egypt and Daniel was exalted in Babylon, Mordecai is now exalted in Persia.

Esther 8:15 (NASB)

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a large crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

When Haman’s decree went out in chapter three, the Bible says the city was in “great confusion.” The community didn’t necessarily share Haman’s hatred; they were just baffled by the violence. But look at what happens when the counter-edict goes out. The city of Susa “shouted and rejoiced.” Proverbs 11 tells us that when it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices.

Esther 8:16-17 (NASB)

For the Jews there was light and gladness and joy and honor. In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.

The Jewish people were stoked. They weren’t even mad that the first decree couldn’t be rescinded; they were just grateful for the chance to fight. And notice the end of verse 17: many people of the land actually became Jews because the “dread of the Jews” had fallen on them. The hidden hand of God became so obvious that people said, “I’m with them.”

Consolation and Desolation: The Reality of the Journey

So, why is this text here for us today? Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still exercising providence, foreknowledge, and sovereignty. If we are not honest about the messy process of life with God, we assume it is always “up and to the right.” We think the longer we walk with God, the better things will get.

But those who have walked with God for any length of time know that’s not how it works. Often, God leads you into the wilderness for your good. Like a parent who allows a child to go through something hard because it produces strength, God allows us to go through things that are difficult. There are times when things go well, and there are times when you feel like you’re getting kicked in the face and can’t figure out why.

It’s the hidden hand of God in providence that is hard to see in the moment. How many of you have gone through a difficult season, and only weeks or months later, looking in the rearview mirror, did you say, “Oh, I see what God was doing”? In the moment, it felt purposeless. But on the other side, you see His hand.

Thomas Merton, in his book No Man is an Island, said that God may be more present to us when He seems absent than when He seems present. When things are going well, we sometimes don’t even think about God. But when things go bad, we cry out to Him. It may be in those moments of pain and sorrow that He is actually closer to us than He ever was in the joy.

Romans 8:29-31 (NASB)

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God [is] for us, who [is] against us?

God is shaping us and forming us. Think about the last twelve months of your life. What kind of wilderness have you been in? Don’t compare your struggle to someone else’s, or you’ll lose what God wants to show you. Some of you are in a real wilderness—a cancer diagnosis, kids struggling with drugs, or intense hardship. Your God is saying, “I’ve got a plan. You’re going to be okay. Trust Me.”

As a parent, I remember my kids losing their minds over things that felt catastrophic to them but small to me. They’d freak out because they didn’t get their AR points and wouldn’t get the bookmark they wanted. Or in middle school, they thought they were in love because of an Instagram comment, and then two days later, they were destroyed. As a parent, I had a perspective they didn’t have. I could say, “I think you’re going to be okay.”

In the same way, when you want to crawl in a hole and die, God has a perspective you don’t have. In five years, you’ll look back and say, “God, thank you for your sovereignty. I was a hot mess, but Your hidden hand was working.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NASB)

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This perspective doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. It just means there is a purpose. God is increasing maturity in us. That’s why we can “exalt in our tribulation,” as Romans 5 says.

I want to leave you with one final thought. Imagine a bell curve. On the upslope, you have “consolation.” These are seasons where you feel the presence of God. You read your Bible and there’s joy; you pray and you feel heard. Those are great, but they don’t last forever. Faith is approached by faith, not by the senses. We don’t love God because of how He makes us feel; we love Him regardless.

After consolation often comes “desolation”—the perceived absence of God. You don’t want to read your Bible. Prayer feels like an echo chamber. It would be easy to think something is wrong, but it’s not about the feeling. If we only want the feeling, we want the “consolation of God” rather than the “God of consolation.” But God is not always in the feeling. It’s in the desolation that you often grow the most. You learn to walk out this messy life even when you don’t feel like it.

This text reminds us that our God is faithful. Whether we understand what He’s doing or we are totally confused, His hidden hand is there. Jesus said it best in the Gospel of John:

John 16:33 (NASB)

‘These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’

In this world, you will have tribulation. That’s a guarantee. But take courage—He has overcome the world. Amen?

Let’s pray. Father, I do thank You for that hidden hand of providence. You are a good and faithful God, and You carry us. You have every one of our tears in a bottle. You are faithful to us in the good and the difficult. Lord, help those seasons of difficulty to train us, equip us, and strengthen us to be faithful to You. We thank You that You are with us regardless. For the hidden hand of God in providence, we are grateful. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.