Esther
Esther is book of the Bible that belongs to the Ketuvim, or Writings. The book is fascinating on many levels but the main item of note is the fact that God is not mentioned once. It provides us with the opportunity to explore the text and find God’s hand at work in spite of His apparent absence.
As you prepare to read about some of the big ideas from Esther, take some time to read Esther and watch the Bible Project’s video outlining the framework of Esther as we dive into this week’s “Baseball Guy’s Bible Guide.”
Due up in the Bottom of the Ninth:
- God’s Absence
- Ironic Reversals
God’s Absence
God is not mentioned once in the book of Esther. The story highlights a Jewish community living in the Persian empire, a group of people who didn’t return to Jerusalem in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. If God’s not mentioned, what’s the story doing in the Bible?
To make matters more interesting, moral ambiguity reigns supreme int he book. Drinking, sex, murder, and clear violations of the commands of the Torah are everywhere. If God’s not mentioned and sin is everywhere in the book, what’s the story doing in the Bible?
Take another step with me here. Could the same be said for the baseball world as well? God is rarely mentioned and sin is everywhere. From the youth levels playing all weekend and forcing people to prioritize youth sports over church involvement, to the stories of sin on the road in the minor and major leagues, is there any room for God in baseball?
When God seems absent, it becomes an opportunity to look for God’s activity. He works in the mess and problems of human history. He never abandons His promises. Jesus shows us that God is committed to redeeming His world and we have to trust God’s providence when we can’t see Him working.
In those difficult times, we have to look for models of God’s trust and hope. Take a look at Pete Alonso in the photo. In the midst of the pandemic and protests, Alonso chose to wear a shirt with a simple message of our Savior: “Love your neighbor.” Just like in the book of Esther, in a time when God feels absent, He shows up.
Ironic Reversals
The book of Esther is full of ironic reversals. Decrees that come back to haunt, rules that must not be broken, people painting themselves into corners, and then pivots in the story that show the hand of God at work. It’s a great story filled with classic elements of drama.
The history of baseball is filled with these ironic reversals as well. Trades benefitting one team in the short term end up surrendering a generational talent on the other. Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz is just one example of a common player being dealt for a Hall of Famer. Such ironic reversals of fortune are some of my favorite baseball stories.
Probably my favorite story of ironic reversal occurred in the winter of 2003 and 2004. In the fall of 2003, Aaron Boone sent the Yankees to the World Series and the Red Sox fan base to wallow in a sad history dating back to the Curse of the Bambino. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein went to work that offseason. As it turns out, the Texas Ranger star shortstop Alex Rodriguez wanted to be traded. He wanted to be a part of a winner and be a part of the rivalry. This led to one of the most interesting ironic reversals in MLB history.
In that fateful winter, it appeared that the Red Sox would acquire Rodriguez via trade after signing Curt Schilling in November. Only the story pivoted and Alex Rodriguez ended up with the New York Yankees. To see the whole saga, I highly recommend watching The Deal, a 30 for 30 short outlining all of the details with all of the major players in the deal (Click here or here to watch the 22-minute piece).
The ironic reversal in that baseball story is extraordinary. The Yankees one-up the Red Sox in the offseason to land ARod, but the Red Sox became the first team in history to overcome a 3-0 deficit against the hated Yankees in the fall of 2004 and then won their first World Series since 1918. This is the best part of an ironic twist - you can’t see it until the very end.
No matter how things look now, in your life or in society, God wins. Often times it’s via some sort of ironic reversal that no one could have seen coming. This is one element of the Bible that makes God the master storyteller.