When 'coincidence' isn't really.

In the Book of Esther, events 'just so happen' to unfold in a way that shows God's saving grace for His people.  Even though He isn't actually mentioned in the book His Divine Providence is all over it's pages.

As a society we love words like 'luck' or 'coincidence', when things appear to randomly happen that align perfectly with other events already transpiring.  Television and movies thrive on the comedy behind these situations.  I love it when a well thought out script has multiple events happening concurrently and then they all 'happen' to merge into one final showdown.   These fictional stories are the works of human authors, and a good show makes us forget it has been entirely scripted.  We tend to apply this to real life as well, we get mesmerized by the moment and in the midst of the complexity of 'coincidental situations' we forget about our Creator.

Christian's far too often speak about their belief in the Sovereignty of God while at the same time complaining about their luck or the randomness of life.  We verbally profess God's providential guidance and care over all situations while mentally asking God why He is not involved in our everyday life.

According to Merriam-Webster coincidence is 'the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection'.  Sovereignty is having 'controlling influence' over situations.

If we profess that God is absolutely sovereign then we must concede that 'coincidence'...isn't really.

God has controlling influence over His creation.  Through His Providence, He has has the power to sustain and guide events.  This doesn't mean the we are animatronic beings who are controlled by a God holding a play station controller steering our lives (there is some interplay of Divine Rule and human responsibility that exceeds my capacity for understanding).  BUT, when it comes to putting us where we are at, in the struggles we are in, and the 'coincidental' events that converge around our lives we must recognize that God is there too.

As we get ready to start the book of Esther this week, don't write off the 'lucky' sequence of events we read through as mere coincidence.  Through each chapter ask the question: Just because God wasn't directly mentioned, does that mean He wasn't directly in control?  And then, as we connect dots in the lives of Esther, Mordecai, and the Israelites...ask yourself the question:  Do I believe that God is Sovereign over my life even when I don't see Him in its everyday circumstances?

Esther Word Game (Part 2)

Yesterday I put up an initial list of words to think through and take some guesses at the most frequently used.

Well, how often do these words come up in the book of Esther?  Below are the answers. 

Note that my word counts are not from one specific translation; they are an average taken from 6 different translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NIV, & NLT).  I did correct for different choices in the English translation (so if one uses the word commandment and another uses law, but it's the same Hebrew root word, then I searched for both to get an accurate count). 

How to read the table: the words are ordered from most to least occurring words.  The 'AVG' column displays the average total across the six translations.  I have also included the raw per translation data in the other columns.

word(s)	AVG	ESV	NASB	KJV	CSB	NIV	NLT
King	151.0	167	167	160	136	142	134
Decree(d)/order(s)(ed)/edict/law(s)/commandment(s)	36.8	36	32	31	37	39	46
Royal	20.2	17	15	13	38	23	15
eyes/saw/look(ed)/sight/see [vision]	15.8	20	16	20	16	10	13
feast(s)/banquet(s)/festival	15.5	15	14	17	13	13	21
Palace	13.7	13	12	13	12	10	22
Kingdom/empire	11.5	10	9	12	10	10	18
Command(ed)	10.5	9	9	10	18	12	5
please(s)(ing)	9.2	10	10	7	7	9	12
hang/hanged/hung/impale(d)	9.2	9	9	9	9	9	10
gallows/pole(s)	8.7	9	9	8	9	8	9
robe(s)/garment(s)/apparel	7.2	8	8	7	5	8	7
eat/drink(s)(ing)	7.2	9	8	5	8	6	7
ring	6.0	6	6	6	6	6	6
gold/ golden	6.0	6	6	6	6	6	6
wine	6.0	6	7	6	6	7	4
lovely/beautiful/fair	4.7	5	4	5	4	5	5
scepter/sceptre	4.0	4	4	4	4	4	4
Fast(ing)	4.0	3	4	3	4	5	5
crown	3.7	4	4	4	4	3	3
garden	3.2	3	3	3	3	4	3
gift(s)	2.7	4	2	2	3	2	3
God	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Prayer	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

How to play it as a Bible Study game:

1. Print out the words listed in Part I of the blog post

2. Divide your group into 2 teams

3. Lay the words out face up and have each group take turns picking one word

4. Each team gets points based on the number of times the picked word shows up

5. After all words are select, the team with the most point wins

General Lesson of the Esther Word count game: Isn't it interesting that a book in the Bible doesn't mention God or prayer at all?  Does God not being mentioned mean that God isn't present?

Esther Word Game (part 1)

Sometimes what kinds of words are used and how often can help us frame a book better.  

Knowing the number of times a specific word shows up doesn’t magically give you the overall theme of the book, but sometimes it can clue us into things the Biblical Author wants us to catch. 

This the the template for a ‘word association game’ to go along with the Book of Esther.  The point of that game is to get you thinking through the language of the book. So look through this word list and without looking at the answer key (part 2) try to guess which words show up MOST frequently in the book.

If you've just started reading you can use this list to observe as you go.

Note that my word counts are not from one specific translation; they are an average taken from 6 different translations (ESV, NASB, KJV, CSB, NIV, & NLT).  I did correct for different choices in the English translation (so if one uses the word commandment and another uses law, but it's the same Hebrew root word, then I searched for both to get an accurate count). 

Resources: Reading the Bible as One Story

I've compiled three of the books that I recommend if you're looking for references that walk through the entire Bible.  These are all resources I have used and found helpful.  There are many more out there, some I've used and some I have not, but these are ones I own and recommend.  I have provided a brief summary of what I loved about them and a link to them.

The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments 

by Thomas R. Schreiner

(2013, Baker Publishing Group)

https://www.amazon.com/King-His-Beauty-Biblical-Testaments/dp/0801039398

What it is:  A walk through the entire Bible, book by book, with an emphasis on the theology of the Bible and a focus on how each book points toward Jesus.

What I love: This book outlines the unity of the Bible from down in the weeds better than all others I've read.  It traces themes beautifully.  It highlights context and historical situations well without getting bogged own in them.  Schreiner also does a great job cross referencing for you as he holds your hand into connecting dots.  I love reading this author and own just about everything he has published.

Any limitations?: This book is written with a fairly scholarly verbiage.  It is not light reading and isn't recommended if you have never read the Bible before.  This book also has limited focus on 'application' or 'devotionals' so if you're looking for devotional reading or bible study questions you might want to check out the next Author on the list.

About the Author: Thomas Schreiner (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament / Promises Kept: The Message of the New Testament

by Mark Dever

(2006, Crossway Publishing)

https://www.amazon.com/Message-Old-Testament-Promises-Made/dp/1581347170/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=promises+made&qid=1592358240&s=books&sr=1-2

What it is:  Ok, so technically it's two books.  The link is only to the Old Testament book, but I recommend both.  It is a Book by Book walk through the entire Old Testament

What I love: Dever does a great job of displaying the unity of the entire Bible in easy to read chapters.  In Promises Made, he shows how everything in the Old Testament points toward Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promises.  The format is much lighter (less academic) than Schreiner's book.  It has an eye toward application and is ideally geared for personal Bible study reflections (even having an example prayer and reflection questions at the end of each chapter.

Any limitations?: Because of the format it isn't super in the weeds.  If you are looking for heavy cross references or academic dialog, you won't find it here.  

NOTE: While covering the Old Testament, I found that having both The King in His Beauty & Promises Made open really worked out well.

About the Author: Mark Dever (PhD, Cambridge University) is the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC

How to Read the Bible Book by Book 

by Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

(2002 Zondervan Publishing Group)

https://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-Book-Guided/dp/0310518083/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EI7FZ98D5UPD&dchild=1&keywords=how+to+read+the+bible+book+by+book&qid=1592359051&s=books&sprefix=how+to+read+the+%2Cstripbooks%2C145&sr=1-1

What it is:  An concise overview of each book of the Bible in a small paperback book.

What I love: It's concise.  If you're looking for a quick guide on how to approach reading each book of the Bible, this is a very good option.  It gives an organized approach to each book by providing 'orienting data', an 'overview' of each book, and 'specific advice for reading' each book.  If you are looking for a 'pocket style quick reference guide' you should look into this book.

Any limitations?: It is meant to be 'a guided tour' not a week long stay at each stop, so if you want lots of content, study questions, and applications I would recommend one of the larger books above.

About the Author: Gordon D. Fee (PhD, University of Southern California) & Douglas Stuart (PhD, Harvard University) have both served as Professors of New and Old Testament studies respectively.

Hevel: What's in a word?

When I first started reading the Bible in a way that was interactive with the original manuscripts languages I gravitated toward a few words.  These Hebrew words that had this depth to them I had never contemplated before.  One of those words was 'hevel' (or 'hebel').

'Hevel' is found throughout the Old Testament texts (70+ times). It is found most frequently in the books of Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes (part of a group of books collectively labeled 'wisdom' literature).  38 times alone it appears in Ecclesiastes. Depending on your translation and which verse you're looking at this word gets translated as a lot of things.  Vanity, meaningless, delusion, emptiness, fraud, futility, idols, worthless, nothing, fleeting, & mere breathe are some of the English words that are chosen for this Hebrew word.  Any one of these words paints a single brush stroke but the full painting is so much more vibrant.

Literally Hevel means vapor or breath, though it rarely presents itself literally.  Most frequently it is used metaphorically.  "This word functions as a metaphor for 'insubstantial because false'"1. In the book of Jeremiah it shows up synonymous with false idols that might appear physically tangible but exist as a hollow reality.  Throughout the wisdom literature we see it used as an image of temporariness or hollowness.

Hevel is this image of something appearing tangible and real and solid for but a moment then vanishing into nothingness (like breath on an icy cold morning).  The image of Hevel as smoke or vapor also resonates because it presents as this thing that seems within our grasp, that seems like it can be caught, but that always escapes through our fingers when we clutch our fist.

In part, the book of Ecclesiastes uses Hevel to describe the pursuit and attainment of worldly pleasures and possessions.  These things we reach after, drive our lives towards, and yet, upon attainment seem hollow.  Things that can drive our lifestyles and ambitions but fall short on providing us with fulfillment.  It is chasing or striving after the wind.  Solomon (the author of Ecclesiastes) paints a picture of a world under the sun where you can seek after and attain everything you work for and yet still find it empty.

The conclusion I keep reaching toward as I read this word is that there is something worth seeking after that is firm and solid and truth and life...but rises above the sun.  Chase after The Son, what He provides is the antithesis of Hevel.  Seek Jesus, because 'Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness' (John 1:16; CSB2).  He is The Way, The Truth, The Life, and in a world of temporary HE is permanence.  He existed in the beginning with God and will return in glory to reign forever and ever.  Through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus has made a way for us to experience forgiveness of sins and a right relationship with God.  Turing our faith toward Him alone grants us eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

1 - New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Willem A. VanGemeren) [https://www.amazon.com/International-Dictionary-Testament-Theology-Exegesis/dp/031049950X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GWFRO01WQHGJ&dchild=1&keywords=new+international+dictionary+of+old+testament+theology+and+exegesis&qid=1591837906&sprefix=new+international+di%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1]
2 - Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.