Wednesday, November 10, 2010
God is always in control
There are many themes in the book of Esther and in Megillat Esther, by JT Waldman. On theme is that there is no mention of God in the book of Esther. To my knowledge, there is also no specific mention of God in Waldman’s graphic novel. It’s interesting that Waldman kept his graphic novel very close to the book of Esther. Why is there no mention of God in Waldman’s graphic novel and in the Biblical book of Esther? My thought is that even though God is not mentioned in either book, the plot of the story shows that God is always in control and that he cares and loves his chosen people (the Jews). This love and control God uses is shown in Esther because she tells the king that Haman is going to kill her people (which could have been problematic if the king rejected Esther because she is Jewish, she put her life and queen ship on the line for her people). Lucky for Esther, the king takes Esther’s side and Kills not only Haman, but also all of his sons (probably so they don’t start a rebellion when they grow up). The story of Esther also show’s God is in control by not only using Esther to ask the King to rid the Jews of Haman, but also allowing the Jews to be accepted in the kingdom. The Jews were able to fight their enemies and win because of the kings help and Edict on behalf of the Jews. So, just because God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, does not mean that he isn’t in control, as shown by the plot of Esther.
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I think that the book is very interesting in the use of the Hebrew. It gives it a nice "flow" to it despite me thinking that it can be a bit distracting at times. The art work gives it a mid-east type feel to it instead of it being more Western. As for God, well, like you said is shown by the concern of Esther for her people.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a very interesting argument for God being in the book of Esther even though He isn't mentioned by name. It was mentioned in class that its inclusion, given the "absence" of God, was most certainly debated. We didn't discuss however, reasons for why it WAS included in the end (at least that I can remember) and I think your arguments are quite compelling. I can see how this line of argument would lead to its inclusion.
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