Not everyone leaves their hometown. Perhaps such folks find themselves lingering in a place far longer than they ever thought; they had intentions to go abroad for a great adventure at some point, only it never materialized. Not, at least, in the way they had once expected.

It’s no secret that the name of God is entirely absent from the book of Esther. God is most certainly present, as He always is, but His name—the simple utterance of it—is quite noticeably missing. Again, this isn’t a secret, but it is surprising. The Bible is, after all, a Him book (it’s all about Him) and so it’s curious that God is not talked about or praised in the book of Esther as He is elsewhere in His word.

Like many of you, I’ve often heard folks say something along these lines: “Well, in Biblical times things like that used to happen, but not anymore.” More often than not, we use the phrase “Biblical times” in our conversations to denote some particularly miraculous time or event in Biblical history such as the flood, the exodus from Egypt, the halting of celestial bodies, or Jonah’s being swallowed by a great fish.