Writing about the Bible effectively for children is hard work. Depending on the age, you have to scale the vocabulary, the conceptual ideas being used or articulated and the number of ideas that kids can hold in their heads at any one time. Plus there’s the whole issue of how you handle gore and sex and death—subjects that frequently come up in the Old Testament in particular.
I encountered many cultural and story-telling problems while writing about the strange book of Esther for Esther and the Very Brave Plan.
It doesn’t mention God in it – no, not once!
It has many subtle and strange plots and subplots
It involves forced marriages, harems and numerous wives, queens and concubines
No mention of God anywhere...
It requires you to remember stuff that happened in Chapter 1 right at the end of Chapter 10
There are lots of different characters, with long complicated names
Someone is strung up at the end in a way you are supposed to find funny/ironic/satisfying…
And did I say that God isn't mentioned at all?
All of this can be a little tricksy if you’re trying to convey the essence of what’s going on to a 3 or 4 year old.
As I read, and re-read the story, and various commentators, the thing that came out to me most strongly was this sense of hidden plots. Everyone in it had a secret plan to do something, to achieve something; to get what they wanted. But the real story is the hidden story that God (who is never mentioned -- did I say that already?), also has a secret plan – and that this is the plan that eventually comes to pass.
So, the secret plan is what I made the central refrain of the writing. Although he is never mentioned, I wanted to give a sense of God’s constant presence in the background of the unfolding story, even when things looked terrible for Esther and her Uncle Mordecai: It was all part of God’s secret plan and he was secretly working, working, working to keep his people safe”.
"I wanted to give a sense of God’s constant presence in the background of the unfolding story, even when things looked terrible for Esther and her Uncle Mordecai."
This is the genius of the Esther story. From one point of view it is entirely alien to us. A different time, different customs, different expectations of life, different technology. Yet each of the characters is immediately recognisable: their pride, their drives, their commitments and their courage.
The experience Esther’s story describes is the same for us. What’s going on? We don’t know. The intentions of other people to cheat us, subvert us, bless us or enrich us can be hidden or obvious. But how is God at work in the small details of our lives; and in the big tectonic movements of world history as nations rise and fall? We don’t know!
Sometimes, guided by God’s word and what seems right to us, we are challenged to step out in faith and do something scary, because, who knows, God may have brought me to this situation, for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).
Esther tells us that even as we navigate these perplexing, challenging, and anxious times, we can be confident that God is working, working, working to keep his people safe, and to bring them to be with him forever. That’s a great message to share with your children. And a great message to reinforce in yourself as you read this book to them.
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
