The God of Great Reversals: The Gospel in the Book of Esther

by Timothy Cain

Have you ever wondered, “If God is real, then why doesn’t He make it more obvious? If He really wants us to believe in Him, then why doesn’t He make it easier for us to see him?” It’s easy to read the Bible and think, “If only God would show up for us today the way He showed up for His people back then.” If you have ever felt this way, welcome to the book of Esther. “The God of Great Reversals” was written to shed light on the Gospel story woven throughout the only book of the Bible that never mentions God’s name. In it you will find that even in the darkest days, God never stops working to keep His promises and to rescue His people. Ultimately, the reversals in the book of Esther point us forward to the greatest reversal of all when God used the death of His only Son to bring about the salvation of all his people. It is only this great reversal that is able to bring us hope even when we don’t understand where God is or what He is doing.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2016

About the author

Timothy Cain (M.A. Westminster Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of Kaleo Church which he planted in El Cajon, California, in 2009. Kaleo Church is a part of the TCT Church Planting Network. Tim has a passion for preaching the Gospel, church planting, adoption, and feasting with the poor. He and his wife Abbey live in El Cajon with their two adopted children.

You can listen to Tim's sermons at https://subsplash.com/kaleochurch/ser...

Reviews

[Shelley Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because my neighbor wanted to go through Esther with me and although I just heard a sermon series and a bible study on this, since I'm old, I needed a refresher course. I will say that this book brought something new to the table. Esther is truly the gospel story almost by way of contrast. You can't but help long for a more perfect hero or a more godly King after reading Esther. You can stand amazed at how without even a mention of His name, you know that God in His providence saves a people and remains faithful to His promises even when His people neglect to do the same. It was an easy read and brought much joy. It inspired worship and praise of our saving God, which as you know, is the only true response we can have.

[Brittnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really brought the book of Esther to life in a new way for me. It starts with the Opening Act and each chapter spurs you on to the next wanting to know what is going to happen next (even though I already knew!) I loved how this book showed how relevant her life story is for today. It weaves the Old Testament and New Testament together beautifully.

[Jake Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tim does an incredible job taking a famous story from the Old Testament and applying it to the modern western world. Tim shows that God often works in profound, but also mundane, unexciting ways to reveal himself to his people. He clearly shows how the gospel can be seen in the book of Esther as well as that relates to seeing the gospel in our everyday lives.

[David J. Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some gems here and there.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came out this week but I was given an advance reader copy by its author – my pastor, Tim Cain – and quickly devoured it.

As the subtitle – “the Gospel in the Book of Esther” – spells out, this is a walk through the story of Esther. What Cain is exceptionally gifted at – not just in his writing but also his preaching – is pointing to Jesus and the Gospel in every passage. This is no easy task when looking at the book of Esther, for it is the only book in the Bible where God is not mentioned even once. Yet Cain shows that not only is God clearly to be seen in this gripping story, but when viewed through the lens of the Gospel the beauty and preeminence of Christ shines with a blinding light.

Having first heard much of the material in this book as a sermon series at our church, Kaleo Church of El Cajon, I can attest to the life giving truths in this book. Having a daughter named Esther and having preached through the book of Esther myself, I thought that I didn’t have much more to learn. I was wrong. Not only does Tim powerfully and colorfully articulate some truths that I had already seen, he skillfully and accessibly illumined how the Gospel changes everything about this story. The applications that he draws from the narrative have not only strengthened my soul and walk with the Lord, but I attest that I have used them almost on a weekly basis in my counseling as a Navy chaplain.

This is a great book to start the year off with. Read it. Have your faith encouraged, your resolve to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel encouraged and your heart stoked with delight in your Lord and your God.

[Wes Van Fleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book of Esther can be hard to trek through in a way that sees God as glorious, especially because his name is never mentioned. Tim Cain does an excellent job showing God's providential hand behind every chapter of Esther. Even more so, every chapter of the book finds a beautiful conclusion in the person and work of Christ. Read this book!

[Lauralyn Vasquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

My heart was grieved. I appreciate the authors attempt at bringing in application and Jesus from the beginning of his interpretation of the book of Esther. But he missed the historical horrific events and sugarcoated what really happened. Esther was kidnapped and raped. This was not a beauty contest in how we would perceive it today. Esther did not compromise by trying to please the king. She was a young girl who was taken, kidnapped from her home. Her panicked adoptive father continued to speak to her, check in on her and give her courage, wisdom and protection.

To say that God was working from the beginning is like saying to a woman who has been rapped “God has a plan for this. You were meant to get rapped so that good can happen.” No one with an inkling of emotional maturity would ever say that. No God walked with her, used her adoptive father in the way we have all been adopted from God. He taught her how to survive and out wit the evil one. Despite her circumstances. God did not put her in those circumstances. God cannot partner with evil. He is a good God. A God of redemption, and that is what He did. He redeemed her.

Esther did not compromise. She survived, she used her wisdom and sought and listened to counsel. This is how she was able to redeem a nation. No one would ever say to a kidnapped person “don’t compromise, if your killed that’s ok because you know you did not compromise.” What was this young, orphaned girl to do? Run and hide? Not an option for her.

Author, you missed this real historical context in this book. A book of redemption, yes. A book teaching us not to compromise, no! This is a book of sex slavery, greed, evil, kidnapping, racism and potential genocide. Evil of all evils. Yet there is a God who uses ordinary people like us who have experienced horrific events, to speak up and stop the atrocities so that it does not continue. And we always have our adoptive Father with us to give us wisdom along the way.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I normally don’t read books written by pastors for this exact reason I’m about to give, but this genuinely wasn’t a well written or well-thought out book. The title felt promising but fell completely flat as I continued to read it.

As a whole, Cain contextually misses the point of story of Esther, villainizing her, and sugarcoating a lot of what the story is actually about.

Esther was exiled. An orphan. It doesn’t take a theologian for you to recognize that. The underlying themes surround a sinister evil and through its rulers, ethnic cleansing/genocidal ideation through Haman, kidnapping/rape/gender-based violence, sex trafficking through the desires of the king, and silence (of being silenced and the silence of God). These are incredibly weighty things that simply can’t be overlooked in a cute three-point sermon as Cain attempts. I’m tired of men writing books about women in scripture and bringing in an incredibly ignorant male point of view. This book honestly felt more about Mordecai than it did about Esther.

I felt like I was reading someone’s half-baked sermon notes in book form. There wasn’t anything insightful or helpful about it. Just a bad textual reading and analysis and to try and use the cool kids’ lingo these days, “a bad take.”

[Benjamin Bartels · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The God of Great Reversals” was a deeper dive into the book of Esther with a spin on it including ways to find the Gospel reflected in the book that doesn’t mention the name of God. I found Tim’s exegetical work to be profound in how he was able to provide new insights into the book of Esther. However, every chapter relates to the Gospel story in some way. In some areas this is great, other parts of the book, it feels like a stretch. I understand that’s the tagline of the book “The Gospel in the book of Esther.” But a lot of it felt like added fluff. But I guess it depends on the audience. This is a book focused on a new Christian. It’s got profound Gospel truths, but I was expecting more focus on the book of Esther. With that said, I still learned new things, I was intrigued by Tim’s opinion on Esther and Mordecai as flawed sinful people as well. Overall, a decent read.

[Savana]

"God is able to take even the darkest days and use them for good."

While I disagree with Cain's pessimistic interpretation of Esther and her character, this book contains a number of convicting lessons as well as several goosebumps-inducing, tear-drawing words of encouragement.

Chapter 10 is by far the best and most important chapter in the book. The parallel drawn to Jesus trusting God to deliver Him from the death is such a valuable interpretation of the book of Esther. If Jesus willingly endured God's fury and died on the cross believing that God would fulfill His promises, I can endure my own trivial problems and trust in God's redemptive nature, too.

I appreciate Cain's thoughtful analysis of Esther and, though I disagreed at times, found the book to be an enlightening read.

[Hanna Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I can’t say this always provided excessive insight into Esther, it was incredibly Gospel focused. In each chapter Cain managed to take a seemingly Godless text, explain what was going on, and then was suddenly giving you clear, God honoring explicit Gospel truth. If an unbeliever picked up this book they wouldn’t go away not having been preached the Gospel not once or twice but in every single chapter.
The book was easy to understand and was a nice accompaniment to reading the book of Esther in scripture, though as mentioned is didn’t have a ton of depth in terms of biblical commentary, though it did occasionally provide background/history.

[Dianna Sandora Sandora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome break down of the story of Esther

Recently, I’ve been studying Esther and I am so glad I came across this commentary. Pastor Cain breaks down the scripture line by line, then shows the big picture of how it fits into our lives today.

[Staci Overbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never looked at the book of Esther through this lens. I was constantly taken back by the parallels between the Old Testament and Jesus. In my opinion, this is a must read.

[Dan Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical in application

Good resource to have as you read Esther. Not as technical but a joy to read.
Warm and very evangelistic.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. The author is enlightening to details of this beautiful story.

[Jaymie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this one. We are reading it as part of a women's study on Esther, and while I will finish the Biblical story, I will not be finishing this. The author makes far too many assumptions and seems to come at the story of Esther with an agenda, in part that Esther is the villain - the unfaithful young woman who has abandoned God and embraces the king and his way of life. He makes statements that don't seem to have any support from the Biblical text.