Divine Providence in Ruth, Esther and Tobit

An assignment for Dr. Madden's Old Testament class, in which I outlined the working of Divine Providence in the narrative of Ruth, Esther, and Tobit.

In each of these stories, we see human freedom take the story to a certain point, and divine providence stepping in to arrange events to end for the good of God’s people.

We can lay Ruth’s travel to Bethlehem to both divine providence and human freedom. Every event in the Book of Ruth can be related to both. Elim’elech, his wife Naomi and his family leave Bethlehem and go to Moab because of a famine. In the many years that they stay there, Elim’elech’s sons both marry Moab women, Orpah and Ruth. After Elim’elech and both his sons die, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem, and Ruth goes with her. Each of these events were, at least on the surface, the decision of the persons involved. Even if we take the position that God deliberately sent the famine, the text does not suggest that the Lord directed Elim’elech to journey to Moab with his family, nor that the Lord directed any of the other actions. Similarly, Ruth had to choice to go to Bethlehem with Naomi or to remain in Moab. She chose Naomi, saying “for where you go I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

Ruth will ultimately marry Boaz, and they have a son, O’bed. Ruth’s love and loyalty to Naomi, given in human freedom, have been rewarded. Yet divine providence has a greater reward for her. O’bed is the father of Jesse; Jesse is the father of David. Thus, Ruth becomes the “matriarch by adoption” (Alter, 71) of the kingly line of David, which will culminate in the birth of Christ the King. Bergsma and Pitre point out “that Ruth’s identify as a former pagan and idolater turned believer in the God of Israel is a prefiguration of the Church.” (347) In Ruth’s story, human freedom and divine providence combine in fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation.

In Tobit, we see Tobit and Sarah, who have never met, separately pray to God for death. It’s said that there are only three answers to pray: yes, not yet, and I have something better in mind. In an act of divine providence, God sends the angel Raphael to Tobit’s son, Tobias, who will be the catalyst in resolving both Tobit’s and Sarah’s problems.

Tobit has become blind, poor, bereft. His troubles stem from his obedience to the law, in that he interrupts his Pentecostal feast to bury the dead. He was free to obey the law or not, and it does seem unfair that his blindness is the indirect result of his actions. But that exercise of his human freedom sets up the chain of actions which, in divine providence, saves Sarah from death and cures Tobit’s blindness.

Esther’s story is well-known to anyone who has ever celebrated Purim, or wondered about those odd hat-shaped cookies you can only find once a year. It’s a simple story, and, at least in the Hebrew text, God is never specifically mentioned. But as Bergsma and Pitre point out, “his presence and activity are constantly implied.” (486) Queen Vashti refuses to obey a command of her husband, King Ahasuerus. This leads the King to depose the Queen, He search for a new Queen, which takes the form of a beauty contest of a sort. The winner is Esther, who, unbeknownst to the King and his court, is the niece of a royal official named Mordecai. Soon after this, the King promotes another man, Haman, to a high place. All the other members of the Court bow to him, but Mordecai does not, which enrages Haman.

So far, we have seen people acting in human freedom, and we haven’t seen divine providence. But God has been working all along, for Esther’s position as the Queen is about to be very important to the Jewish population of the King’s land. Haman, in seeking revenge against Mordecai, has convinced the King to sign “an edict of extermination against all the descendants of Judah.” (491) Haman even builds a special pole of great height which he plans to use to kill Mordecai.

Here everything begins to go very wrong for Haman, as events begin to be directed by divine providence. The king has insomnia, and asks for the royal records to be read to him. “Providentially, the record of Mordecai’s intervention to save the life of the king is read,” (493) and the King is reminded that Mordecai was never rewarded for that act, detailed in Esther 2:19-23. The King later asks Haman what he should do to honor  faithful servant. Haman, thinking he is being asked what the King should do to honor him suggests a parade. The King finds this a good idea, and tells Haman to arrange for that, to honor Mordecai.

In the meantime, Esther has had the people fast for three days, has given one banquet for the Kind and Haman, and the second follows Mordecai’s parade. At this banquet, she reveals that she herself is a Jew, and thus will be killed under the edict the King signed at Haman’s instigation. The King is “indignant at Haman for manipulating him into authorizing the nation of his own queen,” (493) and storms out. When he returns, he mistakes Haman’s begging posture toward Esther as violent. At the King’s order, Haman is hanged on the pole he himself built to kill Mordecai.

The story doesn’t end here, though, as the edict cannot be withdrawn as a matter of law. Esther suggests an edict permitting the Jews to arm themselves. The Jews win a great victory and Mordecai is given Haman’s position. Divine providence has stepped in the save God’s chosen people.