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How would you respond to someone who says that the book of Esther shouldn’t be included in the Bible since it never mentions the name of God?
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Even though the Jews in this book did not return to Jerusalem, God shows His love for His people by allowing them to be protected against annihilation by those in Xerxes group who hated and wanted to destroy them.
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Even though the book of Esther never mentions the name of God, God’s hand can be seen throughout the book. During that period, the Jews still living in Persia were mainly secular. It is most likely because of this secular living that God’s name is not formally mentioned in the book of Esther. Despite this, God still loves the Jewish individuals still in Persia and is still protecting them. God’s hand guides Esther and allows her to become queen so that she can save the remnant of Jews still in Persia. God’s hand also guides the many little events in the book of Esther like allowing Mordecai to overhear the plot to kill king Xerxes, the ability to get this information to king Xerxes through Esther, king Xerxes having the book of the chronicles to be read to him because he couldn’t sleep and so he hears of Mordecai’s involvement in saving the king’s life and that Mordecai hadn’t been rewarded for this assistance, Haman falling on the couch where Esther was reclining when king Xerxes returned, and the elevation of the Esther, Mordecai, and the Jews at the end of the narrative.
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I would respond by saying the early biblical scholars obviously thought that this book was important and inspired by God, so we should think of it and respect it as such.
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There are many important characteristics of the story that reveal the nature of God and how He interacts with His people. And, like many OT accounts, it prefigures salvation through Christ.
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Esther is an excellent example of the fact that God works through a myriad of means, even secular ones, to accomplish His will. It is quite apparent that God’s will to spare His people from local genocide was accomplished through the account of Esther. It perhaps makes for an even more powerful story in that it does not seem as though it was specifically written to tell the story of how God saves his people, but gives the reader a way to go back and see His hand in the events that occurred.
Given that this is one of the last books written before the 400 year silence, it could also have been a great comfort for those who look back over the story to see the ways that God works, even when the works aren’t directly attributed to Him.