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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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Esther may not seem like a theologically inspired book but it does show a divine hand directing events and people to achieve His will. In the book, it can be said that Esther was in the right place and right time to protect her countrymen and her uncle Mordecai was in the right place to save king Xerxes from an assassination attempt as planned out by God.
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To someone who says that the book of Esther should be excluded from the Bible, I would firstly explain that the Bible is a collection of various genres of literature – scriptures that are inspired by God. Those genres include history, poetry, prophecy, and letters and so on. Even though those writings are different in literally forms, they share the same purpose of pointing us to God and His salvation. Through millennia, numerous biblical scholars have prayerfully and carefully examined, reviewed, and come to the consensus that those books be regarded and compiled as the inspired word of God. There must be a good reason that the book of Esther should be included in the Bible.
Secondly, the book of Esther is a historical literature that shows God’s faithfulness to His people, Israel, even though it does not explicitly mention “God.” It is an account of God’s protection of His people at the face of genocide by Haman the agagite. Likewise, throughout the history, Israel suffered slavery and attempted genocides from their enemies, and each time God extended His hands and saved them from annihilation. The book of Esther is an example of God’s salvation for His people. In that sense, the book is significant and should be included in the Bible.
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I would say that it is a great example of how the chose people of God were still important to Him and it shows how many Christians are today in that they know about God but don’t talk about God. It shows that when you don’t openly honor Him and you fall into the way of the world, you still matter to Him and He is there for you. He was definitely still orchestrating the events in order to try to bring safety to His chosen people and to bring them back into fellowship with Him. This gives me hope as a Christian for the times I may do the same. I might give up following God, but He will always be there for me.