Questions for the Esther text

[Kay]

In light of Cyrus's (an earlier Persian king's) decree which allowed
exiled Jews to return to their homeland, why were there still Jews
living in Persia at this time?

Since there is no mention of God in Esther, did He actually bring
about the rescue of these Sousa Jews?

[Amanda]

Kay, I think you've posed some interesting questions. A thought on
your first question about why Jews were still in Persia at this time:
they had gotten comfortable there. I'm not sure how long the Jews had
been in Persia prior to being allowed to go back home, but if it was
long enough that the majority of Jews had never actually lived in
Israel, then why would they want to go there? Persia may have been
the only home they had ever known. If that's not the case, then maybe
it was too expensive for them to move back or just "too much
trouble." Even as the Jews were fleeing Egypt, they asked to go back
when things weren't going their way, so why would they leave a place
where it seems they live a relatively "free" lifestyle. While they
had enemies, I don't see anything that indicates they were used as
slaves in Persia, at least not in the Esther text.

As far as God having a hand in the rescue of these Jews, I think He
must have. There are too many "coincidences," too much of Haman
getting what he tried to dish out. If God didn't rescue these Jews,
then it's an interesting set of circumstances to play out.

[Katie]

I agree with what Amanda said and I would add that they also did not
have the passion for their land, people, God, that they once had. I
am not very familiar with this period of history in the Bible, but the
little I get from Ezra and Nehemiah is that they had a lot of work to
do in difficult circumstances and it required a passion and a heart
for restoring God's temple and his city. I would imagine they were in
the minority. Like Amanda said, these people grew up with no
connection to what they once had and many probably did not follow with
the laws and traditions. They had adapted to the place where they
lived and were comfortable there. Not too different from our current
lives here in America.

I do think God's hand was in this story, but I find it interesting
that the author does not mention it.