When God Seems Absent: Divine Absence in Esther & Song of Songs

How do you handle those spiritual seasons when God doesn’t feel present in your life?

Those moments when you feel alone — and possibly even uncared for by God.

The problem of God’s absence (or hiddenness) has been a struggle for many of us, especially during times of crisis, pain and trauma.

These are times that can shake our faith and can move us into seasons of doubt and faithlessness.

During these difficult periods, the Biblical passages dealing with lament, protest and anger toward God are often the only scriptures that relate to us.

Think about the laments and protests of Job, Jeremiah, the Psalmists, or even Jesus (when he cried out to God for feeling forsaken). In many ways, we are never alone with our frustrations when God seems hidden from us.

Interestingly, there are two books in the Biblical cannon that don’t have any explicit reference to God: Song of Songs and Esther.

God’s peculiar absence in these Hebrew scriptures can be unsettling.

In today’s podcast, Dr. Chloe T. Sun talks with us about her latest book: Conspicuous in His Absence: Studies in the Song of Songs and Esther. Her research on these Hebrew scriptures addresses three main questions: What is the nature of God as revealed in texts that don’t use his name? How do we think of God when he is perceived to be absent? What should we do when God is silent or hidden?

You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.

Here are some video clips from our conversation:

You can catch the full video conversation on God’s absence in the Bible here.

You can listen (or download) the complete podcast here:

EP25: When God Seems Absent: Divine Absence in Esther & Song of Songs
Dr. Chloe T. Sun discusses the theology of divine absence — and how this theology is portrayed in the biblical canon. She shares ways theologians and academics approach divine absence in Esther and The Song of Songs. Dr. Sun also talks about why many Christians read Song of Songs metaphorically as a story of God’s love for the church and/or Israel, even though that’s not a literal reading. She also shares advice for anyone who is studying the Bible and how to personally deal with God’s absence in our lives.

Dr. Chloe T. Sun

Chloe T. Sun (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament and academic dean at Logos Evangelical Seminary and has published books in Chinese and English, including The Ethics of Violence in the Story of Aqhat, Love Already but Not Yet: A Commentary on the Song of Songs and Attempt Great Things for God: Theological Education in Diaspora. Get her latest book from Intervarsity Press: Conspicuous in His Absence: Studies in the Song of Songs and Esther.