Mordecai Appeals to Esther
“When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the King’s Gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate. In every province to which the king’s command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Esther’s maidens and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen was overcome with distress. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why. So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate, and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury in order to destroy the Jews. (Haman promised to pay 10,000 talents, or approximately 377 tons or 342 metric tons of silver!)
Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.
So Hathach went back and relayed Mordecai’s response to Esther. Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai, “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”
When Esther’s words were relayed to Mordecai, he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink day or night for three days, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!” (Or if I am destroyed, then I will be destroyed.)
So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.”
The crisis has come, and the Jews are distraught! An entire race is faced with extinction throughout the greatest empire of the time, unless God does a miracle. Rather than hide his nationality, Mordecai demonstrates it by wearing sackcloth and ashes into the middle of the city and wailing bitterly. Nobody in mourning can enter the King’s Gate, so Mordecai remains outside. Back in the palace, Esther is both anxious and embarrassed; what is her beloved uncle thinking of? Esther’s maidens and eunuchs quickly inform her of Mordecai’s behavior. Esther sends out clothing, hoping Mordecai will break off his mourning and enter the King’s Gate; however, Mordecai refuses to change.
Esther sends Hathach, one of the eunuchs and a trusted emissary, to Mordecai. Mordecai tells Hathach everything, giving him a copy of the decree and informing him of the staggering sum of money Haman has promised to pay into the royal treasury. (Note: It appears Haman has yet to deliver the money! Does he really have that much?) Mordecai also begs Esther to intercede with Xerxes to save the Jews.
Esther doesn’t know what to do. Even as the queen, Esther must wait until Xerxes sends for her; she can’t simply barge into the throne room. If Esther enters the inner court, and Xerxes fails to extend his golden scepter to her, she will die immediately. But when Esther sends this message to Mordecai, Mordecai doesn’t mince words. “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Faced with this answer, Esther realizes what she must do. But Esther is wise enough to realize that she must have God’s help if she is to succeed. “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink day or night for three days, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
APPLICATION: Through the years, God has used these verses to call innumerable people to His service. Esther 4:14 is particularly meaningful to us because this was the verse God gave us when we were to come to Ghana our first time. In October 1987 I was working at City of Faith Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while my husband was out in western Oklahoma, organizing donated medical equipment. In late October 1987, I had the opportunity to speak to a seasoned veteran missionary who had visited the project to which we were being sent. This man spent several hours warning me of the pitfalls in the situation, concluding with the advice that we should refuse to enter it as long as those problems existed.
That night I was in turmoil, praying far into the night for guidance. God had clearly led us to the group that was sending us and they wanted to send us to that project. What should we do? There was a strong possibility that the project might fail and that we would then be blamed for its failures. Essentially, we were being sent over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Finally, I fell asleep. But I awoke the next morning knowing two things: yes, we were being sent over Niagara Falls in a barrel and our sending agency would blame us for all failures, but God was in that barrel with us. And the verse God gave me to seal His Will in the situation was the question Mordecai put to Esther. “Who knows but what you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
We arrived in Ghana and found that the veteran missionary had been spot-on with his information. We duly reported all the problems to our fledgling mission group; however, they did blame us for elements of the situation over which we had no control. But God was still in this situation. Because of our stand, the national church did get proper papers for the land and the building and subsequent missionaries had a far easier time than we did. And God wanted us in Ghana. During that first term, we traveled around Ghana, studied one of the most common languages in Ghana, and became well acquainted with the national church and a number of prominent physicians who have been of enormous help ever since. We also got initiated into spiritual warfare, something of which we were totally ignorant before coming to Ghana. Truly, God proved that He had brought us to Ghana “for such a time as this.”
The message of this chapter is clear: God may bring any one of us to the brink of disaster. I am Facebook friends with a couple who minister in Ukraine and who have persisted despite all the fighting there. God has brought them to Ukraine for such a time as this. But if God brings you to a crisis, He is also sufficient to take you through that crisis. God doesn’t play favorites; He helped Esther and He will help you.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us are at crisis points for various reasons. Thank You that You are sufficient for any problem and that You are the God of heaven and earth and nothing is too difficult for You. Please help all those who read these words to come to You and trust You as their Source of comfort and strength. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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