Esther
Chapter 4
The Jews’ Sadness
When Mordecai found out what had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked through the city crying bitterly and loudly.
But he stopped at the king’s gate, since no one in sackcloth was permitted to enter.
In every province where the king’s edict was read, there was intense mourning among the Jews, fasting and weeping loudly, and many of them lay on sackcloth and ashes.
Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs informed her about Mordecai. Overcome with grief, she sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he refused.
Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to her, and told him to find out why Mordecai acted the way he did.
So Hathach went to Mordecai in the public square in front of the king’s gate.
Mordecai told him everything that had happened and exactly how much money Haman had promised to give to the royal treasury.
He also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree for their destruction to show and explain to Esther. He further instructed him to urge her to go to the king, beg for mercy, and intercede on behalf of her people.
Esther’s Instructions to Mordecai 9Hathach returned to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said.
In reply, Esther gave Hathach this message for Mordecai:
“All the king’s servants and the people of his provinces know that any man or woman who goes to the king in the inner court without being summoned risks death, unless the king grants them life by holding out his golden scepter. But I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days now.”
When Mordecai received Esther’s message,
he sent back this reply: “Don’t assume that just because you’re in the king’s palace, you alone among all the Jews will escape.
If you stay silent now, relief and salvation will come to the Jews from another source, but you and your family will perish. And who knows—perhaps you have come to the throne for such a time as this.”
Esther sent her reply to Mordecai:
“Go, gather all the Jews in Susa. Fast for me—every one of you; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will also fast. Then, I will go to the king, even if it is against the law. If I die for this, so be it.”
Mordecai left and followed Esther’s instructions.
Commentaries
The Jews’ Sadness.
The decree issued across the empire caused pain and distress among all the Jews. The traditional outward display of this sadness and anguish is to wear sackcloth and cover oneself with ashes. It can be assumed that the sorrow and lamentations of the Jews in Susa reflect those of all the Jews in the empire.
Esther’s Instructions to Mordecai.
The queen recognizes her limited power, and her only hope lies in divine help, which she seeks through fasting and prayer. Additionally, the author shares an important lesson: Esther’s selection was not for privilege but for service. Being queen of the Persian empire is of little fundamental importance; what matters most is serving as a mediator to save God’s people, even at the risk of losing her own life (16).