Such a Time

Esther 4:1–17

¹ When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. ² He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. ³ And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. ⁶ Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, ⁷ and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. ⁹ And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹ “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” ¹² And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. ¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶ “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷ Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

While Esther resides in the home of the king the purposes for her position there are revealed. God has moved people and situations so that His will – the saving of His people – can be accomplished. But it isn’t a simple process. Our heroine is now being called upon to risk her own life to accomplish the saving of her people.

Persian law stands in the way of reasonable action in this story. When the king made an edict, it was irrevocable. So his agreement with Haman to eradicate the Jews stands, no matter what. He cannot change his mind. Seems like a dumb law to me, but that was the Persian way. We find the same struggles for the king in the book of Daniel when he decided to throw Daniel in the lion’s den. King Xerxes has declared that this nation of people should be destroyed on Haman’s advice. He can’t “take it back.” Apparently, there were also enough attempts on the king’s life that the rule of the court was that you may not approach the king without an invitation for fear of death. For Esther to enter the court uninvited was suicide. This is a fearful situation.

The most famous lines from this book appear in chapter 4. Mordecai points out that Esther has been placed in the king’s court “for such a time as this” and Esther accepts her position with the words “if I perish, I perish.” While Mordecai seems to see God’s hand of protection at work while Esther is realistically fearful. But one must admire her courage. She calls for the nation of Israel to fast and pray even though once again God’s name is not mentioned. Clearly she recognizes that the solution for this situation lies with God, not her.

We all face fearful situations. But how often do we start our plans with prayer and fasting. We don’t hear much about Esther’s faith in this story but her response indicates things we have not yet seen. She turns first to prayer although rather fatalistically. But I’m okay with that approach. The externals don’t look good. She is planning to enter the king’s court and that could mean her instantaneous death. One can only imagine the heart pounding fear that gripped her heart as she stood in front of those throne room doors. But she has done all that she can do; she has prayed that God would save her people and now she acts. Engaging in prayer first is a strong character trait. We do well to examine that practice and add it to our own lives. And on a side note, the addition of some fasting isn’t a bad idea either.