Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 4:1
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
1. rent his clothes ] So e.g. Reuben, when his brother Joseph was sold to the Midianites (Gen 37:29), and Jacob, when he thought that his son had perished (Gen 37:34). Cp. 2Ki 18:37; Mat 26:65.
put on sackcloth with ashes ] the two things together constituting an expression of the deepest grief. So Daniel (Dan 9:3) and the king of Nineveh (Jon 3:6).
went out into the midst of the city ] Utterances and other signs of mourning not being permitted within the royal precincts, he went where it was possible to exhibit his grief more unrestrainedly.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Chap. Est 4:1-3. Dismay of Mordecai and the Jews
Mordecai not only shares with the other dwellers in Susa the knowledge of the impending calamity, but also has obtained ( Est 4:7) information as to the nature of the transactions between the king and Haman. He exhibits the usual Oriental tokens of grief and horror.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Est 4:1
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes.
Mordecais grief
In the case of Mordecai, the first effect of the proclamation was bitter anguish, for his conduct had been the flint out of which the spark leaped to kindle this portentous conflagration. But Mordecais grief did not upset his judgment. The genuine sorrow of an honest soul very seldom has that effect; and this mans greatness comes out in his deliberateness. Faith, too, as well as sound judgment, may be discerned under this good mans grief. (A. M. Symington, B. A.)
Mordecai in sackcloth
I. Mordecai was exceedingly affected at what the king had commanded (Est 4:1). See the stirring benevolence of this man, the sweet philanthropy which dwelt in his soul, and how deeply he felt the common calamity, which resulted from his own conscientious doings. There is nothing new in the Lords people meeting with adversities and troubles in this life. Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
II. In the depth of his grief, Mordecai came even before the kings gate, clothed with sack cloth for none might enter into the kings gate clothed with sackcloth (Est 4:2). Amusements or diversions are one class of spiritual idols to which many of the sons of men render homage. The wise man informs us that a scene of unbroken enjoyment is not the best for the interest of the soul. It is better to go to the house of mourning, etc. for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart. Do as the saints of old did; we never hear them saying, I will rejoice in the world; but I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in Thy salvation. In the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. My soul shall be joyful in my God: for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.
III. Mordecai, though he could not enter within the kings gate with his signals of distress, went as near it as he dared to go, with the view of acquainting Esther, by means of her attendants, with the impending danger. As soon as she heard of his mournful habit, she sympathised with him, and sent him raiment instead of his sackcloth, that he might resume his place. We cannot but admire two things which the grace of God had wrought in this woman–her condescension and gratitude. She was now a queen. Providence had placed her on the summit of worldly greatness, yet did she not disregard one of her subjects in distress. She kindly inquired into the cause of his sorrow. Her gratitude also was lovely. Mordecai had acted the part of a tender father towards her, when she was cast a parentless child on the wide world. She does not now forget that tenderness.
IV. Mordecai sent back to Esther tidings of the situation in which he, and she, and their people were placed (verses 7, 8). Esther was now in a station, high and influential, and she is here charged to use her influence on the side of right and justice, and against oppression and tyranny. It is delightful to behold power thus employed! Power is a mighty weapon, and effects great things either to the injury or benefit of the community.
V. Esther sent again to Mordecai, to tell him that she had not for a considerable period been invited to the royal presence, and that to go uninvited was certain death.
VI. Notwithstanding what Esther said, Mordecai would by no means have her neglect the work which he had assigned her (verses 13, 14). We learn a few particulars from these words.
1. That Mordecai had a strong belief that God would interfere for His people in this case.
2. That we are not to flinch from our duty by reason of the danger which we incur by its performance. It is easy to walk in the way while it is smooth and easy, but it must be walked in also when it is rough and thorny.
3. That the work of the Lord shall prosper, whether we endeavour to promote it or otherwise. Deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place: but thou, etc. God is never at a loss for instruments to accomplish His will. If we neglect the honour, He will make others willing to spend and to be spent in His service.
VII. We come now to Esthers answer (verses 15, 16). Fasting and prayer were resorted to on this occasion. Spiritually performed, they never fail of success. United prayer, as in these cases, and in that of Peter, who was about to be killed by Herod, is omnipotent. Like Esther, let us work and pray. These duties must ever be associated. To work without praying is Pharisaism and presumption. To pray without working is insincerity and hypocrisy. Like Mordecai, let us counsel others to do their duty, heedless of all temporal consequences, and pray that they may have power from on high for its due accomplishment. (J. Hughes.)
Anguish keenly felt
At first it would appear that he was so stunned, and almost stupefied, by the news, that he knew not what to do. He was cast into the uttermost distress. He was like a vessel struck by a cyclone. He would get to the use of efforts to meet the crisis by and by; but, for the moment, when the hurricane first burst upon him, he could do nothing but give way to the violence of the storm. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Great sorrow
I. Sorrow cannot be prevented. Sibbes says, None ever hath been so good or so great as could raise themselves so high as to be above the reach of troubles. Thomas Watson observes, The present state of life is subject to afflictions, as a seamans life is subject to storms. Man is born to trouble; he is heir-apparent to it; he comes into the world with a cry and goes out with a groan.
II. Sorrow cannot be explained. In its general aspect sin is the cause of sorrow. When we come to particularise we find ourselves at fault. Eternity is the only true and complete interpreter of time. Heavenly joys only can make plain the meaning of earthly sorrows.
III. Sorrow cannot be hidden. Emotion is as much part of our God-given nature as intellect. The man who does not feel is a man with the better part of manhood destroyed. Feeling must sooner or later find an expression. It is better not to hide our sorrows. Trouble concealed is trouble increased.
IV. Sorrow cannot be confined. It passes from nature to nature; from home to home. This community of feeling, this susceptibility to sorrow, speaks to us of our brotherhood. We are members one of another.
V. But sorrow can be mitigated.
1. By believing that the threatened trouble may never come.
2. By believing that God knows how to effect a deliverance.
3. By believing that sorrow may be made productive.
As the waters of the Nile overflow the surrounding country, and open up the soil, end prepare it for the reception of the rice seed, so the waters of sorrow should overflow and open up the otherwise barren soil of our nature, and prepare it for the reception of the seed of all truth in its manifold bearings. Tribulation worketh patience, etc. (W. Burrows, B. A.)
Mordecais grief
There is perhaps but little doubt that Mordecai passed hours–they come to nearly all–when gloom lay heavy upon the soul, when the shock he had felt seemed to render existence a blank, leaving little of hope before him save that which glittered around the gateway of death and seemed to whisper, Abandon effort; accept the inevitable–seasons when the fruitlessness of labour, the unreasonableness of man, the malignancy of human enmity, the worthlessness of human sacrifice, the emptiness of the most ardent aspirations, and the ineffciency of goodness, leave the soul drifting upon the open sea of despondency with a torturing sense of loneliness–moments when faith in man, even faith in the Church, is shaken, inducing the spirit to cast itself upon the Fatherhood of God, as the storm drives the wearied bird to its home in the rocks. But since faith still lives, and can only live, in the performance of present duty–which alone has the power of maintaining piety in the soul–he soon discovers that continued reliance upon God is urging him to labour for the realisation of the results he covets. (J. S. Van Dyke, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER IV
On hearing the king’s decree to exterminate the Jews, Mordecai
mourns, and clothes himself in sackcloth, 1, 2.
The Jews are filled with consternation, 3.
Esther, perceived Mordecai in distress at the palace gate, sends
her servant Hatach to inquire the reason, 4-6.
Hatach returns with the information, and also the express desire
of Mordecai that she should go instantly to the king, and make
supplication in behalf of her people, 7-9.
Esther excuses herself on the ground that she had not been
called by the king for thirty days past; and that the law was
such that any one approaching his presence, without express
invitation, should be put to death, unless the king should, in
peculiar clemency, stretch out to such persons the golden
sceptre, 10-12.
Mordecai returns an answer, insisting on her compliance, 13, 14.
She then orders Mordecai to gather all the Jews of Shushan, and
fast for her success three days, night and day, and resolves to
make the attempt, though at the risk of her life, 15-17.
NOTES ON CHAP. IV
Verse 1. Mordecai rent his clothes] He gave every demonstration of the most poignant and oppressive grief. Nor did he hide this from the city; and the Greek says that he uttered these words aloud: , A people are going to be destroyed, who have done no evil!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Partly, to express his deep sense of the mischief coming upon his people; partly, to move the pity of others to do what they could to prevent it; and partly, that by this means it might come to the queens ear.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1, 2. When Mordecai perceived allthat was doneRelying on the irrevocable nature of a Persianmonarch’s decree (Da 6:15),Hamman made it known as soon as the royal sanction had been obtained;and Mordecai was, doubtless, among the first to hear of it. On hisown account, as well as on that of his countrymen, this astoundingdecree must have been indescribably distressing. The acts describedin this passage are, according to the Oriental fashion, expressive ofthe most poignant sorrow; and his approach to the gate of the palace,under the impulse of irrepressible emotions, was to make an earnestthough vain appeal to the royal mercy. Access, however, to the king’spresence was, to a person in his disfigured state, impossible: “fornone might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.”But he found means of conveying intelligence of the horrid plot toQueen Esther.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When Mordecai perceived all that was done,…. By the king, at the instigation of Haman, against the Jews; which he came to the knowledge of, either by some of the conflicts or by common fame, or on the sight of the edicts which were published in Shushan; though the Jews think it was made known to him in a supernatural way, either by Elijah, as the former Targum x, or by the Holy Ghost, as the latter:
Mordecai rent his clothes: both behind and before, according to the same Targum; and this was a custom used in mourning, not only with the Jews, but with the Persians also, as Herodotus y relates:
and put on sackcloth with ashes; upon his head, as the former Targum; which was usual in mourning, even both; Job 2:12
and went out into the midst of the city; not Elam the province, as Aben Ezra, but the city Shushan:
and cried with a loud and bitter cry; that all the Jews in the city might be alarmed by it, and inquire the reason of it, and be affected with it; and a clamorous mournful noise was used among the Persians, as well as others, on sad occasions z.
x So Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 1. y Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. —-. Urania, sive, l. 8. c. 99. z Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 24.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Mordochai learnt all that was done, – not only what had been openly proclaimed, but, as is shown by Est 4:7, also the transaction between the king and Haman. Then he rent his garments, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, making loud and bitter lamentation. Comp. on the last words, Gen 27:34. The combination of with is an abbreviation for: put on a hairy garment and spread ashes upon his head, in sign of deep grief; comp. Dan 9:3; Job 2:12, and elsewhere.
Est 4:2 And came even before the king’s gate, i.e., according to Est 4:6, the open space before the entrance to the royal palace; for none might enter wearing mourning. , there is no entering, i.e., none may enter; comp. Ewald, 321, c.
Est 4:3 Also in every province whither the king’s decree arrived, there arose a great mourning among the Jews. is an adverbial accusat. loci in apposition to : in every place to which the word of the king and his decree reached, i.e., arrived. “Sackcloth and ashes were spread for many,” i.e., many sat in hairy garments upon the earth, where ashes had been spread; comp. Isa 58:5. The meaning is: All the Jews broke out into mourning, weeping, and lamentation, while many manifested their grief in the manner above described.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Great Mourning among the Jews. | B. C. 510. |
1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2 And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.
Here we have an account of the general sorrow that there was among the Jews upon the publishing of Haman’s bloody edict against them. It was a sad time with the church. 1. Mordecai cried bitterly, rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth,Est 4:1; Est 4:2. He not only thus vented his grief, but proclaimed it, that all might take notice of it that he was not ashamed to own himself a friend to the Jews, and a fellow-sufferer with them, their brother and companion in tribulation, how despicable and how odious soever they were now represented by Haman’s faction. It was nobly done thus publicly to espouse what he knew to be a righteous cause, and the cause of God, even when it seemed a desperate and a sinking cause. Mordecai laid the danger to heart more than any because he knew that Haman’s spite was against him primarily, and that it was for his sake that the rest of the Jews were struck at; and therefore, though he did not repent of what some would call his obstinacy, for he persisted in it (ch. v. 9), yet it troubled him greatly that his people should suffer for his scruples, which perhaps occasioned some of them to reflect upon him as too precise. But, being able to appeal to God that what he did he did from a principle of conscience, he could with comfort commit his own cause and that of his people to him that judgeth righteously. God will keep those that are exposed by the tenderness of their consciences. Notice is here taken of a law that none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth; though the arbitrary power of their kings often, as now, set many a mourning, yet none must come near the king in a mourning dress, because he was not willing to hear the complaints of such. Nothing but what was gay and pleasant must appear at court, and every thing that was melancholy must be banished thence; all in king’s palaces wear soft clothing (Matt. xi. 8), not sackcloth. But thus to keep out the badges of sorrow, unless they could withal have kept out the causes of sorrow–to forbid sackcloth to enter, unless they could have forbidden sickness, and trouble, and death to enter–was jest. However this obliged Mordecai to keep his distance, and only to come before the gate, not to take his place in the gate. 2. All the Jews in every province laid it much to heart, v. 3. They denied themselves the comfort of their tables (for they fasted and mingled tears with their meat and drink), and the comfort of their beds at night, for they lay in sackcloth and ashes. Those who for want of confidence in God, and affection to their own land, has staid in the land of their captivity, when Cyrus gave them liberty to be gone, now perhaps repented of their folly, and wished, when it was too late, that they had complied with the call of God. 3. Esther the queen, upon a general intimation of the trouble Mordecai was in, was exceedingly grieved, v. 4. Mordecai’s grief was hers, such a respect did she still retain for him; and the Jews’ danger was her distress; for, though a queen, she forgot not her relation to them. Let not the greatest think it below them to grieve for the affliction of Joseph, though they themselves be anointed with the chief ointments, Amos vi. 6. Esther sent change of raiment to Mordecai, the oil of joy for mourning and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness; but because he would make her sensible of the greatness of his grief, and consequently of the cause of it, he received it not, but was as one that refused to be comforted.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Esther – Chapter 4
Jewish Alarm, Verses 1-9
The catastrophic nature of Haman’s decree against the Jews was not lost on Mordecai. He knew his people were in very grave peril, for there was no way the law of the Medes and Persians could be retracted. His behavior was doubtless representative of the feeling of all the Jews, for wherever the decree was published the Jews went into deep mourning, with fasting, weeping, and loud wailing. The whole country must have been painfully aware of the Jews’ distress. Yet their enemies were of such number as to carry out such a decree when the day came.
Mordecai himself tore his clothing and dressed in sackcloth with ashes on him. He went out over the city, a spectacle to all of the Jews’ bitterness, and cried bitterly and loudly. Forbidden by his sackcloth from coming into the king’s gate, he nevertheless passed back and forth before it not escaping the attention of Esther’s maids and chamberlains. They told her of the distressing conduct of her foster father. She was, in turn, also distressed for him, and sent him fresh clothing and requesting the removal of his sackcloth, but he refused her offer.
Esther then realized she must contact Mordecai and find the reason for his anguish. She summoned one of her chamberlains, Hatach, and sent him to find out the what and why of his mourning. Mordecai told Hatach the whole story of the decree against the Jews and of the huge sum of money Haman had promised to gain for the king’s treasuries by their destruction. He gave Hatach a copy of the decree with command to carry it to Esther and to explain its content to her. He should then charge her, from Mordecai, to go in to king Ahasuerus and make supplication to him on behalf of the Jews. This Hatach proceeded to do.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Est. 4:1. Perceived all that was done] Evident that Mordecai knew not only the terms of the public proclamation, but the particulars of the private arrangement between Haman and the king. For in Est. 4:7 it is said, And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the kings treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. Put on sackcloth with ashes] An abbreviated combination, meaning that he put on a hairy garment and spread ashes upon his head in sign of deep grief. To rend ones clothes in grief was as much a Persian as a Jewish practice. When tidings of Xerxes defeat at Salamis reached Shushan, all the people rent their garments and uttered unbounded shouts and lamentations.Herod. viii. 99. an intensified form of expression, similar to the Latin conquestus, violent complaint, earnest and vociferous demonstration.
Est. 4:2.] The kings gate was the free place before the entrance to the royal palace. Further he could not go, for it was not permitted to bear the semblance of an evil omen before the king.
Est. 4:3.] The sorrow was general. All the Jews broke out into mourning, weeping, and lamentation, while many manifested their grief in the manner described.
Est. 4:4-5.] The matter was made known to Esther by her maids and eunuchs; and she fell into convulsive grief. The verb here used is a passive intensiveto be affected with grief as one seized with the pains of delivery. She sent clothes to her guardian, that he might put them on, doubtless, that thereby he might again stand in the gate of the king, and so relate to her the cause of his grief. But he refused them, not only because he would wear no other than garments of mourning, but because he desired a private opportunity to communicate with her. Mordecai accomplished his object, and Hatach the eunuch was sent to him to obtain particulars.Lange. What it was, and why it was] lit what this, and why this? She had not been informed of this terrible decree.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Est. 4:1-4
GREAT SORROW
A TRAGIC interest attaches to the man who is the subject of great sorrow. We are drawn towards him by the power of sympathy. He is lifted out of the common herd, and his individuality becomes at once more apparent and more prominent. Job is one of those characters that stand out most conspicuously in ancient story. His name is the most frequently mentioned, and the most widely known. Job is a very byword, and is as familiar in our mouths as household words, yea, it is a household word itself. And why is this? It is, we presume, not merely on account of his great patience under suffering, but on account of those varied and dark sorrows through which he passed. The patriarch Jacob is to us more luminous, more human, more fragrant, and more attractive, when tempest-tossed by trouble, when crushed by sorrow, than when luxuriating in the land of Goshen. The centre point of interest in the history of Abraham is when he is called upon to offer up his son Isaac. David is never sublimer than when in the intensity of his anguish he mourns the slaughter of his wayward SOD Absalom. And Mordecai is to us grander and more endearing when clothed in his hairy garment and with ashes on his head, indicative of his grief, than when he was arrayed in royal apparel, and the crown royal was placed on his head, and he rode forth on the kings own horse. Mordecais loud and bitter cry of sorrow touches humanity more deeply than the proclamation of Haman, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. But if such interest attaches to the individual in sorrow, what shall be said of a nation in mourning? A whole nation weeping and wailing. Throughout that vast empire, in all its towns and villages, might be seen Jews clothed with sackcloth and sitting in ashes. National joy is attractive, but national sorrow has a more solemn interest. Sublimely and solemnly grand is the aspect of Nineveh mourning and fasting, as one man, for its sins. But these poor Jews were weeping and wailing on account of a threatened slaughter which was undeserved. Let us come near to the man and the nation thus under the dark shadow of threatened evil.
I. Sorrow cannot be prevented. Sibbes says, None ever hath been so good or so great as could raise themselves so high as to be above the reach of troubles. And Watson observes in the same strain, The present state of life is subject to afflictions, as a seamans life is subject to storms. Man is born to trouble; he is heir-apparent to it; he comes into the world with a cry, and goes out with a groan. This paragraph is a forcible illustration of these truths. Goodness is personified in Mordecai. Goodness combined with greatness are personified in Esther the queen. Earthly greatness is personified in the king. He was so great that the emblems of sorrow are not permitted to come nearer than the kings gate. And there were varying degrees of goodness and of greatness among the Jewish people, and yet all were subject to sorrow. The very goodness of Mordecai was the cause of his trouble. The tender, gentle goodness of Esther the queen was the reason why she was intensely grieved. The kings gate might be closed against the entrance of those wearing the garb of sorrow. But sorrow itself can overleap the loftiest barriers, and find a way through the strongest bulwarks. Sorrow darkens the cottage and the palace. The merry laugh and prattle of childhood in sweet country homes are hushed in the presence of this great on-coming calamity. Lovers forget their new-found joy as they think of the national trouble. The harps are hung on the willows, and the children of Zion weep as they feel that the hands of the persecutors are strong. Mordecais loud and bitter cry is heard in the palace, and mingles itself with the music of pipers and harpists. The bright and cheery countenance of Esther wears an unwonted gloom.
II. Sorrow cannot be explained. Of course we may give the explanation that sin is the cause of sorrow in its general and broad aspect. But when we come to particularize we find ourselves at fault. Easy it is for us now to see the mistakes made by Jobs friends in trying to account for his great troubles; but if Jobs friends had kept silent and lived till the present time they would most likely be found to be as wise as their critics. It is not so very difficult to be wise after the event. But sorrows even after they have passed and have done their blessed work cannot always be explained. Eternity is the only true and complete interpreter of time. Heavenly joys only can make plain the meaning of earthly sorrows. Why should Mordecai suffer? What is the purpose of his present distress? Why should intense grief shake and toss the fair nature of the virtuous Esther? Why should many hearts be troubled that are the shrines of truth, of beauty, and of goodness? In the light of history and of Gods providential dealings we may now offer an explanation; but while the facts of history are being enacted, while Gods providential dealings are in operation, the troubled hearts are sorely perplexed. Mordecais cry was the cry of grief, but was it not also the cry of baffled endeavour to understand the mystery? Our particular sorrows cannot at present receive definite explanation. The seed can only be properly explained by the harvest. The seed of our present sorrows can only be properly explained by the consequent harvest of eternal joys.
III. Sorrow cannot be hidden. It does not appear that Mordecai strove to hide his sorrow. Some assert that he gave vent to his sorrow in order to attract notice, and to get an audience with Esther. Difficult to say how far this suggestion is correct. Certainly Mordecais patriotism and goodness would lead him to feel deeply the present position of his people. He could not help the manifestation of his grief. Stoics might say, Keep your sorrows to yourself; do not parade your griefs; do not be ever showing the bleeding sores of your wounded heart. But poor Mordecai could not carry out the stony lessons of these stern teachers. Emotion is as much a part of our God-given nature as intellect. The man who does not feel is a man with the better part of manhood destroyed. And feeling must sooner or later find an expression. These people were demonstrative. The English are not demonstrative. They are said to take their very pleasures sadly. They are comparatively silent about their sorrows. But it can even be found out when an Englishman is in trouble. The cry of wounded hearts may be silent, but it is penetrating. The fragrance of crushed spirits is pungent and powerful. It is better not to hide our sorrows. Trouble concealed is trouble increased. Sorrow caged up and confined is the breeder of much mischief. If earth closes her kingly gates against the cry of our sorrows, heaven opens wide its pearly gates, and as soon as ever the cry passes inside those gates it is changed into laughter.
IV. Sorrow cannot be confined. It passes from nature to nature. It travels from home to home. Even when men and women are not personally affected by that which is the cause of the sorrow, yet they feel its influence, and are sad. Go into the house where death has entered; see all the family in tears, and your nature is at once softened and subdued. It was natural to expect that all the Jews should be affected with sorrow for a common calamity threatened. But the maids and the eunuchs participated in the grief. And Esther, though ignorant of the reason for the sorrow, was intensely grieved. This community of feeling, this wonderful susceptibility to sorrow, speaks to us of our brotherhood. We are members one of another.
V. But sorrow can be mitigated. It may not be in our power to remove sorrow, but it may be so mitigated as not to crush and destroy. It may be mitigated, yea, removed(a) By believing that the threatened trouble may never come. The trouble which Mordecai and these Jews feared never came. They had good reason for fear and for sorrow. Many of our fears are without foundation. Many of the troubles we fear may never come. Why weep over ideal troubles? Let us keep our tears till the sorrow is present. Do not let us go out to meet the enemy in our present weakness. (b) By believing that God knows how to effect a deliverance. Mordecais trouble was not the mere fancy of a disordered brain. The trouble was there. The edict had gone forth. The death-warrant was signed and sealed. To all human appearance Mordecai was as much a doomed man as the criminal fettered in his cell and waiting the hour of his execution. But God worked out for him and all the Jews a wonderful deliverance. Mordecais God still reigns, and can still work for the deliverance of the oppressed. (c) By believing that sorrow may be rendered productive. In this case the sorrow was the means of bringing about deliverance. The sorrow of Mordecai and of these Jews was one of the methods employed by God to work out the deliverance of his chosen people. Your sorrows may work out your deliverance. The sorrows of an Egyptian bondage may lead you to desire and to attain to the joys of the promised land. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. Salvation here mentioned is the highest and most complete deliverance. Sorrow may be the means of bringing about enlargement. Not enlargement merely in the sense of respiration, as the word is employed in this chapter as a translation of Mordecais declaration, out enlargement in the sense of development. Sorrow is a great developing agency when rightly received, and when blessed by the Holy Spirit of God. Mordecais sorrow developed his nature, enlarged his sympathies, and increased his power of vision. Sorrow sometimes makes people selfish. They nurse their sorrows like mothers fondle their sickly babies. They think of nothing but of themselves and their troubles. This, however, is not the proper effect, is not the designed purpose of sorrow. It should open up the whole nature. It should expand all the powers, both intellectual and moral, of a mans being. As the waters of the Nile overflow the surrounding country, and open up the soil, and prepare it for the reception of the rice seed; so the waters of our sorrows should overflow and open up the otherwise barren soil of our natures, and prepare it for the reception of the seed of all truth in its manifold bearings. Let sorrow do its perfect work of developing. Sorrow seems to say in mournful measures to all its children, Be ye also enlarged. It touches to finer and broader issues. It should bring out the latent powers and forces of suffering humanity. It should develop into strength and Christlike nobility and manliness. The developing power of sorrow is brought out by the apostle when he tells us that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope. See to it that such is the blessed fruit of sorrows operation. Sorrow should be productive in another sense. It should intensify the appreciative faculty, and set our souls longing for the pure realms where sorrows will be all unknown because they will be no longer required. Hunger is the best sauce. The sorrows of time prepare us to receive the joys of heaven. When there is intense thirst there can be nothing more refreshing than a drink of clear, sparkling spring water. The sorrows of our pilgrimage intensify the souls thirst for the consolations of the gospel and of Gods promises, and for the abiding comforts of the celestial home. The hart pants for the water-brooks. The poor soul hunted and harried by the fierce dogs of trouble pants for the earthly sanctuary, and much more for the heavenly sanctuary. Mordecai in his trouble looked to Esther, and looked still higher, for he expected enlargement and deliverance from another place. We may look to earth. We must make use of all legitimate earthly means. But we must look for true enlargement and deliverance from another place. What place is that but the throne of God, the mercy-seat, the Fathers house. In that house sorrow will be turned into joy, weeping into laughter, crying into songs of gladness, and pain into perpetual and unsullied pleasure.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Est. 4:1-4
2. For none might enter into the kings gate clothed with sackcloth.Behold, they that wear softs are in kings houses, and those that are altogether set upon the merry pin. Jannes and Jambres, those jugglers, are gracious with Pharaoh, when Moses and Aaron are frowned upon. Baals prophets are fed at Jezebels table, when Elias is almost pined in the desert. The dancing damsel trippeth on the toe, and triumpheth in Herods hall, when the rough-coated Baptist lieth in cold irons; and Christs company there is neither cared for nor called for, unless it be to show tricks and do miracles for a pastime. The kings and courtiers of Persia must see no sad sight, lest their mirth should be marred, and themselves surprised with heaviness and horror. But if mourners might not be suffered to come to court, why did those proud princes so sty up themselves, and not appear abroad for the relief of the poor oppressed.Trapp.
In the case of Mordecai, the first effect of the proclamation was bitter anguish, for his conduct had been the flint out of which the spark leaped to kindle this portentous conflagration. Not for a moment would we doubt the rightness of that conduct, for his way had been hedged in by the providence of God on the one side, and the precept of God on the other; but this, while it eased his conscience, would only drive the sword deeper into his heart. He rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and came even before the kings gate. But Mordecais grief did not upset his judgment. The genuine sorrow of an honest soul very seldom has that effect; and this mans greatness comes out in his deliberateness. To see him rushing out into the streets and up to the palace gate clothed in sackcloth, and filling the air with shrieks and groans, you might fancy that his reason had been thrown off its balance; but Mordecai knew very well where he was running to, and how far he must make his cry reach. It soon appeared that he had made a copy of the edict and brought it with him, that he had informed himself as to the details of the blood-money, and that he had thought out and fixed in his own mind what must be done. Faith too, as well as sound judgment, may be discerned under this good mans grief. Certainly the cloud was very black, but he had found out a thinner place, if not a rift, in it. In the way of obeying God I have exposed my people to this fearful peril; but, on the other hand, God has these four years and more established my foster child next to the throne. Putting these two things together, I am surely not wrong in judging that they point to the place where the cloud will yet part and greater light come through it. It was precisely the latent force of piety that gave Mordecai courage enough to set aside every thought of his own safety, to make the most public exhibition of his grief, to go straight towards the supreme earthly power. No doubt he had already gone to the supreme power in heaven; but those who have done that are not found folding their hands in the time of trouble. Moses erred when he said to the people, Stand still, in front of the Red Sea: God told him that up to even such a barrier and through it his people must march. Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward. Mordecai had learned this lesson, and now taught it to Esther.A. M. Symington.
And weeping and wailing.This was the way to get in with God, though they might not come crying to the court. Oh, the Divine rhetoric and omnipotent efficacy of penitent tears! Weeping hath a voice. Christ turned to the weeping women when going to his cross and comforted them. He showed great respects to Mary Magdalene, that weeping vine; she had the first sight of the revived phnix (though so bleared that she could scarce discern him), and held him fast by those feet which she had once washed with her tears, and wherewith he had lately trod upon the lion and adder.Trapp.
In sad thoughts did Mordecai spend his heart, while he walked mournfully in sackcloth before that gate wherein he was wont to sit; now his habit bars his approach; no sackcloth might come within the court. Lo! that which is welcomest in the court of heaven is here excluded from the presence of this earthly royalty: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.Bishop Hall.
It is well remarked by Henry, in his commentary upon this passage, that although nothing but what was gay and pleasant must appear at court, and everything that was melancholy must be banished thence, yet it was vain thus to keep out the badges of sorrow unless they could withal have kept out the causes of sorrow, and to forbid sackcloth to enter unless they could have forbidden sickness and trouble and death to enter. We are reminded by these words of the well-known saying of John Knox to the ladies of Queen Marys court, when he had been dismissed from her presence with marks of high displeasure, and was waiting to hear the result of his interview with her: O, fair ladies, how pleasing were this life of yours if it should ever abide, and then in the end that we may pass to heaven with all this gay gear. But fie upon that knave, death, that will come whether we will or not. But it is not to those only who dwell in palaces that our application of the text may be made. People in exalted stations among ourselves, people who might be expected to act more rationally than heathen potentates and nobles were accustomed to do, often exhibit the same desire to have removed out of their sight everything that would remind them of their frailty and mortality, as if in this way they could put trouble and mortality away from them. But this is unavailing. The unwelcome heralds of death, in the varied forms of disease, will find their way into the mansions of the great as well as into the humble dwellings of the poor; and at length the enemy himself will appear all unceremoniously to drag away from their luxuries and their selfish enjoyments those who have no portion out in the present life. What I would say here then is, would it not be the best course for all to have their minds directed towards the reality which must overtake them whether they will or not; and to avail themselves of the means which God has provided in the gospel to strip death of its terrors?Davidson.
Could Mordecai have been permitted to redeem his countrymen from the avenging sword, he would have rejoiced in offering himself upon the sacrifice of their faith, and have gone to the scaffold, or the furnace, or the lions den, clothed in white, with garlands bound round his temples, and with the song of triumph in his mouth. But he knew that his enemy would have refused this as a kindness and a precious oil, which, instead of breaking his head, would have refreshed and exhilarated his wounded spirit. His grief was that not only he, but his people were sold to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But, besides, Mordecai had to reflect that he had been instrumental in bringing this calamity upon his people by refusing the honours claimed by Haman. This could not fail to give him pain, and to aggravate the evil which he deplored. Not that he repented of what he had done, for we find him afterwards persisting in the same line of conduct, and refusing to propitiate the haughty favourite by giving him the marks of reverence. We may innocently, or in the discharge of what we owe to God, do what may be the means of injuring both ourselves and others whom we love. It does not follow from this that we ought to have acted otherwise. But still it is a painful reflection. And it was a great addition to the affliction of Mordecai that the Jews were to be sacrificed in consequence of his having incurred the hatred of a wicked but powerful individual. This also accounts for his grief being more poignant than that of Esther.McCrie.
Poor Mordecai had it not in his power to confine his anguish to his own bosom, or to his own house. He published it through all the city of Shushan. You need not ask for what reasons persons overwhelmed with grief do not inquire what purpose the publication of their grief may serve. The strong impulse of sorrow often makes them publish their complaints to the winds or the trees. Yet who knows what good end it might serve to announce the unmerited calamity of the Jews through the whole city of Shushan. There might be some compassionate hearts amongst the people that would be interested by such a dire calamity; and though the people had no direct access to the king, yet they could present their supplications to the counsellors who saw his face; or if nothing could be gained, nothing could be lost by men already doomed to death.Lawson.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Est. 4:4
THE ACTION OF SYMPATHY REJECTED
Change of place is not necessarily change of state. Wherever we travel we remain essentially the same. We cannot lose our identity. Foreign travel, change of scene, alteration of position, may do much to benefit the man or the woman both physically, intellectually, and morally. But these changes cannot radically change the nature. The benefit is often only temporary, and we soon relapse into our old condition. Esther the orphan had her troubles, but she did not become superior to trouble when she became Esther the queen. The royal Esther had troubles which were not possible to the uncrowned Esther. Let us seek, not to be free from trouble by change of place, or by alteration of outward condition, but to be fortified in the inward condition so that we may bear trouble in Christlike fashion.
I. Bad news. So Esthers maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Bad news travels fast and far. Esther was soon told of Mordecais great trouble. The bearers of evil tidings cannot be welcome messengers. Some gladly carry evil tidings through the promptings of a depraved nature. Such ought not to be received. Their mouths ought to be shut by tokens of disapproval. The listeners to evil stories are almost as much to blame as the tellers. In this case, however, we have no just reason to suppose that there was any evil design; yea, we may rather and legitimately suppose a good purpose. Esthers maids must have known of the relationship that existed between her and Mordecai; and we may well imagine that they carried the evil tidings to see if anything could be done to alleviate Mordecais distress. Let us be slow to be the bearers of bad news. See to it that our information is correct. Examine our purpose in telling the dismal tale. And then, when we see that the tale must be told, pray for grace and wisdom that it may be told in the best possible manner.
II. Consequent grief. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved. The poet tells us, And he who meditates on others woes shall in that meditation lose his own. He may lose his own, but he gets fresh trouble by entering sympathetically into the woes of the other. We can only bear anothers burdens of trouble by becoming troubled ourselves. How can we weep with those that weep unless we share their sorrows? To attend to the troubles of others is both to lessen and to increase our own troubles. Shall we then shut our ears to the cries of sorrow? No; for the consideration of the troubles of others may reconcile us to the pains of our own condition. There is to the true heart a sweet luxury in tasting the bitter cup of other peoples sorrows. And benevolence, not inordinate self-love, should be the rule of life. The outward and the inward are closely and marvellously connected. Place together the words told it her, exceedingly grieved. The words of the maids acted powerfully on Esthers sensitive and loving nature. So it was with Job. After the messengers had told him of the slaughter of his cattle, his servants, and his children, then he rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. Esther, however, did not know that Mordecais calamity was her own, and yet she was exceedingly grieved. Oh, these words! One is ready to say, Would that I had not been endowed with the power of speech! These words carry untold joy on their wings. What treasures they embody! But oh, what sorrows they produce! A word may change a destiny. Guilty or not guilty may mean life or death. These maids were no eloquent orators. They told a simple tale, and the queen was exceedingly grieved. They might well recoil from the effects of their own speech. It was not the style of the composition, but the subject matter of the discourse that produced the effect. Let preachers and speakers look to the matter as well as the manner. There was preparedness on the part of Esther. She loved Mordecai, and so was exceedingly grieved when the maids told her the story. Preparedness on the part of the hearer tends to make the speaker eloquent and successful. A Demosthenes could not have made Haman feel for Mordecais great trouble. A simple maid can send Esther into paroxysms of convulsive grief.
III. The resulting sympathetic action. She sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him. Royalty weeps; that is interesting and commendable. Royalty weeps on hearing the account of the sorrows of one of the subjects; that is still more commendable. Royalty bends itself to try and remove the trouble, and that is most commendable. A queen should be the mother of her people. Esther was a motherly queen, and sought by gentle nursing to remove the pains of the sick and troubled Mordecai. Sympathy should be practical. Tears are good, but tears that do not flow to water and nourish noble purposes, and practical efforts for the good of others, will be like the streams that flow to deaden life, and to produce miserable petrifactions. These maids were successful preachers. The bearers went forth to do good. Many preachers preach for years and not one Esther is found to go forth and remove the sackcloth from the Mordecais. Practicalness is the want of the age. A little more of wise utilitarianism is needed in the present day. Preachers to tell the story simply of the worlds troubles; Esthers to hear the story sympathetically, and then not to go home to their play, their luxuries, and their pleasures, but to visit the Mordecais, and if this be not possible, to send goodly raiment to those clothed in sackcloth. Sympathy should be guided by wise discretion. Esther did not understand all the case, and she committed an error. But while we condemn, let us remember that she did what she could. And even mistaken workers will not lose their reward if the work is done from a right motive. A new raiment cannot remove sorrow. The tailor cannot minister to a mind diseased. The dressmaker cannot root out the deep-seated sorrow of the brain, that is, not as a mere dressmaker. Harm may then be done by acting according to mere sympathetic impulses. In benevolent enterprises there must be the exercise of the judgment. A new raiment may be a disastrous gift as well as useless. And the receiver of the gift may not be as wise as Mordecai The latter rejected the offer, but the former may clutch at the present to his own damage.
IV. The strange but wise rejection. But he received it not. There are circumstances under which gifts may be wisely refused, and this was one of those occasions. Strange at first sight that Mordecai should refuse Esthers loving offer of help. If he felt that sorrow was better than laughter, he might have taken the raiment of joy to show his grateful appreciation of Esthers consideration. What an ungrateful and unseemly course of conduct! would Haman have exclaimed had he heard of the case. Just like that surly dog Mordecai, who would not bow to me as I passed. But Mordecai had a wise reason for his course. He had a purpose in view. The true cause of his sorrow must be made known to Esther. He was grateful to Esther, but he must still be stern in order to bring her up to the point of self-sacrifice and heroic daring. Self-interest and the feeling of affection must not be allowed to stand in the way of duty. We have seen that Mordecai loved Esther, but we now see that he would forego her love and even treat her rudely at the call of patriotism. Love of kindred must be subordinated to the love of duty.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Est. 4:4
The perpetual intelligences that were closely held betwixt Esther and Mordecai could not suffer his public sorrows to be long concealed from her. The news of his sackcloth afflicts her ere she can suspect the cause; her crown doth but clog her head while she hears of his ashes. True friendship transforms us into the condition of those we love; and, if we cannot raise them to our cheerfulness, draws us down to their dejection. Fain would she uncase her roster father of these mournful weeds, and change his sackcloth for tissue; that yet, at least, his clothes might not hinder his access to her presence for the free opening of his griefs. It is but a slight sorrow that abides to take in outward comforts; Mordecai refuses that kind offer, and would have Esther see that his affliction was such as that he might well resolve to put off his sackcloth and his skin at once; that he must mourn to death, rather than see her face to live.Bishop Hall.
Ignorant as yet of the evil that was purposed against her nation, and supposing that it was some private sorrow that pressed upon the spirit of her friend, Esther sent a change of raiment to him, thus expressing her desire that, whatever the cause of his trouble was, she was anxious that he should be comforted. This was one of the ways in which, in those times and countries, sympathy and affection were manifested. And so we learn that when the prodigal returned, the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And it is in allusion to the same custom that the Saviour says, The Lord hath sent me to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. It is a very pleasing trait in the character of Esther, that her advancement, and the grandeur and luxury of the palace, had not made her forget the friend of her childhood. His grief touched her heart, and she would have him know this. But his sorrow was too deeply-seated to be assuaged even by her kindness. Mordecai refused the raiment which she sent, and persisted in wearing his sackcloth. The rejection of such a present would have been accounted highly offensive in ordinary circumstances, but it only made Esther apprehend that Mordecais trouble must be of no usual kind.Davidson.
Esther, in her elevation, and in separation from her friends, was far from forgetting them. She was deeply afflicted when she heard of the mourning habit and sore affliction of Mordecai. She was vexed that he should appear at the kings gate in a dress in which he could not enter it, and therefore sent to him a change of raiment. But she knew not the sources of his distress. Grief so firmly rooted and so well founded could not be removed without a removal of its cause. To send him change of raiment was like singing songs to a heavy heart. Mordecai was doubtless pleased with her kind attention; but she must do something of a very different nature to banish his sorrows.Lawson.
The character of Esther is greatly enhanced in our view from this little incidental circumstance. It shows that her feelings had not been blunted by her exaltation and the influences of the court life of Shushan; that she was not self-contained, but had an admirable tenderness and consideration for others, and that she was willing to relieve their burdens by becoming herself a sharer in and a mutual bearer of them. Never does woman appear more noble, and we might almost say resplendent in moral beauty, than when becoming a true Sister of Mercy to our fallen humanity. The New Testament Scriptures sparkle and glitter with such characters as this. Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with pure spikenard of great price, and wiping them with the hairs of her head, as if she could not find a token sufficiently tender of her respect and love. Martha actively engaged in benefitting a beloved brother, and unweariedly serving in every-day life the Saviour whom she adored. Dorcas full of good works and alms-deeds, seeking to help the poor and comfort the widows at Joppa, and leaving behind a blank when she died, the greatness of which was evinced by the tears of a bereaved multitude. Phbe, the deaconess of Cenchrea, a succourer of many. Priscilla, the true helpmate of her devoted husband in the work of the Lord. Lydia, and Joanna, and Susanna, and Syntyche, and Salome, and Tryphena, and Tryphosa, and many others, whose names are in the book of life. The ministry of woman may be silent and noiseless as the light which shines into the chamber in the morning without breaking the repose of the sleeper; but as the light, too, it is mighty in diffusing around cheerfulness and blessing. And never does she appear more laudably than in the homes of the suffering, like the angel who strengthened our Lord in his agony. So do we honour Esther the more because of this sidelight thrown on her character. Though it was only a sorrowful kinsman wailing at the gate, yet was there on this account one queenly heart in the palace which was exceedingly grieved.McEwan.
So Esthers maids came and told it her.She herself (say interpreters) was kept in a closer place than they, not having the liberty of going abroad, as others had, because the Persians that were of highest quality used so to keep in their wives; and if they went forth at any time, they were carried in a close chariot, so as that none could see them.
Then was the queen exceedingly grieved.Dolens exhorruit. So Tremellius. The Hebrew is, she grieved herself, scil., for Mordecais heaviness; as our Saviour, when he heard of the death of his friend Lazarus, groaned in spirit and troubled himself. And here we see that of Plautus disprovedNo woman can grieve heartily for anything. Holy Esther is here sick at heart of grief, as the word importeth; and yet (as one saith of the Lady Jane Grey) she made grief itself amiableher night-clothes becoming her as well as her day-dressings, by reason of her gracious deportment.
And she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai.That he might be fit to come unto her, and make known the cause of his grief, for she yet knew nothing of the public calamity. And although she was so highly advanced above Mordecai, yet she condoleth with him, and honoureth him as much as ever. This was true friendship. Ego aliter amare non didici, said Basil to one that disliked him for stooping so low to an old friend.
But he received it not.Such was the greatness of his grief which he could not dissemble, such was his care of the community, that he could not mind his own private concernments while it went ill with the public. Such also was his patient continuance in well-doing, that he would not give over asking of God till he had received, seeking till he had found, knocking till the gate of grace was open. His clothes were good enough, unless his condition were more comfortable.Trapp.
Temporal fortunes and successes are never so great as not to be subject to sorrow, terror, and fear. God permits his Church to be plunged into sorrow at times; he leads her even into hell; but he also takes her out again. Though the Lord elevate us to high honours, we should never be ashamed of our poor relatives, but rather relieve their needs. We should never reject proper and suitable means to escape a danger, but promptly use them.Starke.
At first the lazy (i.e. Jews) do not snore. For the Holy Spirit exhorts us in all adversities to confide in the Lord; he does not exhort us to be indolent, indifferent, and sleepy. For our confidence in the Lord is a powerful and efficacious means of stimulating in his service all strength and limbs. Further, the Jews, though in the greatest peril, do not utter virulent words against the king, nor do they fly to arms. Mordecai and the other Jews rend their garments, put on sackcloth, strew ashes upon their heads, wail, weep, and fast. These manifestations signify not that the Jews in Persia were turbulent, but that they take refuge in God; since help could not be discovered upon earth, they seek it from heaven. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. By this example we too are taught, that when afflictions are sent upon us we should reflect that God sets before us the fat oxen and calves which we may offer to him. In this may we offer to God in our prayers the afflictions which we sustain, and call upon the name of the Lord that he may help us. Behold, however, the reverse of this order of things. The palaces of princes are Divinely instituted to be the places of refuge for the miserable. On the contrary, in the palaces of Persia nothing is regarded as more odious and abominable than men with the signs of affliction. Heaven is ever open to the cries of mourners, and God is never unapproachable to those calling on his name by faith.Brenz.
Est. 4:1; Est. 6:1. Mordecai rends his clothing, and puts on sackcloth and ashes. He enters the city thus, and raises a great and bitter lamentation. So also the Church of God, in its development as regards the history of humanity, should again and ever anew put on the habiliments of mourning. The world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful. The then existing nation of Jews could not manifest its loyalty to law without coming into conflict with heathendom. Nor can the Church bring to development its inherent spiritual powers without challenging all the Hamans and their opposition in the world. Even this present period is an instance in proof. Following upon the great progress of the things of the kingdom of God since the time of wars for freedom, we must naturally expect reactions, such as have been manifest in the sphere of science and other relations. Indeed, we must constantly look for increasing opposition on the part of the world. But when the Church shall have fully developed the gifts of grace granted to it, then conflict and sorrow will have reached its highest point at the end of the days. The real cause of sorrow on the part of the true members of Gods Church will not be, as was the case with Mordecai, their own distress, but that of the world. It will consist in the fact that the world is still devoid of the blessed society of the true God; that the kingdom of God is still rejected and even persecuted. What joy it would give if, instead of enmity, recognition and submission, and, instead of disdain, a participation in the gifts and grace of our Lord, were to become the universal experience.
2. The more difficult the position of the Church as in contrast with the world, the more favourable is her position for bringing to view her glory. Her glory is that of her Head. If in the Old Testament times, and in the dispersion itself, there existed a Mordecai, who for love of his people manifested his firmness and strength in the hour of tribulation; and if there was found an Esther, who, when called upon, willingly came forward to bring about the salvation of her countrymen; how much more in New Testament times and in the modern Church will there arise individuals who, in following the Lord, especially in evil days, will manifest a watchful care for others and a self-sacrificing spirit for them; who will show forth patience and meekness as well as energy, fidelity, and tenacity, a spirit of giving and an ability to make sacrifices; and withal will carry in their hearts joy and peace as the seal of their kinship with God. All these graces may be so many illuminating rays of the glorious life of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who more and more attains in them a full stature. May all seize the special opportunity, recognize the particular duty, and know when to perform it, which the times of distress of the Church place in the hand, of showing forth the power that dwells in them by their life and work!
3. Mordecai took an especially great part in the universal grief that overcame the Jews when the edict of their annihilation was issued and promulgated. It was not his personal danger that alarmed him, but, as may be expected of such a faithful follower of Judaism, it was the calamity threatening the whole Jewish people. While, however, thought and feeling were centred upon the event, he was free from despair. With him it was a settled conviction that the people of God, as a whole, could not be destroyed, and that deliverance must come from some source. Instead of giving way to despondency, he turned his distress into a power that urged him to still greater endeavours. There was no more a fear of appearing as a Jew, nor did he hesitate because his loud lamentations would attract general attention, and thereby expose him to the derision and disdain of many. However reluctant he might have been to expose his beloved Esther, whose welfare had ever been a matter of great concern to him, to extreme danger, still he persisted with the greatest determination that she should run the whole risk, and only rested when she gave her assent. It is barely possible that he attributed some blame to himself because of his firmness against Haman, or thought that on that account he more than any other was under obligation to remove the threatened danger. The sole moving impulse was doubtless his love for his people. But this should not be less in any member of the Church. It should rather, in proportion as there are more members in the body of Christ, be stronger than it was in him. Would that no one among us were behind him as regards energy, self-denial, and a willingness to make sacrifice! There are doubtless many who are able to endure all this in their own person. Butif no lighter considerationthe thought that their relatives, yea, even wife and children, may suffer on account of their confession bows them down. Would, if necessary, that we too may stand equal to Mordecai in willingness to surrender our dearest kin!
4. Mordecai manifests a remarkable tenacity as opposed to Esther. He keeps his position at the gate of the king until she sends him not only her maids with garments, but also Hatach to transmit his message. He departs not thence until she has resolved to stand before Ahasuerus as a Jew pleading for the Jews. Under other circumstances he might have been thought to be tiresome by his persistency and demands; but his relation to her now justified it. When he had been accustomed to inquire concerning her health and well-being, to give her counsel, to care for her, he had shown no less persistency; and his demand that now she should reveal her Jewish descent, and as such should venture all, was equally in keeping with his character. So long as no danger threatened he counselled her to keep silence respecting her Jewish parentage; but now he had himself taken the lead in an open confession of the fact. Although it had before been difficult for him to approach Esther as the queen, or request any favour at her hand, now he hesitated no longer to implore her help, not so much for himself, as for the whole people. There was no motive for him to be selfish, or to conduct himself in a heartless or severe manner towards her. Hence there was no question but that his undertaking would succeed, that Esther would be willing to comply with his request. It is eminently desirable that those who, like him, must move and induce others to make sacrifices of self and possessions in the service of the kingdom of God, should stand on a level with him in this respect.Lange.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4
Est. 4:3. The patriotic Greek. Be like that patriotic Greek, who with his little band of followers had to check the great army of the Persians. He knew that to go down into the open plain and to expose himself there to all his enemies at once would be speedy destruction. He therefore took his stand in the narrow mountain pass, and encountered his foes as they came one by one. So be it with you. Keep to the narrow pass of today. Face your troubles one by one as they arise. Do not commit yourself to the open plain of tomorrow. You are not equal to that. God does not require you to do thatSpurgeon.
Human may not hare the power to carry out his bloody and revengeful decree. God will interpose in a wonderful method to your deliverance. Face for the present only the trouble caused by the proclamation, and do not ask how will it be when the time comes for the proclamation to take effect.
Est. 4:3. Unskilful persons in a boat. I have seen young and unskilful persons sitting in a boat, when every little wave sporting about the sides of the vessel, and every motion and dancing of the barge, seemed a danger, and made them cling fast upon their fellows; and yet all the while they were as safe as if they sat in a tree, while the gentle wind shook the leaves into refreshment and cooling shade. And so the unskilful, inexperienced Christian shrieks out whenever his vessel shakes, thinking it always danger that the watery pavement is not stable and resident like the rock; and yet all his danger is in himself, none at all from without; for he is indeed moving upon the waters, but fastened to a rock; faith is his foundation, and hope his anchor, and death is his harbour, and Christ his port, and heaven his country; and all the evils of poverty, or affronts of tribunals and evil judges, all fears and sad anticipations, are bent like the loud wind blowing from the right point; they make a noise and drive faster to the harbour.
Est. 4:3. Sour milk and black bread. We had traversed the Great Aletsch Glacier, and were very hungry when we reached the mountain tarn half-way between the Bel Alps and the hotel at the foot of the Aeggischorn; there a peasant undertook to descend the mountain, and bring us bread and milk. It was a very Marah to us when he brought us back milk too sour for us to drink, and bread black as a coal, too hard to bite, and sour as the curds. What then? Why, we longed the more eagerly to reach the hotel towards which we were travelling. We mounted our horses, and made no more halts till we reached the hospitable table where our hunger was abundantly satisfied. Thus our disappointments on the road to heaven whet our appetites for the better country, and quicken the pace of our pilgrimage to the celestial city.Spurgeon.
Est. 4:4. Hardening effects of sensibility. The frequent repetition of that species of emotion which fiction stimulates tends to prevent benevolence, because it is out of proportion to corresponding action; it is like that frequent going over the theory of virtue in our thoughts, which, as Butler says, so far from being auxiliary to it, may be obstructive of it. As long as the balance is maintained between the stimulus given to imagination with the consequent emotions, on the one hand, and our practical habits, which those emotions are chiefly designed to form and strengthen, on the other, so long the stimulus of the imagination will not stand in the way of benevolence, but aid it; and, therefore, if you will read a novel extra now and then, impose upon yourself the corrective of an extra visit or two to the poor, the distressed, and afflicted! Keep a sort of debtor and creditor account of sentimental indulgence and practical benevolence. I do not care if your pocket-book contains some such memoranda as these: For the sweet tears I shed over the romantic sorrows of Charlotte Devereux, sent three basins of gruel and a flannel petticoat to poor old Molly Brown; For sitting up three hours beyond the time over the Bandits Bride, gave half-a-crown to Betty Smith; My sentimental agonies over the pages of the Broken Heart cost me three visits to the Orphan Asylum and two extra hours of Dorcas Society work; Two quarts of caudle to poor Johnsons wife, and some gaberdines for his ragged children, on account of a good cry over the pathetic story of the Forsaken One. If the luxury of sympathy and mere benevolent feeling be separated from action, then Butlers paradox becomes a terrible truth, and the heart is not made better, but worse, by it. Those who indulge in superfluous expression of sentiment are always neophytes in virtue at the best; and, what is worse, they are very often among the most heartless of mankind. Sterne and Rousseau were types of this class,perfect incarnations of sensibility without benevolence,having, and having in perfection, the form of virtue, but denying the power thereof.Grey-sons Letters.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
IV. Pluck of Esther, Chapter 4
A. Cry
TEXT: Est. 4:1-3
1
Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry;
2
and he came even before the kings gate: for none might enter within the kings gate clothed with sackcloth.
3
And in every province, whithersoever the kings commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Todays English Version, Est. 4:1-3
When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes in anguish. Then he dressed in sackcloth, covered his head with ashes, and walked through the city, wailing loudly and bitterly, until he came to the entrance of the palace. He did not go in because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed inside. Throughout all the provinces, wherever the kings proclamation was made known, there was loud mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, wailed, and most of them put on sackcloth and lay in ashes.
COMMENTS
Est. 4:1-2 Bitter: The tearing or rending of clothing, putting on sackcloth and throwing of ashes on the head were all actual, though symbolic, rites practiced by Jews (and other Semitic peoples) expressing grief and contrition. The English word is derived from the Hebrew word saq which describes a coarse, dark cloth, usually made of goats hair. It was worn by mourners (2Sa. 3:31; 2Ki. 19:1-2), often by prophets to symbolize the actions they sought from their audiences (Isa. 20:2; Rev. 11:3), and by exiles (1Ki. 20:31). No one seems to know the precise form of the saq. Some think it was much like a loin cloth; others think it was like a burlap sack with openings for the arms and neck. Sometimes the garment was worn next to the skin (Jon. 3:6; 1Ki. 21:27; 2Ki. 6:30; Job. 16:15; Isa. 32:11) but usually it was worn over another garment. Ashes were sprinkled over a person or he sat among ashes as a sign of mourning (2Sa. 13:19; Job. 2:8; Jer. 6:26). Mordecai, having donned the symbolic dress of deep grief, went out into the middle of the imperial capital and began venting his feelings in loud, doleful, wailing which was customary in ancient eastern cultures. The Hebrew word marah is translated bitter. It is the same word used by Naomi when she said, Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has afflicted me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? (Rth. 1:20-21). This is what Mordecai was expressing. The rule that nothing mournful, of evil portent or distressing was to pass through the palace gates and into the presence of the emperor was another of the customs of the ancient east.
Est. 4:3 Baleful: The same loud piercing funeral wailings and death cries were heard in every province where Jews lived throughout the vast Persian empire. People fasted and wept and lay in sackcloth and ashes. Literally, the Hebrew phrase is sackcloth and ashes were spread out as a bed under many. The Hebrew word for fast is tzum and means abstain. Another Hebrew word for fast is innah and means afflict the soul. The word tzum is not used in the Old Testament before the book of Judges. Apparently, the original commandment (Lev. 16:29 ff) was to afflict the soul which later came to be practiced by abstinence. It is altogether possible that the original commandment to afflict the soul (fast) did not necessarily demand abstinence. Jesus made drastic revisions to traditional practices of fasting (Mat. 6:16-18). Fasting or afflicting the soul has always had to do with the human need for mediation and intercession before God in times of stress and sorrow. The fasting of the Hebrew people in Persia at this time should certainly be considered as an act of supplication and intercession toward Jehovah for their rescue from the impending slaughter of Haman.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
IV.
(1) Mordecai rent his clothes.This was a common sign of sorrow among Eastern nations generally. It will be noticed that the sorrow both of Mordecai and of the Jews generally (Est. 4:3) is described by external manifestations solely. There is rending of garments, putting on of sackcloth and ashes, fasting and weeping and wailing: there is nothing said of prayer and entreaty to the God of Israel, and strong crying to Him who is able to save. Daniel and Ezra and Nehemiah are all Jews, who, like Mordecai and Esther, have to submit to the rule of the alien, though, unlike them, they, when the danger threatened, besought, and not in vain, the help of their God. (See Dan. 6:10; Ezr. 8:23; Neh. 1:4, &c.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Mordecai rent his clothes The customary sign of bitter grief. See 2Sa 1:11, note. A like sign was also the putting on of sackcloth sad sitting in ashes, (Job 2:8; Jon 3:6,) or sprinkling ashes upon the head. Mordecai also, in expression of his most intense agony, cried with a loud and a bitter cry. Compare Gen 27:34. Similar exhibitions of grief were customary with the Persians. When tidings of Xerxes’ defeat at Salamis reached Shushan all the people “rent their garments and uttered unbounded shouts and lamentations.” Herod., 8:99.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Est 4:1-17 The Jews Respond to the Royal Decree In Est 4:1-17 the Jews led by Mordecai respond to the royal decree by calling a fast and asking Queen Esther to plead mercy with the king. The nations of Israel and Judah had been utterly destroyed by their enemies in the past, and all of their people were now in captivity for the sins of their people. The Jews could no longer trust in their Jewish heritage for God’s favour, for this had not delivered them in the past centuries. The Jews in exile now understood that they were now utterly dependent upon God’s mercy and grace to deliver them. Esther approaches the king of Persian in like manner, asking for his undeserved favour delivering her people.
Est 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Est 4:14
Jas 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Est 4:13-14 “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Comments – We can see within this statement made my Mordecai Esther’s divine commission. We often find a divine commission at the beginning of the story of God’ servants in the Scriptures. We see in the book of Genesis that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each received their commissions at the beginning of their genealogies, which divide the book of Genesis into major divisions. We also see how Moses received his divine commission near the beginning of his story found within Exodus to Deuteronomy. Joshua received his commission in the first few verses of the book of Joshua. Also, we see that Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel each received a divine commission at the beginning of their ministries. The book of Ezra opens with a divine call to rebuild the Temple and the book of Nehemiah begins with a call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which callings Ezra and Nehemiah answered. In the New Testament, we find Paul the apostle receiving his divine commission in Act 9:1-22 at the beginning of the lengthy section on Paul’s life and ministry.
Each of these divine callings can be found within God’s original commission to Adam in the story of Creation to be fruitful and multiply. For these men were called to bring the about the multiplication of godly seeds. The patriarchs were called to multiply and produce a nation of righteousness. Moses was called to bring Israel out of bondage, but missed his calling to bring them into the Promised Land. Joshua was called to bring them in to the land. Esther was called to preserve the seed of Israel, as was Noah, while Ezra and Nehemiah were called to bring them back into the Promised Land. All of the judges, the kings and the prophets were called to call the children of Israel out of sin and bondage and into obedience and prosperity. They were all called to bring God’s children out of bondage and destruction and into God’s blessings and multiplication. The stories in the Old Testament show us that some of these men fulfilled their divine commission while others either fell short through disobedience or were too wicked to hear their calling from God.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Mourning of the Jews
v. 1. When Mordecai perceived, v. 2. and came even before the king’s gate, v. 3. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, v. 4. So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains, v. 5. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, v. 6. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city which was before the king’s gate.
v. 7. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, v. 8. Also, he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, v. 9. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
MOURNING OF MORDECAI, AND OF THE JEWS GENERALLY, ON HEARING OF THE DECREE (Est 4:1-17 1-3). Haman had no doubt kept his intentions secret until the king’s consent to them was not only granted, but placed beyond his power to recall The Jews first heard of the terrible blow impending over them by the publication of the edict. Then they became acquainted with it quickly enough. The edict was for a while the talk of the town. Placarded openly in some conspicuous and frequented place, every loiterer read it, every gossip spoke of it, every one whom it threatened could with his own eyes see its exact terms. Mordecai soon “perceived all that was done” (Est 4:1)perused the edict, understood whence it had originated, was fully aware that he himself and his whole nation stood in the most awful peril. His first impulse was to rend his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes; after which he quitted the environs of the palace, and “went out into the midst of the city,” where he gave free vent to his grief and alarm, “crying with a loud and bitter cry.” The signs of mourning were not permitted within the walls of the royal residence, and Mordecai could come no nearer than the space before the gate, where he probably sat down in the dust “astonied” (see Ezr 9:4). Nor was he long alone in his sorrow. In every provinceand therefore at Susa, no less than elsewhere”there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing” (Est 4:3). The proscribed race made bitter lamentation”lay in sackcloth and ashes,” humbled itself before God, and waited. As yet no thought of escape seems to have occurred to any, no resolution to have been taken. Even Mordecai’s thoughtful brain was paralysed, and, like the rest, he gave himself up to grief.
Est 4:1
Mordecai rent his clothes. Compare Ezr 9:3, Ezr 9:5 with the comment. The meaning of the act was well understood by the Persians. Put on sackcloth with ashes. So Daniel (Dan 9:3), and the king of Nineveh (Jon 3:6). Either act by itself was a sign of deep grief; both combined betokened the deepest grief possible. And went out into the midst of the city. The palace was not to be saddened by private griefs (see the next verse). Mordecai, therefore, having assumed the outward signs of extreme sorrow, quitted the palace, and entered the streets of the town. There, overcome by his feelings, he vented them, as Asiatics are wont to do, in loud and piercing cries (comp. Neh 5:1).
Est 4:2
And came even before the king’s gate. After some aimless wandering Mordecai as returned toward the palace, either his proper place, or with some incipient notion of obtaining Esther’s help. He was not allowed, however, to pass the outer gate on account of his garb of woe, and he remained outside (see verse 6).
Est 4:3
And in every province. As fast as the news spread, as province after province received the decree, the Jews spontaneously did as Mordecai had doneeverywhere there was great sorrow, shown commonly by fasting, weeping, and wailing, while in numerous instances the mourners even went the length of putting on sackcloth and ashes. Thus an ever-increasing cloud of grief overshadowed the land.
Est 4:4-17
GRIEF OF ESTHER. HER COMMUNICATIONS WITH MORDECAI. SHE CONSENTS TO RISK MAKING AN APPEAL TO THE KING (Est 4:4-17). Esther, in the seclusion of the harem, knew nothing of what the king and Haman had determined on. No one in the palace suspected how vitally she was concerned in the matter, since none knew that she was a Jewess, and state affairs are not commonly discussed between an Oriental monarch and a young wife. It was known, however, that she took an interest in Mordecai; and when that official was seen outside the palace gate in his mourning garb, it was reported to the queen. Not being aware why he grieved, but thinking that perhaps it was some light matter which he took too much to heart, she sent him a change of raiment, and requested him to put off his sackcloth. But Mordecai, without assigning any reason, refused (verse 4). Esther upon this caused inquiry to be made of Mordecai concerning the reason of his mourning, and in this way became acquainted with what had happened (verses 5-9). At the same time she found herself called on by Mordecai to incur a great danger, since he requested her to go at once to the king, and to intercede with him for her people (verse 8). In reply, the queen pointed out the extreme risk which she would run in entering the royal presence uninvited, and the little chance that there was of her receiving a summons, since she had not had one for thirty .days (verse 11). Mordecai, however, was inexorable. He reminded Esther that she herself was threatened by the decree, and was not more likely to escape than any other Jew or Jewess; declared his belief that, if she withheld her aid, deliverance would arise from some other quarter; warned her that neglect of duty was apt to provoke a heavy retribution, and suggested that she might have been raised to her queenly dignity for the express purpose of her being thus able to save her nation (verses 13, 14). The dutiful daughter, the true Jewess, could resist no longer; she only asked that Mordecai and the other Jews in Susa would fast for her three days, while she and her maidens also fasted, and then she would take her life in her hand, and enter the royal presence uninvited, though it was contrary to the law; the risk should be run, and then, as she said with a simple pathos never excelled, “if I perish, I perish” (verse 16). Satisfied with this reply, Mordecai “went his way,” and held the three days’ fast which Esther had requested (verse 17).
Est 4:4
Esther’s maids and her chamberlains. A queen consort at an Oriental court is sure to have, besides her train of maids, a numerous body of eunuchs, who are at her entire disposal, and are especially employed in going her errands and maintaining her communications with the outer world. Told her. Esther’s interest in Mordecai would be known to the maids and eunuchs by Mordecai’s inquiries about her (Est 1:11) and communications with her (ibid. verse 22).
Est 4:5
To know what it was, and why it was. i.e. “to know what the mourning garb exactly meant, and for what reason he had assumed it.”
Est 4:6
The street of the city. Rather, “the square.“
Est 4:7
The sum of money. Mordecai evidently considered that the money was an important item in the transaction, and had mainly influenced Ahasuerus. This would not have been the case if Ahasuerus had at once given it back (see the comment on Est 3:9).
Est 4:8
Also he gave him the copy. In the original it is “a copy.” Mordecai had had a copy made for the purpose of handing it to Esther. To make request to him for her people. If this was the phrase used by Mordecai to Hatach, Esther’s nationality must now have ceased to be a secret, at any rate so far as her immediate attendants were concerned. Probably Mordecai felt that the truth must now be declared. It was only as the compatriots of the queen that he could expect to get the Jews spared.
Est 4:11
All the king’s servants seems to mean here “all the court,” “all those in the immediate service of the king.” The inner court. The palace had, as it would seem, only two courts, the “outward court” of Est 6:4, and the “inner court” of the present passage. There is one law of his to put him to death. Rather, “there is one law for him. ‘Whoever he be, there is one and the same law regarding himhe must suffer death. Herodotus excepts six persons from the operation of this law, but in making the exception shows the general rule to have been such as here represented. Except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre. No other writer tells us of this custom, but it is in perfect harmony with Oriental habits and modes of thought. Some have objected that the king would not always have a golden sceptre by him; but the Persepolitan sculptures uniformly represent him with a long tapering staff in his hand, which is probably the “sceptre” (sharbith) of Esther. I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. The king s passion had cooled, and Esther now, like his other wives, waited her occasional summons to his presence. She had not been called for a whole month, and did not know when a summons might come. It would not do to trust to so mere a chance; and therefore, if she was to interpose on behalf of her nation, she must intrude on the king uninvited, and risk being put to death.
Est 4:13
Think not with thyself. Literally, “imagine not in thy mind.” That thou shalt escape in the king’s house. i.e. “that being an inmate of the palace will be any protection to thee ;” it will be no protectionyou will no more escape than any other Jew.
Est 4:14
Then shall there enlargemt, or respiration (marg. literally, “breath”), and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. Mordecai is confident that God will not allow the destruction of his people. Without naming his name, he implies a trust in his gracious promises, and a conviction that Haman’s purpose will be frustrated; how, he knows not, but certainly in some way or other. If deliverance does not come through Esther, then it will arise from some other quarter. But thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed. A denunciation of Divine vengeance. Though the nation will be saved, it will not benefit you. On you will fall a just judgmenthaving endeavoured to save your life, you will lose itand your “father’s house will be involved in your ruin. We may gather from this that Esther was not Abihail’s only child. Who knoweth, etc. Consider this also. Perhaps (who knows?) God has raised you up to your royal dignity for this very purpose, and none other, that you should be in a position to save your nation in this crisis.
Est 4:15
Fast ye for me. Fasting for another is fasting to obtain God’s blessing on that other, and is naturally accompanied with earnest prayer to God for the person who is the object of the fast. Thus here again the thought of God underlies the narrative. It has been supposed that Esther could not have meant an absolute fastcomplete abstinence from both food and drinkfor so long a period as three days; but Oriental abstemiousness would not be very severely taxed by a fast of this length. The time intendedfrom the evening of the first to the morning of the third dayneed not have much exceeded thirty-six hours. I also and my maidens will fast likewise. “Likewise” is to be taken here in its proper sense, as meaning “in like manner.” We also will abstain both from meat and drink during the same Period.
Est 4:17
Mordecai did according to all that Esther had commanded. i.e. gathered the Jews together, and proclaimed a three days fast. Though without authority, he would naturally, under the circumstances, have sufficient influence over his countrymen to induce them to do his bidding.
HOMILETICS
Est 4:1-3
The cry of a doomed people.
The decree against the Jews was not yet known in the palace; Esther herself was not yet informed of it. And the signs of sorrow and mourning were prohibited within the royal precincts; nothing of ill omen was suffered to come before the king and his household. But in the city evil tidings (which ever travel fast) soon came abroad.
1. THE FIRST NOTE OF LAMENTATION WAS UTTERED BY MORDECAI. The rending of clothes in grief was practised by the Persians as well as by the Jews. The Ninevites in their penitence sat in sackcloth and ashes. It was and is the custom of Orientals to weep aloud in times of mourning. All these expressions of sorrow and lamentation were in the circumstances natural and proper. It was the woe of a patriot. Mordecai was not thinking so much of himself as of his people; he made their sorrows and alarms his own. It was the sorrow of a godly man. He did not simply mourn; he evidently humbled himself before God, and implored Divine pity and help.
II. THE CRY WAS COMMUNICATED TO AND TAKEN UP BY THE JEWS THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE. The news of a great victory flies and flashes through a land, awakens the universal joy, and the land is filled with gladness and song.. And the tidings of the impending calamity spread far and wide through the provinces of Persia, and created consternation in thousands of hearts. They mourned as they thought of the land of their fathers, and of all the privileges enjoyed in that sacred and fertile territorytheir proper home and inheritance. For now they were not only doomed to exile; they were marked for destruction. They fasted, doubtless, as a religious exercise, accompanying their fasting with repentance and with prayers. They wept and wailed, knowing that though their cry could not pierce the walls of the palace at Shushan, it would penetrate the gates of heaven, and reach the ear of the King of kings. They lay in sackcloth and ashes, as permitting themselves no comfort or ease in prospect of their own and their brethren’s ruin. Thus they prepared a way for the tender mercy of God to visit them from on high.
Practical lesson:Sinners against whom a sentence of Divine wrath might rightfully be issued should lose no time in humbling themselves before the Lord, and confessing their sins with contrition and repentance, that they may partake in the mercy of heaven, and, through the redemption of Christ Jesus, be saved from the wrath to come.
Est 4:4-9
Sympathy.
Although Esther was lodged in a palace and surrounded with luxury and honour, she did not lose sight of her kinsman, Mordecai. Least of all was she indifferent to his trouble and sorrow. Hence, when informed of his mourning, she sent to him, and, when aware of the cause of his distress, entered into it, taking his grief as her own. A beautiful illustration of sympathyan emotion and disposition which adorns our humanity, and relieves men of many of their sorrows, and lightens many of their cares.
I. SYMPATHY IS BASED UPON OUR COMMON HUMANITY AND KINDRED. “I am a man, and deem nought human foreign, a matter of unconcern, to me.” The sympathies of some are restricted to their own household, or their own nation; but it becomes us to cherish a fellow-feeling for all mankind. Still, as in this narrative, kindred is a proper ground for special sympathy.
II. SYMPATHY HAS ITS SUREST BASIS IN RELIGION. The Scriptures teach us that God has made of one blood all nations of men. We are children of one family. Not only so, but the same Father has pitied us, and the same Saviour has died for us. What emphasis do these facts give to the inspired admonitions: “Look not every man upon his own things, but every man also upon the things of others.” “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” “Rejoice with those who do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”
III. SYMPATHY IS BENEFICIAL, ALIKE TO HIM WHO DISPLAYS IT, AND TO HIM WHO IS ITS OBJECT. The heart is richer and happier for entering into the feelings of another. And the heart is relieved that feels another shares its burden. Human society is made more bright and blessed by the prevalence of the sacred habit of sympathy. Of this virtue, as of mercy, it may be said, “It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
IV. SYMPATHY IS THE FLOWER OF WHICH THE FRUIT IS HELP. Mere sentimental, unpractical sympathy is worse than vain; it is a mockery. But where right feeling leads to right action, it proves its intended value. In the case before us, Esther’s sympathy with her kinsman’s anxiety and sorrow led her to put forth all her efforts, in compliance with his wish, to secure the end dear to his heart.
Practical lessons:
1. Shut not up your heart from sympathising with your neighbour’s woe. To do so will be more harmful to you even than to him.
2. Let sympathy be expressed. It is well that those in trouble should know that you feel with and for them.
3. Let sympathy take a practical form. If tears and prayers are all you can give to show your sympathy, well and good. But if you have more to give, withhold it not, for Christ’s sake.
Est 4:8
An intercessor.
If Haman’s influence with the king of Persia was used for harm, why should not Esther’s be used for good? It was a natural and happy thought on the part of Mordecai to use his ward’s influence with Ahasuerus for the deliverance and safety of the Jews. And the sequel shows the wisdom of Mordecai’s counsel, and the efficacy of Esther’s pleading. Christ, our High Priest, is, as such, our Advocate with the Father. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. As a figure of our Redeemer, the Intercessor, consider Esther, as possessing two qualifications for successful advocacy.
I. An intercessor should have SYMPATHY WITH, AND INTEREST IN, THE CASE OF THOSE FOR WHOM HE PLEADS. Esther had this qualification; she loved her cousin, she loved her people. She could not think of the destruction of the Jews without distress. She was prepared to plead hard for her people’s life. So with Christ. He is the Son of man, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities; for he was tried and tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. How fitted is he then to represent our case, to plead our cause! We have in God the Father a Sovereign waiting to be gracious, and in Christ the Son a Mediator and Advocate who will do his part to secure our salvation.
II. An intercessor should have INFLUENCE WITH THE PERSON WHOSE FAVOUR IS TO BE SOUGHT. Esther had this qualification. The king loved her above his other wives, and would naturally be disposed to please her, and receive her requests with favour. So with Christ. He is the Son of God, the “beloved Son,” in whom the Father is “well pleased.” Him, therefore, the Father “heareth alway.” His relation to the Father, his obedience and devotion, all entitle him to the Father’s confidence. And, as a matter of fact, he does not, cannot plead in vain. To have the advocacy of Christ is to have the favour of God. Gratefully avail yourselves of Christ’s prevailing intercession, and through him let your requests be made known unto God.
Est 4:11
The golden sceptre.
The superstitious reverence which surrounded the throne of Ahasuerus is manifest from the whole tenor of this narrative. Capricious and absolute, his frown was feared as the most awful of earthly ills; and his smile was sought, with abject slavishness and adulation, as the herald of honour, riches, end power. Even his wife could not approach unbidden into the presence of the “great king,” save at the peril of her life. When he was pleased to stretch forth the golden sceptre of clemency and mercy, all was well. The golden sceptre, which encouraged the timid, assured the suppliant of a gracious reception, and was the earnest of royal favours and blessings, may be taken as an emblem of the merciful regard and purposes of the King of kings. In the gospel of his Son our heavenly Ruler and Lord extends to us the golden sceptre of his grace.
I. It is a sceptre OF ROYAL POWER. Originally the sceptre was the rod of the chief with which he smote the cowardly and the recreant, and thus it became the emblem of kingly rule. All God’s acts are acts of a just authority, enforced by an irresistible power. Whilst his sway extends over his whole creation, as a moral sway it is exercised upon righteous principles over his moral and accountable subjects.
II. It is a sceptre OF ROYAL FAVOUR. It is evident from the narrative that Esther had no hope except from the clemency of the king. Her position as queen did not even give her the right to approach the throne unbidden. When Ahasuerus stretched forth the golden sceptre she knew that she was regarded with favour. Our heavenly King extends to us the favour of his royal nature. His word, his gospel, is the expression of his regard for men. His anger is turned away, and he comforts us.
III. It is a sceptre OF ROYAL MERCY. Esther’s approach was a presumption, an offence. But the symbolical act we are considering assured her that her offence was overlooked, and she herself accepted. In the gospel God appears not only as kind, but as merciful. He addresses the sinful suppliant, and says, Fear not! I am the Lord that hath mercy on thee! Thou shalt not perish, but shalt have pardon and life eternal.
IV. It is a sceptre OF ROYAL BOUNTY. The act of Ahasuerus was the earnest of further kindness. “What is thy petition, and what is thy request?” She had, in response, only to ask, and to have. God has given us his Son, and the gospel, which tells us of this gift, tells us that all provision is made for us. This is the language of our royal Father: “All that I have is thine!”
Est 4:14
Enlargement and deliverance.
What a sublime confidence is apparent m this language of Mordecai to Esther! He took a very different mode of reasoning and persuasion from what might have been expected. Why did he not say, My only hope, the only hope of the nation, is in thee; if thou fail us we are undone? Because he believed Israel’s salvation to be dear to Israel’s God. This led him to put the matter thus: “If thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place.”
I. GOD, IN HIS PROVIDENCE, OFTEN ACCOMPLISHES GREAT WORKS BY THE HANDS OF HUMAN AGENTS.
II. IF THE LIKELIEST FAIL, THEN THE UNLIKELIEST WILL BE RAISED UP AND EMPLOYED.
III. ALL THINGS AND POWERS THAT ARE ADVERSE NOTWITHSTANDING, THE PURPOSES OF GOD SHALL CERTAINLY BE FULFILLED.
IV. IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF CARRYING OUT THE PLANS OF THE ALL–WISE. Especially is this so when we have the means of bringing enlargement and deliverance to the people of God. See to it that you do not mistake the “time to speak” for the “time to be silent.”
Est 4:14
The purpose of power.
“Purpose” is a watchword of modem intellectual warfare. “Cause” and “purpose” are words that awaken keenest intellectual strife. Thinkers are divided into those who believe that the will is the cause of human acts, and that many of those acts are evidence of purpose; and those who believe our acts to be the necessary results of physical antecedents acting upon our nervous system. And those who do not believe in human purpose naturally enough have no belief in Divine purpose. According to them mind counts for nothing as a factor in the universe. Believing in purpose, both human and Divine, we may nevertheless be on our guard against dogmatically affirming that this and that event is evidence of the intention of Heaven. Purpose is in the life of man; yet when we endeavour to fathom its mysteries, it is well that we should propose the question with the moderation and tentativeness which characterised the language of Mordecai: “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
I. THERE ARE EVIDENCES OF DIVINE PURPOSE IN THE LIFE OF MEN GENERALLY. Whatever doubt we may have of individual cases, however much we may be influenced by our own prejudices and fancies in judging of such cases, it scarcely admits of doubt that human life has a reason for its existence and for its opportunities. Especially in reading the biographies of great and good men we are impressed with this belief. And what strength does it impart to a man to believe that God has a work for him to do. Divine purpose may be wrought out by unconscious agents.
“There’s a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will!
II. PROVIDENCE SOMETIMES MAKES IT CLEAR WHAT THE DIVINE PURPOSE IS. Observe the expression: “such a time.” A crisis is observable in the life of most men. An opportunity opens up. The vocation is made apparent, or rather audible. A relationship is appointed. A service is required. God’s finger is visible, and he is heard saying, “This is the way; walk ye in it!”
III. AT .SUCH TIMES THERE IS IMPOSED A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY. The call of Providence may be disregarded. Through negligence, or fear, or distrust persons may shrink from responding to the requirement of Heaven. But at how fearful a cost! On the other hand, to have wrought the work of God is to have lived not in vain. And Divine grace is sufficient for us.
Practical lessons:
1. Study the indications of God’s will. Ask, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
2. Follow the leadings of God’s providence. Say, “Lead, Lord, and thy servant shall be found in thy steps!”
Est 4:16
A fast.
Fasting is often mere superstition, as when men suppose that there is merit in their abstaining on certain days from certain kinds of food, thinking that mortification of appetite is in itself a virtue, and that God must needs be pleased with what pains or distresses his creatures. Fasting is sometimes a mockery. It is well known that many religionists keep the letter whilst they break the spirit of a fast. It is certainly difficult to sympathise with the asceticism of those who fast on Fridays upon salmon and champagne. Yet this, like other religious observances that are now largely superstitious, or at all events formal, has its origin in laudable desires, and springs from good tendencies in human nature.
I. A COMMON SORROW NATURALLY SEEKS A COMMON EXPRESSION. When a community is smitten by a general calamity, it is unbecoming that any members of that community should indulge in feasting and mirth. When the Jews were threatened with destruction, how natural that, at Esther’s suggestion, the Hebrew population of the city should join in a general fast.
II. A COMMON WANT NATURALLY LEADS TO UNITED SUPPLICATION. Together the people were endangered; together they sought deliverance from their redeeming God. A fast is not only a time of abstinence from pleasure, it is a time of prayer; and God in heaven is gratified by conjoined and blended supplication and intercession. What mercies await the society, the city, the nation which will agree with one heart to seek the Lord.
III. IT IS THE SPIRITUAL FASTING WHICH IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE SEARCHER OF HEARTS. Often, in the presence of fasts which are merely outward, has he addressed the indignant question to formal religionists, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen?” Often has the appeal been addressed to such, “Rend your hearts, and not your garments!” The case of the Ninevites is an illustration of the combination of a formal with a real fast, and is a proof that such a fast is not disregarded by God. Let the words of our Saviour be remembered: “When thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
Est 4:16
If I perish, I perish!
The bosom of the queen must, when she uttered these affecting words, have been rent with diverse emotions. The entreaty of Mordecai, the danger of her people, the benevolence of her own nature, all urged her to venture into the presence of the august yet capricious king. Yet her knowledge of the court rules, her fears for herself, must have withheld her from the daring act. She faced the possible consequences, she prepared herself for the worst. Doubtless she commended herself to the care of Heaven, and, forming the resolve, exclaimed, “If I perish, I perish!” Hearers of the gospel have sometimes been convinced of their sin, and yet have not been able to appropriate to themselves the promises of God’s word. They have felt that there is no refuge save in the cross of Christ, and no hope save in the mercy of God. After long, sore conflict, such anguished sufferers, with a faith which is half despair, have been able to cast themselves before the feet of the King, whose displeasure they dread, and in whose mercy they scarcely dare to hope. They have ventured all upon Divine compassion, and the earnestness, the distress, the utter helplessness of their hearts have found utterance in the cry of Esther, “If I perish, I perish!”
I. The cry is the utterance of SINCERITY AND EARNESTNESS. The language is full of feeling, of passion. It was no feeble emotion which could prompt to such a determination. This is the spirit in which a sinner should come into the presence of the King, seeking for pardon.
II. It is the utterance of FELT UNWORTHINESS. And none can come aright unto God save he who comes with the cry of the penitent publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner!”
III. It is the utterance of CONSCIOUS NEED. Nothing but the keenest sense of the necessity of the case could have impelled Esther to the course of action she took. Similar is the motive which brings the sinner to the Lord.
“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.”
IV. It is the utterance of MINGLED FEAR AND HOPE. Uncertainty and dread mingled in the queen’s mind with some gleam of hope. It is not unnatural that the poor helpless sinner should shrink from the view of a holy God, should scarcely dare to hope for his favour.
V. It is the utterance of A MIND UPON WHICH THE KING WILL HAVE MERCY. As Esther’s fears were dispelled by the attitude and language of her consort, so the penitent, lowly, believing, and prayerful suppliant shall never be rejected by a God who delighteth in mercy. The spirit which God will not disdain is that of the lowly suppliant who casts aside every plea save the Divine compassion.
“I have tried, and tried in vain,
Many ways to ease my pain;
Now all other hope is past,
Only this is left at last:
Here before thy cross I lie,
Here I live, or here I die.
“If I perish, be it here,
With the Friend of sinners near;
Lord, it is enoughI know
Never sinner perished so:
Here before thy cross I lie,
Here I cannot, cannot die!”
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Est 4:1-3
Distress.
We have a very vivid picture, in these few touches, of a nation’s exceeding sorrow. We are reminded of
I. THE HEARTLESSNESS AND IMPOTENCE OF TYRANNY IN REGARD TO IT. The king could cheerfully speak the word which caused the calamity, and then, when its sorrow surged up to his palace wall, shut his doors against the entrance of any sign of it; “for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth” (Est 4:2). The tyrant first becomes responsible for grievous and widespread woe, and then takes measures to prevent its utterance from disturbing his royal pleasure or repose. Such is selfishness in unchecked power. But though heartless, it will discover the limits of its sway; the hour will come when it will find itself impotent as a leaf in the flood; when the loud and bitter cry of a people’s wrongs and sufferings will pass the sovereign’s guards and penetrate his gates, will find entrance to his chamber and smite his soul.
II. ITS CRAVING FOR EXPRESSION. “Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes,.; and cried with a loud and bitter cry” (Est 4:1). “And in every province.; there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes” (Est 4:3). All strong feeling craves utterance; joy in song, grief in tears. In this case intensity of national distress found expression in the most speaking and striking forms to which Eastern misery and despair were accustomed to resortin “sackcloth and ashes;” a “loud and bitter cry;” “fasting, and weeping, and wailing” To command ourselves when we suffer pain or stand in grave peril is manly and virtuous. Yet it is but shallow wisdom to say that crying will not make it better. There is real and valuable relief in the act of utterance. In saddest griefs the worst sign of all is a dead silence, the undimmed eye.
“Home they brought her warrior dead;
She nor swooned nor uttered cry.
All her maidens, watching, said,
She must weep, or she will die.”
Even the “loud and bitter cry” is not without its worth to the heart that utters it (Esau Gen 27:34). Sorrow may utter itself in many ways; the best of all is in prayerin hallowed, soothing, reassuring communion with our heavenly Father, telling all our tale of grief in the ear of our Divine Friend. Next best is human sympathythe unburdening of our souls to our most tried and sympathising friend. We may well be thankful that he has so “fashioned our hearts alike” that we can reckon on true and intense sympathy in the time of our distress. A third channel is in sacred poetry. How many of the bereaved have had to bless God for the hymns and poems in which their own grief has found utterance, through which it has found most valuable relief.
III. ITS PITEOUSNESS.
1. We are moved by it. Our hearts are stirred to their depth by the recital of the woes which are endured by great numbers of men and women, when fire, or flood, or famine, or the sword of man comes down upon them in irresistible calamity.
2. Are not the angels of God moved by it, and do not these “ministering spirits” with unseen hands minister then to the children of need and sorrow?
3. God himself, we know, is moved by it. I have surely seen the affliction of my people” (Exo 3:7). He “heard their groaning” (Exo 2:24). If the woe of the world is not doubled, it is largely swollen by the sorrowful sympathy it excites. But it is well it should be so, for such sympathy is good for those who feel it, and it is the spring of remedy and removal.
IV. THE DISTRESS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. Looking on the afflicted Israelites at this crisis of their history, we may regard them as a type of the Church of God in its distress. Thus regarding the subject, we remark
1. That God allows his Church to pass through very strange and trying scenes. It is wholly inexplicable to us, but it is a certain fact that he has done so, and it is probable that he will do so again. There have been, and will be, crises in its history. Persecution will assail it. Infidelity will seek to undermine it. Worldliness will endeavour to corrupt it. It may go hard with it, and its very life be threatened.
2. That in its distress and danger it must seek Divine deliverance. God only can, and he will rescue and restore. At the eleventh hour, perhaps, but then, if not earlier, he will interpose and save. But his aid must be
(1) earnestly,
(2) continuously,
(3) believingly sought by his faithful children.C.
HOMILIES BY W. DINWIDDLE
Est 4:1-3
An unyielding grief.
I. THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY ONE EVIL ACT CANNOT BE ESTIMATED. It was easy for Haman to draw up the instrument of destruction, and for the king to let him affix his signet to it, and then for both to sit down to drink; but very soon through that easily-performed act thousands of families were plunged into an agony of terror and grief. One sin committed lightly may extend widely, and descend to many generations in its disastrous effects. There is no calculating the issues-of evil. The chief enemy to the happiness of men is man, through the evil that is in him. “Man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.”
II. A RELIGIOUS VIRTUE MAY BE BROUGHT TO SPECIAL SUFFERING BY GIVING OCCASION TO THE MALEVOLENT WRATH OF AN EVIL MIND. We can understand how Mordecai, when he learned the diabolic scheme of revenge which Haman had set on foot, should have been almost unmanned by his horror and grief. Was not the decreed slaughter of all his countrymen the result of his own conduct towards Haman? This thought would bite into his soul. Israel might have been in safety and peace but for him. Of all the griefs awakened by the king’s proclamation, Mordecai’s would be the greatest. See here
1. How grief varies in its outward manifestations. To us Mordecai’s behaviour may seem wild and unreasonable. But in the East such signs of mourning were the rule, and even amongst Western peoples wailings in times of bereavement are not uncommon. Real sorrow is glad to embrace any outlet that may ease its inward burden. Differences of temperament also, as well as of custom, have much to do with differing expressions of grief.
2. How deep grief kills every sense of danger. Mordecai raised his “loud and bitter cry in the midst of the city,” and at length seemed about to enter the king’s palace, when he was reminded that sackcloth was not allowed to show itself there. Such conduct was very bold; the king and his favourite were set at nought by it. But it must be attributed to the fearlessness of a profound grief which could not but tell itself forth in spite of consequences.
3. How vain the attempt is to enclose any spot or circle of human life from the inroads of suffering. Esther’s elevation to the throne did not make the happiness secure which it brought to herself and Mordecai. Neither did the foolish law that prohibited sackcloth or any sign of mourning from entering the king’s gate prevent the intrusion of sorrow into that guarded sanctuary of ease and lust. Many hope to avoid grief by avoiding its signs and scenes, and by surrounding themselves with all that is pleasant and joyous. But the hope is vain. Whatever may be their success or failure, there is one visitor which cannot be warded off. Into every palace and cottage alike death perforce enters, and brings its own solemn gloom. Every human life, however resplendent in worldly attributes, must in the end succumb to that assailant. Happy the soul that possesses the life eternal, God’s gift to men in his Son, which swallows up death in victory (1Co 15:54-57).
III. GODLY PRINCIPLE SHOWS ITS STRENGTH BY REMAINING FIRM IN PRESENCE OF ANY SUFFERING WHICH IT MAY BRING ON ITSELF OR ON OTHERS. Amidst all his grief and fear Mordecai never entertained the idea of withdrawing from the stand which he had made against Haman. We find him some time afterwards still maintaining his erect and defiant attitude, and thereby increasing the malignity of the favourite. His example is a noble one, but it is not singular. Our Lord himself forewarned his disciples of the sufferings they would have to endure for his name’s sake (Joh 16:1-4), yet he calmly pursued his course, and laid on his followers all the burden of his cross. Nor were his apostles unlike him. Taking up his cross, they freely laid it on others. They were never weakened in their labours by fear of the persecutions, cruelties, losses, and deaths which resulted from the reception of their gospel. If we do our duty to God we may safely leave results in his hand. Mordecai’s firmness in obeying religious principle at all costs ultimately taught him and others this great lesson.D.
Est 4:4-12
Sympathy.
Mordecai’s strange appearance at the king’s gate made a stir in the palace. It was seen by Esther’s “maids and chamberlains,” and by them it was described to the queen. When Esther heard of the condition of the man whom she loved as a parent she was “exceedingly grieved.” Then she took such measures as she could to show how much she felt and suffered with Mordecai. Let us learn from her conduct
I. THAT IN TIMES OF TRIAL THE SYMPATHY OF THOSE WHOM WE LOVE IS A PRECIOUS THING. When Esther sent robes to Mordecai to replace his sackcloth, and loving messages with them, she would pour a real solace into his sorely-tried heart. She did not know at first the cause of his anguish, but she did her best to put her own loving heart beside his, and by the sweet contact to comfort and strengthen him in his mysterious sorrow. In many cases of suffering we can do little more than pour into the ear a breath of sympathy. That often is the best blessing that can be given or received. We should all cherish and freely exhibit” a fellow-feeling” with those of our friends who are “in any distress.”
II. THAT A TRUE SYMPATHY IS EAGER TO EXPRESS ITSELF IN BENEFICIAL ACTION. Esther’s first attempt to comfort Mordecai having failed, she sent a trusted servant to him to ascertain what his so loudly-pronounced manifestations of sorrow really meant. She could not live in peace while he was in such visible unrest. She longed to know all, that she might do all that she could. It is not good to indulge in idle sentiment. Many are content if they feel well, or surrender themselves for a time to tender emotions. No practical good results from their sensibility, nor is any intended. There is a good feeling which is satisfied with itself. Such was not Esther’s. Let us beware of it (see Mat 7:21; Mat 21:28-31; Luk 10:33-35).
III. THAT THE MOST EAGER SYMPATHY MAY SEEM HELPLESS IN PRESENCE OF THE OBJECTS THAT ATTRACT IT. When Esther learned through Hatach the cause of Mordecai’s distress, and received the copy of the royal decree, her sorrow and sympathy would be greatly intensified. They were now extended to all her people. Yet, queen as she was, she felt unable to do anything to give help. There are troubles before which the most powerful have to confess themselves powerless. Few griefs are so keen as that which springs from a conscious inability to satisfy the heart’s compassionate yearnings. In connection with Esther’s difficulties let us notice here
1. Mordecai’s charge. It was that, after reading the royal decree, Esther should go to the king and make supplication before him for her people (verse 8). This he laid upon her as a solemn duty. The obligations of duty are increased by high position and influence.
2. Esther’s strait. However willing to obey Mordecai, Esther was aware of a twofold obstacle to her following his guidance in this instance. It was a universally known law of the Persian court that no one, man or woman, should approach the king uninvited under the penalty of death (verse 11). The life of any intruder, on whatever mission, could only be saved by the king’s holding out to him or her his golden sceptre. In ordinary circumstances the unbidden entrance of the queen would be most likely to receive the royal sign of safety and welcome. But Esther had a special fact to communicate to Mordecai on this point. For thirty days, or a month, the king had never sought her company, and she had no hope that he might now give her an opportunity of speaking to him. This forgetfulness of Esther on the part of the king may perhaps have been owing to the vicious influence of Haman.
IV. THAT TESTING OCCASIONS ARISE IN THE HISTORY OF EVERY LIFE. No position, however exalted, is free from them. Many fail to meet them honestly and heroically, and therefore suffer more than they gain by them. Happy are those who, under the power of faith and a sense of duty, withstand and conquer them to good ends (1Pe 1:6, 1Pe 1:7).D.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Est 4:5
The cry of the wretched.
“Then called Esther for Hatach, and gave him a command to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.” Esther hears of Mordecai’s grief from her maids and chamberlains. She sends raiment first. She then sends Hatach to ask Mordecai “what his grief is, and why it is.” She is much troubled when she learns the real state of danger in which he and herself are placed. She does not seem to have thought so much about her people as about her uncle, who had been unto her as a father.
I. THOSE LIVING IN LUXURY AND EASE, AWAY FROM THE SIGHT OF THE TROUBLES OF THE POOR, OFTEN DO NOT FEEL ANXIOUS FOR THEIR WELFARE. This is the tendency of all luxurious life, that we measure the position of others by our own; or we think not of others as having such fine feelings. We believe it is one of the great evils of the present day that the struggle to attain and maintain what is called refined life and position, society, is crushing out the sympathy once felt for those on the lower levels. An indifferentism to their claims springs up in proportion to the anxiety to gratify personal selfishness.
II. THERE ARE MANY MORDECAIS IN EVERY CITY WEARING THE SACKCLOTH OF POVERTY, AND BEARING THE ASHES OF SORROW, WHO HAVE A STRONG CLAIM ON THE SYMPATHY OF CHRISTIANS. They want something more than mere doled-out crumbs of charity; they need a heartfelt sympathy, and real help. This is what Christ gave them on earth. He, the most intellectual, refined, and sinless Being that ever lived, bent to the lowliest, strengthened the weakest, bore with the frailest, came into closest contact with disease and sin, so that it seemed that he “himself took our infirmities,” and became “sin for us.” His whole life was a going out of self and living for others.H.
Est 4:14
Discerning opportunities.
“Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” We can imagine Esther saying to herself, “Away with all my cowardice, my weak-heartedness. Why should I fear to go and plead for my people?” She says to herself, “Can I be so unworthy of my descent as an Israelite? Will God forsake me when striving to save and serve his chosen people? Come, O thou that leddest thy people as a flock, and lead me now to a prosperous ending of my hazardous work! O thou that didst break the power of Pharaoh, restrain that of our enemy! O thou that didst go forth with Joshua and help him by hailstorms from heaven against the Amalekites, unsheathe thy sword against this Agagite, this Haman who seeks our hurt! Cause me, O God, like Miriam, to praise thee in gladsome song because the enemy and his designs are alike overthrown. Unworthy am I to be an instrument in thine hands; yet, if I come to the kingdom for such a time as this, make me ready to do thy will.”
I. OPPORTUNITIES FOR DOING GOOD COME TO CHRISTIANS IN EVERY PLACE. They can benefit their family, the nation, or the Church.
II. Opportunities of doing good SHOULD BE SEIZED, Gone, they may have passed for ever. Generally the opportunities of doing the greatest good are brief. The time of the death edict is approaching.
III. If opportunities are neglected it is well to have REMINDERS. Parents, friends, or ministers may be as reminding Mordecais.
IV. The thought that an opportunity is SPECIALLY GIVEN BY GOD FOR SERVING HIM has a great effect in leading to the performance of duty.H.
HOMILIES BY W. DINWIDDLE
Est 4:13-17
A bold faith.
I. DIFFICULTIES DO NOT DAUNT THE STRONG. Mordecai quite understood the force of the twofold barrier to Esther’s appealing to the king. Yet if it had been a hundredfold he would have urged her to face it. Neither a legal folly nor any amount of personal risk could justify irresolution or inaction when a whole people might be saved by a bold attempt. Obstacles that seem insurmountable in ordinary times dwindle much in presence of great emergencies.
II. IF WE ARE TRUE TO GOD OURSELVES WE SHALL WISH AND PRAY THAT OUR BELOVED ONES MAY BE TRUE ALSO. No being on earth was so precious to Mordecai as Esther, but his very love would long to see her faithful to her God and country. Esther would have been to him no longer what she had been in the past if now she had failed to undertake the mission which God seemed to lay upon her. Parents send forth their sons to do battle for their country, and they would much rather that they should die on the field than prove recreant to honour and duty.
III. A FAITHFUL LOVE IS RATIONAL IN ITS DEMANDS. We should neither make sacrifice ourselves, nor ask sacrifice from others, without good cause. In such cases we should be clear in our faith and judgment. To Mordecai Esther seemed the one appointed instrument of thwarting Haman and saving Israel. The reasons of this conviction he stated to the queen with great simplicity and force. Let us look at them.
1. As a Jewess, her life was already doomed. Let the edict once be put in force, let blood once be shed, and even she would not escape, any more than Vashti, the immutability of Persian law. Better to risk life in trying to prevent a dreadful iniquity than to expose it by a timid quiescence to almost certain death.
2. If she failed, deliverance would come by another. Here was an expression of a strong and prophetic faith; and in it we learn the secret of Mordecai’s persistent opposition to Haman. He trusted in God, and had a firm persuasion that God would yet deliver his people. Esther and her house might be destroyed, but some other saviour would be raised up to testify to the faithfulness anal omnipotence of the God of Israel. God is not dependent on any one instrument, or on any multiple of one. He raises up and casts down at will, and chooses his servants. Amidst all the weaknesses of his people his covenant stands sure.
3. She might have been raised to the throne just for the purpose of saving her people at this juncture. The circumstances of her elevation were peculiar. There was a mystery in them which indicated to the thoughtful Mordecai the hand of God. To some extent the mystery was now explained. Esther was the instrument provided by God for the “enlargement and deliverance of Israel.” Every opportunity of doing good is virtually a Divine call. When God points the way we should pursue it, at whatever cost, as the only right way. The providence of God is often remarkably shown in the occasions which demand from us special service for him and his people.
IV. A MIND THAT CLOSES ITSELF AGAINST CONVICTION IS ITS OWN ENEMY. Whether from fear, or pride, or evil inclinations, many harden themselves against the demonstrations of reason and experience; they shut the window of the soul against any fresh light. They take a stand which implies the impossibility of any change or advancement. Reasoning is lost on them. But Esther at once felt and acknowledged the force of Mordecai’s argument. She could not resist it, and did not try. Her heart was convinced, and in the answer she returned she frankly confessed it. An openness to conviction is a condition of growth and usefulness; stubborn prejudice is a bar to wisdom and its fruits.
V. CONVICTIONS SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN ACTION. We are often tempted to act in opposition to the dictates of our inward judgment. The will may fail to be governed even by the deepest conviction. It is sad when acknowledged truth and actual conduct are at variance with each other. Esther affords us an example of loyal obedience to conviction, in face of the weightiest temptation to set it aside. Having been convinced by Mordecai’s representations, she resolved to do what these urged upon her as a sacred duty. And in the words by which she conveyed her purpose to Mordecai she gave a remarkable display of
1. Piety. The three days’ fast which she laid on herself and her maidens inside the palace, and on Mordecai and the Jews of Shushan, was a humble and prayerful casting of the whole matter on Divine help. No mention is made of prayers, but the fast was all a prayer. The queen knew her own weakness; she knew also the true Source of strength; she felt that the work was God’s, and that she was but a feeble instrument in his hands; and, therefore, she desired her countrymen to unite with her in humiliation and supplication before the God of Israel. Trial achieves much of its purpose when it brings a soul thus to the feet of God under a sense of dependence on his merciful succour. Victory is really won when endangered weakness feels itself under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. Heroism. All irresolution had now faded from Esther’s mind. Having appealed to God, she was no longer doubtful; strength had already been given her. She was prepared for the sacrifice. “If I perish, I perish.“ A godly heroism!one inspired by God and fed by communion with him. Esther’s words were not emotional, or self-confident, or desperate; they were the result of earnest meditation, and must not be separated from her proposal of a three days’ fast. We are reminded by them of the words of our Lord when communing with his Father before he went to the cross: “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.” Esther is a type of Israel’s Messiah. We see in her conduct at this time the working of that Holy Spirit who led God’s Son to the sacrifice of himself for the salvation of men.
VI. THE WAY INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE KING OF KINGS is open and free to all who truly seek him. To the earnest suppliant or loving child the Divine majesty is not hedged round by formalities that create distance and terror. God is near to all who call upon him. He dwells with the humble and contrite. All may come to him by the way that he has consecrated in his Son, and come at any time. None are refused a hearing and a welcome. There is joy in the presence of his angels over every one that seeks his face.D.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Est 4:15-17
Resolving to run risks.
Deep and intense, if not prolonged, must have been the struggle in the breast of the beautiful queen of Persia. The doom that awaited her if she was unfavourably received was terrible, and would be immediately executed. She had not only to do that which was “not according to the law” (Est 4:16), but also to ask a great boon of the king, to bring before him her Jewish extraction, and to measure her influence against that of the great favourite. She did not seem at this time to be in any especial favour with Ahasuerus (Est 4:11), and it appeared as if the human chances were much against success. But the nobler motives triumphed in the struggle; she would not refuse to attempt this great deliverance, let come what might. The worst was death, and “if she perished, she perished” (Est 4:16). These are memorable words; if they are not often on human lips, the thought which breathes in them is often in human minds, and the feeling of which they are eloquent is often in human hearts. Men in every age and land are running great risks, trusting everything to one cast of the dice, imperilling life, or much if not all that makes life dear, on some one hazard. The words of Esther are sometimes found on lips unworthy to use them; they are perverted or misapplied. Sometimes they are
(1) the motto of a foolish fatalism. There is a certain keen but desperate pleasure in the intense excitement which precedes the moment when for- tunes are either made or lost. The gambler, as well as the hypocrite, “has his reward,” such as it is, in the slaking of that feverish thirst for highly-wrought feeling, and he either wins what he he has not fairly earned, and what he is certain to squander in dissipation, or he loses perhaps all the precious fruits of many years’ toil. He risks everything on one throw, and “if he perishes, he perishes. In whatever ways men run such risks, whether it be a kingdom or a fortune or a competency, they greatly exceed their rights; they run risks which they have no moral right to run, and are walking in a perilous and guilty path. These words are
(2) the expression of a needless fear. It is sometimes said by those who are anxiously seeking salvation, that if they perish, they will perish at the foot of the cross. This is, perhaps, only the trembling of a great hope, the shadow of a new and great joy. The earnest soul seeking salvation from sin through Christ Jesus cannot perish. He that believeth shall not perish. God’s word, which is the very strongest basis on which to build any hope, is our sure guarantee. So also with the future blessedness. We need not, in presence of death, indulge even in this measure of uncertainty. Death is finally conquered. Christ is the Lord of life eternal, and will most assuredly bestow it on all who love his name. We shall not perish in the darkness of death, but live on in the brightness of immortal glory. That, however, to which these words of Esther are specially applicable is this; they are
THE UTTERANCE OF MORAL HEROISM. Esther came to her conclusion after serious and earnest thought. Her life was dear to her. She had everything to make it precious and worth keeping if she honourably could, but affection for her kindred and interest in her race weighed all selfish considerations down. She would go forward, and if she did perish, her life thus lost would not be a vain and worthless sacrifice, but a glorious martyrdom. Such struggles men are still called on to pass through, such victory to gain: the soldier as he steps into rank on the day of battle; the philanthropist as he visits the hospital or waits on the wounded ones lying stricken on the field of slaughter; the physician as he goes his round when the pestilence is raging; the sailor as he mans the lifeboat; the evangelist as he penetrates into the haunt of the vicious and the violent criminal; the missionary as he lands among the savage tribe. In presence of this risk-running of ours, we remark
1. That though we may timidly shrink at first, yet afterwards we may do noble service. Witness this case of Esther, and that of Moses (Exo 4:13).
2. That if not the greater, yet the lesser risks we should all be ready to run. If not life itself (1Jn 3:16), some precious things in life. Something surely, if not much, in health, or money, or friendship, or reputation, or comfort we will venture for Christ and for our fellows. If we never undertake anything but that in which there is perfect security from injury and loss, we shall do nothing, we shall “stand all the day idle.”
3. That we have the very strongest inducement to run great risks. The will of Christ (Mat 16:25); the example of Christ; the example of Christian heroes and heroines; the crying need of the world; the blessed alternative of present triumph, for if we perish we do not perish, but live eternally.
4. That we should sustain the hands of those who are passing through perils for us. Esther s maidens and “the Jews present in Shushan (verse 16) fasted (and prayed), that the end might be as they hoped. We who wait while others labour or fight must “strengthen our brethren;” we must seek by our earnest prayer to touch the hand that turns the heart of kings, and that holds and guides all the threads of human destiny.C.
HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER
Est 4:14
The suggestion for the hour.
“And knoweth whether the art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? The history is very easily understood as carried forward in the preceding thirteen verses of this chapter. The faith of Mordecai does not always seem at its best, and his apparent suspicion of Esther (verse 14) seems scarcely in close accord with the thought that “deliverance will arise to the Jews” from some quarter. Probably he felt that it was his to use all the means, to let nothing go by default, and to tax himself with an hundredfold earnestness of effort, since by his conduct it was that the present calamity had found its occasion. And, on the other hand, one cannot but notice and admire how his mind evidently searched all round for the providence of the God of himself and his people. This it is which transpires in this passage, “And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” We may forget awhile the relation which existed between Mordecai and Esther; for it is neither teacher nor taught that need monopolise attention, though in this case they naturally attract it. But let us notice
I. THE EXACT POSITION WHICH NEEDED STIMULATING HELP AND DIRECTION.
1. It was one that could not have been calculated for or provided against. It was unforeseen, and it would have been unreasonable to exact that it should have been foreseen. As matter of fact, Mordecai’s stored memory might possibly have been able to produce historical instances of atrocities in their outside like the present. But, even then, not as the result of the offence of one unimportant individual offered to one courtier. The hand of Mordecai had indeed touched a spring which set going unexpected machinery of fearful kind to unexpectedly threatening effect. But the touching of that spring was not an idle act. It was not an accidental or an inquisitive act. It was better even than an innocent act. For it was right and brave, and full of moral courage. Of the many times we find ourselves involved in perplexity, in unexpected danger, how often can we say as much as this?
2. It was one involving the tenderest considerations. Apprehensions were indefinitely intensified by the interests of incalculable moment which were known to be concerned. Hearts inexpressibly dear, lives innumerable, and invested now more than ever with an awful and mysterious sacredness, were in question. These were the very things to unedge discernment and to unnerve purpose.
3. It was an occasion, the whole weight of which showed now as if gathering into one bulk, and moving over the head and anxious heart of one woman. It is apparent throughout, even when Mordecai seems to urge Esther, and not to pity, that her one. her only unresting desire was to know the rightest, best course to take. She was already a gilded victim, a captive bird that had ever most of all loved freedom, a prisoner in fetters, not less fetters because each link was of wrought gold. How could she tune her harp, and sweep its strings, and sing her song in that strange place? Yet he who loved her dearest and most prised all that she was, helpless to resist the rapacity of those who rifled his honest threshold, kept as near as possible to that prison of a palace, that it was, which held her (Est 2:11). He found in his heart the undying seed of some faith, and some inexplicable hope, that there was possibly a reason in it all, and a use for it all, and that “somehow good would be the final goal of ill” so hard to bear. In all the inimitable brevity of Scripture, what a tale of love and loss, and of the hanging on to uncertain hope, escapee from within these fewest words! And was it she, the object of this tender solicitude, who was competent to bear the overhanging load of responsibility, and the brunt of blame, in case of failure? Stouter hearts and of sterner stuff than all with which we can credit Esther would collapse before the prospect.
4. It was an occasion distracted by aggravating contradictions. If all is to depend on Esther, as she is now urged to believe, there was every motive for action, but overwhelming reasons for inaction. Love, apparent duty, urgent expostulation, the pressure of beloved command, the impetus of long habits of obedience, all pointed one way, and said one thing. But it was not the merely slothful man’s lion in the way that bid her beware of that way, and think of another. No; it was reason, by the dictates of which men not only rightly act, but also rightly abstain from acting. It was calmness of judgment, the more to be admired because the circumstances were enough to unbalance almost any judgment. It was matter of knowledge with Esther, and of universal consent in addition, that the peril was what none but the madman, or the desperate, or the extremity of despair itself would dare to face. Can this be defended then as just ground for moral action, when there are ten thousand chances against you, and what you endanger is your all? There can be no doubt as to the right answer to this, except for the occasion, the emergency of which lies in the fact that some advance must be made. Those passages of life, far from unknown to us, which are of this kind still present the most trying problems of our whole history.
II. THE EXACT POSITION WHICH THE INSTRUCTOR TOOK.
1. It was one that seemed hard, that inclined to the unfeeling. This is exactly what a teacher’s position must not unfrequently seem, seem without being so. Even to those who overhear, his tones sound sharp and quick, just as those of Mordecai do now to us. We must do justice to Mordecai. We may justly suppose that he knew the circumstances precisely, the mental character of Esther precisely, the precise point of the dangerous way where she would need a moment’s quick help, the momentary stimulus of the master’s sharp summons, lest she should yield. “Even as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty.” Mordecai knew that history, and dared not take for granted that his Esther was better, safer, stronger than God’s Eve. The luxurious palace of Persia was a poor travesty of the charms of Eden, but it had its seductions. And there was no knowing where the serpent did not lurk.
2. It was one that applied itself to move at once that whole description of hindrance to right action which arises from self-regard. This is a native principle, one of the greatest significance, of essential and unnumbered uses. The vast mass of humanity could never be moved along of any external force whatsoever; but this Divine contrivance, this merciful provisiona spring of energy and action in each and every unit of which the mass is madethrows life into it. The unwieldy loses its unwieldiness, its movements are determined, and its advance is irresistible. Valuable, however, as this principle of self-regard, it easily oversteps a certain border-line. All the indications with regard to Esther look another way. She has self-regard, she is the opposite of selfish. At first the tone of Mordecai seems somewhat out of harmony, however, with this supposition. But, on the other hand, it is quite open to us to believe that he had no individual suspicion of Esther. He distrusted not her, but the extreme peril of the situation for human nature. His well-versed knowledge, by experience and by observation, of the dangerous points where human nature was liable to the most sudden and disastrous break-downs made him tremble for the Esther he loved so well. These two things he knew: first, that there was in sight a certain powerful assault of temptation for Esther; secondly, that one of the grandest achievements of any shepherd of souls is when he cuts off the enemy’s approach by the simple method of preventing the object of attack from straying away alone.
3. Last of all, when these negative preparations were made a great step in advance is taken. We will suppose that Mordecai had done some little violence to his own feelings and affections, for he had not been accustomed before to use such peremptory tones or personal arguments to Esther. But it was worth while to take some pains, in order to prepare for the moment that was coming. The moment had come. He plies his last argument. He knows it is his best by far. He watches for its effect, but without much doubt as to what it would be. From the lower arguments of policy, of appeal to feeling, of memory dishonoured, he crosses over to religious appeal. It scarcely amounted to appeal. It was a fruitful hint. Let it fall in the right soil, and fertile as the soil, so fruitful would the seed be. A woman’s discernment is notably quick, and her sight intuition, and the eye of Esther opened and met the eye of Heaven falling on her and on all her anxiety. This eye, like that of a portrait, followed her now everywhere. And timid, baffled, almost numb faith felt its own hand again, and reached it forth to that which was offered to it. This was the suggestion that solved the problem, exiled hesitation, and decided that action should get the better of inaction,”And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”B.
Est 4:16
Self’s supreme capitulation.
“If I perish, I perish.” The suggestion of Providence being concerned in the matter was like life from the dead to Esther. The idea of Providence having been now some time working up to this point was an immense comfort and impulse to her mind. It was a flash of light that lit up the whole scene for one moment. And when that one moment was sped, the darkness that returned was not. as before, unrelieved. There was a distinct line of light athwart it. Confidence as to the final issue of all was far from present. Nothing like absolute conviction that in the end all would be well could Esther boast. Suspense in some shape still prolonged its unwelcomed sojourn. But it was no longer the agonised suspense of not knowing what to do, of not knowing whether to move at all. The pent-up heart is bad enough, but solitary confinement must make it much worse. Pent-up hope is a terrible strain, but the strain becomes much worse when it must be tolerated without one active effort, one healthy struggle. This phase of things had now passed by for Esther. She had gone faithfully through it, and was none the worse for having treated it as a thing that needed to be gone through faithfully and unhurriedly. Mordecai was not necessarily in the right when he seemed to wonder at Esther’s hesitation. Though we credit him with being a wise man, a good man, and very full of pride in Esther and love to her, Esther very likely felt that he had not put himself quite in her position, and could not do so. But it was because she had gone faithfully through the struggle, and well looked at the question on both sides, and considered its alternative difficulties and perils, that when enough light did come she used it in a moment; and when thought had done its fair amount of work, hesitation fled, and determination succeeded to its place. To wearied human inquiry, to exhausted human resources, to bewildered human wisdom, comes in most welcome the ministry little thought of before, of the Invisible. You are immediately disposed to gift it with omniscience and all power. And the theory of a Providence, anticipating, interposing, overruling, becomes faith. It is embraced with ardour, and soon shows that it possesses the highest stimulus to duty. This never fails to answer obedient to its call, even though when it answers obedient it brings this exclamation to the steps of the altar, “If I perish, I perish!” Let us observe that this is the impassioned exclamation
I. Of one WHO FELT THE RELIEF OF AT LAST SEEING DUTY. The mind must have groped about in darkness, must have been distressed by doubt, must have known conflict even to anguish, before it would have expressed itself thus, and here is some part of its relief. Esther had come to see it, not “through tears,” perhaps, with their more purified light, but through the most painful obscurities and harassing incertitude.
II. Of one WHO SAW DUTY TO FOLLOW IT at its proper cost. The sight of duty is often the signal for shutting the eyes, for turning the back, for filling the mind with diverting occupation, for trying, by one method or another, to forget it. Not so here.
III. Of one whose fixed resolve WAS NOT DUE TO DESPERATION, nor to stoicism; not due to over-wrought feeling, nor to blunted sense and affection and faculty. The fixed determination here betokened was that of one who had “counted the cost,” who evidently felt the cost to be that denoted by a very large price, and one which merited consideration first.
IV. Of one WHO HAD SO ESTIMATED THE TASK WHICH SHE WAS TO ATTEMPT THAT SHE BEGGED HELP, begged sympathybegged that chiefest kind of help, the union of all kindred souls in religious exercises, in religious prostration before the Unseen, in the faith unfeigned which believed it possible and right to strive with all conceivable endeavour to influence and prevail upon the sovereign Disposer of all things.
V. Of one WHOSE ENTERPRISE, IF FATAL, WAS BOUND TO WIN THE CROWN OF THE MARTYR. Whose enterprise, if not fatal, but yet unsuccessful, bore testimony to the will, the courage, the spirit of the martyr. Whose enterprise, if neither fatal nor unsuccessful, but, on the contrary, leading the way to more abundant glory and joy here, yet still had this testimony about it, that it had practically shown the best part of any sacrifice, and through the cross had reached the crown.
VI. Of one WHOSE SPIRIT BREATHED RESIGNATION WHERE IT DID NOT REACH TO THE SUBLIMER HEIGHT OF TRUST. For whatever reason, Esther had not attained to the exercise of a calm trust. She more distrusted the badness of the circumstances than she trusted the goodness of her cause; the badness of the king’s whim than the goodness of the purpose which was far above his; the badness of the earthly law than the goodness of that mercy which is “high as the heavens and vast as the clouds.” It would seem evident that her knowledge was not clear. One of the people of God, yet, for want of priest and prophet, of sacrifice and of temple-worship, of dream, of oracle, of seer, times went hard with her religious education. The “word of God was precious in those days,” and in that land of her captivity; and she the sufferer thereby.
The lessons suggested by the language of this supreme scene in the conflict of Esther are numerous, and of a remarkably diversified kind.
1. The figure of human virtue here is impressive in its consent to bow to vicarious suffering, though it were only consent; in its love, and solicitude, and obedience, and in the conduct of its own struggles.
2. The reproach is ever memorable which it conveys to how manywhose knowledge is light itself, yet whose thought and deed fall so far below those of one whose knowledge was manifestly very partial, very clouded.
3. The cry is arresting because of its strong sympathy of tone with the cry of one who feels himself a real sinner against the law of God, and finds himself as yet more “driven” because of the conviction of that sin, and the overshading dread of its liability to punishment, than he finds himself drawn of the mercy of his God, and able to repose deep, calm trust in his Saviour. The soul urged by conviction of sin, oppressed with the sense of its desert of wrath, and tremblingly afraid of death, has often found its way aright to the cross, though to use words carrying the most impossible of significations for any, once arrived there”If I perish, I perish!”
4. Whatever we may justly admire of the spirit of Esther here displayed, and of the steps by which she rose to it as she contemplated her own possible and, as she thought, likely sacrifice, how glad we are to turn away to the tremendously favourable contrast of him whose vicarious sufferings, whose infinite love, whose eternal sacrifice, was certain, was voluntary, was cheerful amid surpassing anguish, and patient with the patience of the lamb sacrificed.B.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Est 4:16
Prayer and resolve.
“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me,” etc.
I. ESTHER‘S FAITH IN PRAYER. She looks to God, not to man. She has faith not only in her own prayers, but in those of others. She feels her need of the prayers of others. She is ready to share that which she enjoins on others.
II. ESTHER‘S PIETY KNOWN IN THE PALACE. Her maidens are so under her influence that she knows that they all will be ready to join in the observance of fasting and in offering prayer to the God of Israel. This was a remarkable thing, remembering that these maidens belonged to an Oriental and pagan court.
III. ESTHER‘S DECISION TO DARE ANYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS. Great her decision of character! She will not let the opportunity for helping others pass, and then strive to atone for her neglect by useless regrets. How great her devotion! “If I perish, I perish!” She would certainly have perished if she had not gone in to the king. The decrees of a Persian monarch were unalterable. Remember how Darius was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, and laboured to the going down of the sun to deliver him. He doubtless sought to devise means of maintaining the law and yet evading its import. Into the den of ]ions Daniel, the king’s favourite, was cast, and to the slaughter Esther, though queen, would have been, by ruthless decree, when the time was come; but prayer, fasting, decision, saved her. God interposed to soften the heart of the king, as well as to give him a sleepless night, perhaps from a disturbed conscience.H.
HOMILIES BY D. ROWLANDS
Est 4:14
Providence and human agency.
We are very apt to under-estimate the value of our own lives. When we contemplate the countless worlds which constitute the universe, the countless ages which make up duration, how unspeakably insignificant do we and our affairs appear l But we must not be misled by such reflections. Even as the presence of the least particle conceivable affects all material existence, so the most insignificant human life influences in some measure the eternal course of events. Mordecai wished to impress Esther with a due sense of her own responsibility. She was not an ordinary individual, but a queen; she was allied to the man who swayed the destinies of nations; her position invested her with boundless power for good or evil. The time had come when she must either act in a manner becoming her resources, must use the opportunities at her disposal to save her people, or incur the guilt of neglecting her duty at the most momentous crisis. As a Jew, Mordecai believed in Providence, but not in a Providence that weakened human responsibility. Let us consider the main points emphasised here.
I. THAT PROVIDENCE IS INDEPENDENT OF HUMAN AGENCY. “For if thou altogether boldest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place.” These words suggest
1. That Providence is a well-established fact. The confidence of Mordecai was doubtless begotten of a conviction that God governs the affairs of men. To him this was not a matter of speculation; for, apart from the teaching of reason, he enjoyed the light of revelation, and was familiar with the wonderful history of his people. Some profess to derive comfort from their atheism. They rejoice to think that there is no God; or, if there be one, that he has left the world to manage for itself. As well might the passengers in a railway train be jubilant because they had got rid of the engineer, and were left to the mercy of an unguided locomotive.
2. Tidal the designs of Providence are never thwarted. The Jews had not yet fulfilled their mission. The great Deliverer of mankind who was to come out of Judah had not appeared. Mordecai knew that until the Divine purposes were accomplished the nation could not be destroyed. Hence the sublime assurance of his speech. The Jews had passed through a similar crisis before, when Pharaoh pursued them through the Red Sea. Profane history abounds with like instances. The Greeks were about to be. crushed by the iron heel of the invader when they won the battle of Marathon. The English nearly lost their independence through the Spanish Armada, which the tempest scattered to the four winds of heaven. We should never be bowed down by calamities. If we are children of the great Father we need not fear. Above, beneath, and around us there are unseen powers which steadily carry out his eternal decrees.
3. That Providence is the refuge of the oppressed. To no other power could the Jews have appealed in their dire distress. The wealth, and rank, and influence of the greatest empire in the world were against them. We need not wonder if they gave way to despair. But the God of Abraham had arranged for their sure deliverance. The labours of legislators, philanthropists, and divines had been powerless to release the negro race in the United States of America from their intolerable bondage. Their wrongs seemed to multiply, and their fetters to be more securely fastened, as the years rolled on. But an incident as terrible as it was unexpectedthe civil warled them to liberty. Let the oppressor tremble, and the oppressed be encouraged; for the triumph of might over right cannot be permanent.
II. THAT PROVIDENCE AVAILS ITSELF OF HUMAN AGENCY. “But thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Providence is not a synonym for fate. While it employs human agency, it never interferes with individual liberty; it leaves every man accountable for his conduct, whether of omission or commission. The words of Mordecai imply
1. That Providence places men in certain positions for definite ends: “Who knoweth,” etc. The supposition in this case was natural. The elevation of Esther, just before the threatened destruction of the Jews, was most significant. It pointed out to her the way of duty with unmistakable precision. Are we in difficulties as to what our own life-work may be? If so, it must be due to want of reflection. Rulers and subjects, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, have their distinct spheres of action in reference to material interests; their work is cut out for them, so to speak, by the very circumstances in which they are placed. In like manner we might nearly always answer the question, “Lord, what wilt thou have us to do?” by answering another question far less profound, “What can we do?”
2. That Providence chastises men for their unfaithfulness. “But thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed.” Mordecai felt certain that if Esther failed to do what lay in her power to avert the coming calamity she would be singled out for retribution. To be in a position of influence at the very time when that influence could be turned to such a noble account, and yet remain culpably inactive, would have been to invite the reproaches of men and the anger of God. Deliverance would doubtless have arisen from another quarter, and in that case she might have persuaded herself that her own efforts were superfluous; but the sophistry which so easily deluded her own mind would have been powerless to arrest the course of righteous punishment. The ways of Providence are very mysterious; things come to pass in the most inexplicable manner; but we need not be baffled thereby. What is to be will be, in spite of our negligence, in spite of our indolence, in spite of our opposition; but woe be to us, for all that, if we fulfil not the duties of our position. In the checking of war, in the progress of civilisation, in the diffusion of knowledge, in the advancement of religion, we have each his allotted share, and there is a tribunal before which we must all answer for the manner in which we acquit ourselves. The Jews in the time of Deborah and Barak triumphed over their enemies, but Meroz was not therefore excused for its cowardly inactivity. “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”R.
Est 4:16
Esther’s resolve.
The absence throughout this book of any reference to God is a most peculiar feature. Some have, on this ground, gone the length of denying its Divine authority. But the religious spirit is so prominent in this verse as to deprive such an objection of its force. Note that the proof of piety should not be sought in the language men employ, but rather in the principles which guide their conduct. There are circumstances which compel men to be real. In the presence of a great disaster, a great sorrow, or a great danger they manifest their true character. Esther had at this time comprehended the awful possibilities of the situation; cruel, speedy, certain death stared her in the face; and the first thing she did in her agony was to appeal to God, the God of her fathers, whom she now openly acknowledged as the arbiter of events. Observe
I. THAT THE BELIEVER NEVER ENTERS UPON A SOLEMN UNDERTAKING WITHOUT INVOKING THE FAVOUR OF GOD. “Go and gather all the Jews,” etc. The fast was to be long and general, such as became the solemnity of the occasion. Fasting must be regarded as an Oriental custom, which well suits the demonstrative disposition of the people, who give vent to their griefs, their joys, and their religious ardour in extravagant outward manifestations. The custom is not enjoined upon us in Scripture, though doubtless it ought not to be prohibited in cases where it may be of spiritual advantage. But the principle which underlies the custom is universal, namely, that increased devotion gives strength for the performance of duty.
1. Esther desired others to interest themselves in her behalf. “Fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. The human heart craves for sympathy, which, when obtained, gives courage in the hour of trial. Thus the missionary in foreign lands, when he remembers that thousands of his brethren are pleading his cause with God at a certain appointed season, forgets his isolation and nerves himself afresh for his work. Besides this, we have reason to believe that the fervent prayers of righteous men, even when offered for others, avail on high.
2. Esther, while she sought the sympathy of others, was careful also to perform her own part. “I also and my maidens will fast likewise.” The aid of others is liable to be over-estimated, and thus may become a snare to those who seek it. No scene on earth is more deeply affecting than that presented by a minister of religion kneeling at the bedside of a dying sinner, praying God to have mercy upon his soul; but if the dying man relies solely upon what the minister can do for him he is the victim of a terrible delusion. “The consolations of the Church,” administered to the impenitent in his extremity, are sometimes worse than a mockery; for a notion is entertained that the priest relieves him of all responsibility as regards his spiritual condition. The prayers of others may help our own, but can never make them unnecessary. Observe again
II. ESTHER‘S APPEAL TO THE KING AS COMPARED WITH THE PENITENT‘S APPEAL TO GOD. “And so will I go unto the king,” etc. We are struck, in the first place, by several points of resemblance.
1. Esther was bowed down by a crushing load of sorrow. Her nation, her kindred, and even her own life, were in jeopardy. Their enemies were already making preparations for the ghastly carnival of blood. The thought of innocent babes and helpless women being dragged to the slaughter, amidst the derisive shouts of furious crowds, thrilled her heart with unutterable anguish. The penitent has been brought face to face with his lost condition. Ruin, death, despair, encompass him round about. Like the publican, he smites upon his breast and cries, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner.”
2. Esther felt that no one besides the king had power to help her. To propitiate Haman would have been impossible, for the infamous plot was of his contrivance. To gain the favour of any other prince would have been useless so long as Haman occupied such an exalted position. There was no one left but the king to whom it was advisable to appeal. The penitent looks up to God as his only refuge. He abandons indifference, he renounces pleasure, he spurns self-righteousness; for he perceives how utterly powerless they are to shelter him from the wrath to come. He is persuaded that if he is to be rescued it must be through the intervention of the Almighty.
3. Esther was willing to stake all upon one bold appeal. “If I perish, I perish!” She knew the stern law which ordained certain death for those who came unbidden into the king’s presence, unless he held out the golden sceptre to them. She knew also the capricious temper of the king, who, after such ardent professions of attachment, had not wished to see her for the last thirty days. Still she had sufficient faith in his generosity to put it to the test, in spite, of unfavourable appearances. The penitent is probably not without some misgivings when he first turns to God. Not that he doubts for a moment the goodness; mercy, and loving-kindness of God, but because he sees the enormity of his own guilt. Yet he ventures into the Divine presence; and when he remembers that God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, he is confident that his suit will not be in vain.
But we are struck, in the second place, with several points of contrast.
1. The penitent is encouraged by God‘s express invitationEsther had no encouragement of the kind. For various reasons the king desired that his privacy should be undisturbed. Hence the severity of the law in reference to intruders. But God’s heart yearns over the penitent, and, like the prodigal’s father in the parable, eagerly watches for his approach. “Look unto me,” saith he, “and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
2. The penitent appeals to God with the certainty of being heardEsther had no certainty of the kind. Her confidence at best amounted to no more than a hope; and we can easily conceive that this hope varied in strength, from hour to hour, according to her frame of mind. But not a shadow of doubt need ever cross the penitent’s mind. He can lay hold on the Divine promisespromises whose foundations are firmer than those of the eternal bills.
3. The penitent can appeal to God whenever and wherever he willEsther had to wait her opportunity. The king, no doubt, had his own way of spending his time, with which Esther must have been well acquainted. He would not be seen anywhere and at any time even by those who might venture into his presence without permission. And had he been far from home at this very time, a circumstance which sometimes happened, access to him would have been absolutely impossible. But God is not subject to the limitations of time and space. At midnight as at midday, in the wilderness as in the city, in adversity as in prosperity, the penitent can always find him. “Out of the depths,” saith the Psalmist, “have I cried unto thee, O Lord.”R.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Est 4:1. Mordecai rent his clothes, &c. The latter Targum, upon the book of Esther, gives us the following account of Mordecai’s behaviour upon this sad occasion: “He made his complaint in the midst of the streets, saying, What a heavy decree is this, which the king and Haman have passed, not against a part of us, but against us all, to root us out of the earth! Whereupon all the Jews flocked about him, and, having caused the book of the law to be brought to the gate of Shushan, he, being covered with sackcloth, read the words of Deu 4:30-31 and then exhorted them to fasting, humiliation, and repentance, after the example of the Ninevites.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
SECOND SECTION
The Conflict of Opposites
Esther 4, 5
A.MORDECAI, GREATLY SORROWING WITH HIS PEOPLE, URGES ESTHER TO PLEAD FOR MERCY WITH THE KING
Est 4:1-17
I. Communication between Mordecai and Esther. Est 4:1-5
1When [And] Mordecai perceived [knew] all that was done, [and, i.e. then] Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with [and] ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried1 with a loud [great] and a bitter cry; 2And came even before the kings gate: for none might [there was none to] enter [go] into the kings gate clothed with [in clothing of] sackcloth. 3And in every province,2 whithersoever [the place that] the kings commandment [word] and his decree [law] came [was approaching], there was great mourning among [for] the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing [smiting the breast]: and many lay in sack-cloth 4and ashes [sack-cloth and ashes was strown for the many]. So [And] Esthers maids and her chamberlains [eunuchs] came and told it her. Then [And] was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to 5take away his sackcloth from [upon] him: but [and] he received it not. Then [And] called Esther for [to] Hatach, one of the kings chamberlains [eunuchs], whom he had appointed to attend upon [stationed before] her, and gave him a commandment [enjoined him] to [upon, i.e. concerning] Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.
II. Mordecai commissions Esther to present his petition; but she raises a point of difficulty. Est 4:6-11
6So [And] Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the kings gate: 7and Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum [designation] of the money [silver] that Haman had promised [said] to pay to [upon] the kings treasuries for [in consideration of] the Jews, to 8destroy [cause them to perish]: Also [And] he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree [law] that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare [tell] it unto her, and to charge [enjoin upon] her that she should go [to go] in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for [upon] her people. 9And Hatach came and told Esther the 10words of Mordecai; Again [And] Esther spake [said] unto Hatach, and gave him commandment [enjoined him] unto Mordecai; 11All the kings servants, and the people of the kings provinces, do know [are knowing], that whosoever, whether man [every man] or [and] woman, shall [who shall] come unto the king into the inner court, who is not [shall not be] called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that [and] he may live; but I3 have not been called to come in unto the king these [this] thirty days.
III. Mordecai presents his request still more urgently, and Esther promises to execute it. Est 4:12-17
12And they told to Mordecai Esthers words. 13Then [And] Mordecai commanded [said] to answer Esther, Think not with thyself [in thy spirit] that thou shalt 14escape in [to deliver] the kings house more than all the Jews. For [But] if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but [and] thou and thy fathers house shall be destroyed [utterly perish]; and who knoweth whether thou art come [hast 15approached] to the kingdom for such a time as this? Then [And] Esther bade them [said to] return Mordecai this answer; 16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present found] in Shusan, and fast ye for [upon] me, and neither eat [eat not] nor drink and drink not] three days, night or [and] day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; 17and if [whereas] I perish [have perished], I perish [have perished]. So [And] Mordecai went his way [passed] and did according to all that Esther had commanded [enjoined upon] him.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
1 [Est 4:1. , a later or Araman form for , seems to be intensive of , including the simple call for help, , and the shriek from pain or danger, , and denotes an earnest and vociferous demonstration.Tr.]
2 [Est 4:3. See Note 7 in preceding section.Tr.]
3 [Est 4:11. The pronoun, being expressed in the original, is emphatic.Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The author manifestly desires to show in this chapter how very difficult it was for Mordecai to make even the one effort to save his people from destruction. But he was faithful and persistent; taking step after step until the object was attained. He here entered a conflict which was forced upon him, and which he was unable to avert. But thereby lie ran the greatest danger both for himself and for Esther, whom he required to assist. him. Three separate endeavors are recorded by our author as made on the part of Mordecai in order to involve Esther in this conflict. The first was preparatory, being designed simply to establish a connection with her; of the second the only result was the objections raised by Esther; and in the third she expressed her willingness and her resignation to a possible fate.
Est 4:1-5. Here is described the first step. The first thing Mordecai did was to take a leading part in the general sorrow of the Jews. Thereby he attracted the attention of Esther, and induced her not only to send him other garments than those of mourning, but also to send a confidential messenger through whom he could communicate with her. Est 4:1. When Mordecai perceived all that was done.As is told us in Est 4:7. Mordecai was even informed as to the sum of money which Haman expected to obtain by destroying the Jews. Possibly some of Hamans intimate friends heard of it and spoke of it in the kings gate where Mordecai could hear it. Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, i. e., a garment of hair cloth, and with the same also put on ashes, by strewing ashes over his person and clothing (comp. Dan 9:3; Job 2:12).4And went out into the midst of the city.He did not conceal the fact that he was in deep distress, and cried with a loud and bitter cry; literally, occurs in Gen 27:34 with reference to Esau.
Est 4:2. And came even before the kings gate, i. e., up to the free place that was before the entrance to the royal palace (comp. Est 4:6), further he could not come, no more could he come into the gate of the palace as beforefor none (might) enter into the kings gate clothed with sackcloth.So , comp. Ewald, 321 c.
Est 4:3. Many other Jews also mourned. The sorrow was general. Despite the elevation of Esther her people now had everywhere only distress and grief, instead of honor and joy. It seems as if the author would here describe how the Jews were treated contrary to what one would naturally expect after the elevation of Esther. He would here, doubtless, also give prominence to the remarkable mode which Mordecai adopted to secure the attention of Esther. Further in Est 4:3 he would show us how pressing was the need of every possible endeavor for their preservation. And in every province, whithersoever the kings commandment and his decree came, etc. is the Accusative of place found in stat. constr. before , as in Est 8:17; Ecc 11:3; comp. Lev 4:24 . And many lay in sackcloth and ashes.While all gave vent to their distress and tears, many manifested their sorrow by putting on sackcloth and sitting in ashes (comp. Isa 58:5).
Est 4:4. The first object that Mordecai gained by his public grief was that he drew the attention of Esthers women-servants and eunuchs, i. e., such as were assigned her for her exclusive service (comp. Est 2:9), and they gave notice to the queen. Though they had not as yet discovered the nationality of Esther, still they became aware of Esthers relation to Mordecai, who on his part was very diligent in his inquiries concerning her. Hence they delayed not to inform the queen of all that they know of him. Following the Kethib we should read . As this prolonged form of the word does not usually occur after a Vav. cons., the Keri has the form . The object of is found in what follows: the present appearance of Mordecai in mourning garments was not the cause (comp. Est 4:5); but this was enough to give her considerable anxiety. , a passive intensive from , they were seized as with pains of delivery. She sent clothes to her guardian, that he might put them on, doubtless, that thereby he might again stand in the gate of the king, and so relate to her the cause of his grief. But he refused them, not only because he would wear no other than garments of mourning, but because he desired a private opportunity to communicate with her.
Est 4:5. Mordecai accomplished his object, and Hatach the eunuch was sent to him to obtain particulars. , the king had appointed Hatach to serve Esther; hence he belonged to her eunuchs (Est 4:4). , she commissioned him with respect to or, substantially similar to , she sent him to, (comp. Est 4:10).
Est 4:6-11. Here we have the second step. In the face of the greatness of the danger that threatened the Jews it was hardly to be expected but that Mordecai should make a request of Esther whose fulfilment would be very serious in its consequences.
Est 4:6-7. When Hatach had proceeded to the open place before the palace, he found Mordecai, who in the hope that Esther would do something more, had remained there longer or more frequently resorted thither. Then Mordecai informed him of all that had occurred and that now threatened the Jews, and mentioned also the sum of money that Haman promised to place in the kings treasury, in return for the extermination of the Jews. This he did, no doubt, to show what low and despicable motives were at play in the matter; and thus he very naturally hoped to excite the greater indignation and wrath in Esther. She must not be left to think that Haman had found the Jews guilty of real transgressions when he obtained the consent of the king. That the king had remitted the money to Haman, is not referred to here because not pertinent. derived from to cut off, separate, then to define correctly (comp. Lev 24:12), the exact statement of a thing, i.e., here, of the amount, sum of money to be given. For the Jews, to destroy them, means when the Jews would be surrendered to him with permission to destroy them. The Kethib form of is less frequently used for , which is found in Est 8:1; Est 8:7; Est 8:13; Est 9:15; Est 9:18.
Est 4:8. Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan (comp. Est 3:15), to destroy them, i. e., which ordered them to be destroyed. could here have the meaning of copy; but the rendering contents of the writing of the decree is preferable, (comp. Ezr 4:11). Possibly Mordecai had briefly noted down the substance of the decree. To shew (it) unto Esther, and to declare (it) unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king to make supplication unto him., contrary to the accents, is by Bertheau and Keil connected with what follows, as if it were the same in sense with . But it rather belongs to what precedes according to its import. Hatach was to show the writing to Esther and give her the substance of the information it conveyed. It is quite possible that Esther could read it herself; Mordecai sent the copy for the purpose of enabling Hatach to give the proper meaning of its contents. The infinitives with are here best translated by in order that. To declare (explain) it unto her, and to charge her to go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him for her people. with here, as in Est 7:7. means: to entreat, supplicate for something diligently (comp. Ezr 8:23). She should petition relief for her people.
Est 4:9-11. Mordecai elicited only the answer: All the kings servants, and the people of the kings provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman shall come unto the king, etc. is prefixed as a Nom. absol. The predicate with follows as an anacoluthon: one is his law, (i.e., one law extends to all. is the law having reference in his case. Its substance reads briefly: to kill, i. e., him. One was not even allowed to enter the inner court-yard, much less the kings palace. That the king resided in the inner court before the royal house (Bertheau and Keil), would not follow from Est 5:1. Every one was to be killed, except him toward whom the king extended the golden sceptre. , except, as for example, Exo 12:23; Jos 17:5. , from , found only in this book (in Est 5:2; Est 8:4), in the Aramaic tongue signifies to reach out towards, to extend, and is connected with ,. In the time of Deioces the Mede, approach to the king was already very difficult (Herod. I. 9); and among the Persians, with very few exceptions (Herod. III. 118), no one was permitted to approach the king without a notice (comp. Est 1:14; and Herod. III. 140; also C. Nep. Conon, c. 3). According to our verse the sense of the law is not that no one should approach unannounced, but that no one should approach unless called. But the sense of both is the same. If one must give due notice of approach, one must first be also accepted; but to be accepted is to be called. As regards that law any one was free to give notice of his approach (comp. Herodot. III. 140), and hence arises the question, why Esther kept this privilege out of sight. Josephus says (Antiq. XI. 6, 3) that the husband of Esther (according to him Artaxerxes) forbade his people, by a special law, to approach him while he sat upon the throne. But he would manifestly give greater weight to our explanation. If we desire to find the correct answer we must not overlook the remark of Esther, that she had not been called to the king for now thirty days.5 Possibly she apprehended that the king had become somewhat indifferent to her, and that, if she were to announce herself without being called by him, she would be refused admittance to his presence. This would have made the venture still more dangerous. According to Est 3:7, nearly five years had passed since their marriage. Hence she had possibly been somewhat forgotten. It could hardly appear otherwise in her eyes than that it was best to approach the king unannounced and place reliance on the fact that her appearance should kindle his love anew.6
Est 4:12-17. The third step. In order to move Esther to a compliance with his request, despite her hesitation, Mordecai had it reported to her (Est 4:13): Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the kings house, more than all the Jews.-To be saved does not here mean, if I only am saved, the others do not concern me, as if Mordecai would warn her of a selfish and indifferent feeling toward her people. But the sense is: Do not think that thou shalt escape, or that thou art better off. This is clear from Est 4:14 : For if thou altogether holdest thy peace, not making intercession with the king, at this time, (then) shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy fathers house shall be destroyed, i. e., be not better off, but worse. That the entire Jewish people cannot be thus destroyed is a matter self-evident to Mordecai. This is an incontestable truth, under all circumstances, which in his mind is made sure by the divine promises. And although neither God nor Gods assurances are here mentioned, still, as is justly remarked by Brenz: We have this noble and clearly heroic faith of Mordecai, which sees the future deliverance, even amidst the most immediate and imminent danger. Those Jews only can and must be destroyed, in his opinion, who, when it concerns the preservation of the people, do not perform their duty. It is very improbable that he should think that Haman has not power sufficient to cause the destruction of the Jewish nation as a whole, but merely of that detested Mordecai and his family, hence also Esther, must die (Bertheau,otherwise he would not have said: thou and thy fathers house, but thy fathers house and thou, ye shall perish. He here makes reference rather to a divine punishment that shall come upon Esther first, but on her account also upon her fathers house. = (Exo 8:11) means relief from pressure because of want of air. in later language may have been given the meaning of , so that it should mean to arise, to go forth, to be (1Ch 20:4). But it may also signify: deliverance will be established (Bertheau), or stand ready. The other place is not God as immediate for help, but another agent of God, in contrast with Esther. Mordecai means: God will find other instruments whom He will employ, if thou wilt not serve Him The last sentence of Est 4:14 is, by most interpreters, declared to mean: And who knows but that thou hast been elevated to be queen for just such an emergency as this, where there is danger, which thou shouldst assist in averting, so that thou canst easily help. But if thou wilt not help, thou wilt not escape an especially severe sentence. But to take in the sense of , is to say the least, venturesome, and cannot be justified by the fact that is sometimes, (but without ) used in the sense of perhaps (2Sa 12:22; Joe 2:14; Jon 3:9). Again it does not correspond to the sense of if, whether; and we may say with Bertheau: Who knows, when thou hast approached the royal throne (beseechingly), what then shall happen, whether the king will not receive you graciously; or again, as Keil says: Who knows but that thou hast attained to royalty for just such a time as this (as was no doubt true), what shall then be done by thee? Mordecai would perhaps say, by way of adding to the before-expressed threat, Thou shalt be destroyed, if thou art silent: and who knows whether thou shalt really be courageous enough to speak for us, and thereby manifest to us that, for just such a time as this thou wast elevated to royal dignity? A doubt such as this would evidently be the most powerful incentive to her to do what was requested of her.
Est 4:15. In fact this resolve was reached by her. She made request that Mordecai, together with the Jews in Shushan, should fast three days and nights in her behalf. Doubtless she thus expected to secure the help and protection of God for that eventful hour and step, and therefore she declared, with great resignation, that she would venture to fulfil their request. This fast could only mean that great misery impended over their heads, that with a contrite spirit Gods hand was seen in this event, and that prayer was made to God for help (comp. 1Ki 21:27-29; Joe 1:14; Jon 3:5). That Esther still does not make mention of God, no more than did Mordecai before this, when he asserted his faith in the indestructibility of the Jewish nation, may easily be explained, as has been observed in the Introduction, 3, by remarking that it pertains to the style of the author. To the expression: fast ye for me, Esther adds: and neither eat nor drink three days, night nor day, in order to mark the severity of the fast. A strict fast of three days would indeed have been a severe task, and Esther would thereby have done injury to her appearance (J. D. Michaelis). But these three days seem, as in Jon 2:1, not to be clearly understood; hence the sense would be, from this day until the third day. For the fast must have begun on the same day that Esthers answer came to Mordecai. The third day mentioned in Est 5:1 must mean the third day from that in which the decision of Esther was made. This decision was the main fact from which time was reckoned. Of course we cannot expect that Mordecai should that very day have induced all the Jews in Shushan to fast. Still it matters not so much that not all, if only many, fasted.And so will I go in unto the king, which is not, etc.[, i.e., under such circumstances, or under such conditions. may simply mean: which is not legally allowed, although not, etc. may be taken in a neuter sense, although reminds us of the Aramaic , and hence it can easily be taken in the sense of without (comp. Ewald, 322 c). The last words: And if I perish, I perish, are an expression of willing submission to the fate that may threaten her in the performance of her duty (comp. Gen 43:14). Esther had great cause to prepare for her own destruction. She not only proposed to go to the king without being called, but also to request something of him, which, according to Persian custom, it was impossible to grant. She would by her petition recall the edict and thereby seem to disregard the royal majesty. She would and indeed must reveal herself as a daughter of this detested Jewish people thus given over to destruction. Last of all, she must thereby place herself in open opposition to that all-powerful favorite, Haman.
Est 4:17. Mordecai went forth to fulfil the wish of Esther. The verb has induced the Targums and older interpreters, as J. D. Michaelis, to advance the opinion that he had violated, passed over, namely, the law, which ordered the Paschal feast to be celebrated in a joyous manner (from Est 3:12 it might follow that we are still in the time of the Passover); but the word has the meaning of: going away, going further. It has its explanation as contrasting with what Mordecai had done before, since, so long as Esthers answer was not satisfactory, he remained standing there.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
Est 4:1 sqq. 1. Mordecai rends his clothing, and puts on sack-cloth and ashes. He enters the city thus, and raises a great and bitter lamentation. So also the Church of God, in its development as regards the history of humanity, should again and ever anew put on the habiliments of mourning. The world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful. The then existing nation of Jews could not manifest its loyalty to the law without coming into conflict with heathendom. Nor can the Church bring to development its inherent spiritual powers without challenging all the Hamans and their opposition in the world. Even this present period is an instance in proof. Following upon the great progress of the things of the kingdom of God since the time of wars for freedom, we must naturally expect reactions, such as have been manifest in the sphere of science and other relations. Indeed, we must constantly look for increasing opposition on the part of the world. But when the Church shall have most fully developed the gifts of grace granted to it, then conflict and sorrow will have reached its highest point at the end of days. The real cause of sorrow on the part of the true members of Gods Church will not be, as was the case with Mordecai, their own distress, but that of the world. It will consist in the fact that the world is still devoid of the blessed society of the true God; that the kingdom of God is still rejected and even persecuted. What joy it would give, if, instead of enmity, recognition and submission, and, instead of disdain, a participation in the gifts and grace of our Lord were to become the universal experience!
2. The more difficult the position of the Church as in contrast with the World, the more favorable is her position for bringing to view her glory. Her glory is that of her Head. If even in the Old Testament times, and in the dispersion itself, there existed a Mordecai, who for love of the people manifested his firmness and strength in the hour of tribulation; and if there was found an Esther, who, when called upon, willingly came forward to bring about the salvation of her countrymen; how much more in New Testament times and in the modern Church will there arise individuals, who, in following the Lord, especially in evil days, will manifest a watch-care for others and a self-sacrificing spirit for them; who will show forth patience and meekness, as well as energy, fidelity and tenacity, a spirit of giving and an ability to make sacrifices; and withal will carry in their hearts joy and peace as the seal of their kinship with God. All these graces may be so many illuminating rays of the glorious life of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who more and more attains in them a full stature. May all Seize the special opportunity, recognize the particular duty, and know when to perform it, which the times of distress of the Church place in their hand, of showing forth the power that dwells in them by their life and work!
3. Mordecai took an especially great part in the universal grief that overcame the Jews when the edict of their annihilation was issued and promulgated. It was not his personal danger that alarmed him, but, as may be expected of such a faithful follower of Judaism, it was the calamity threatening the whole Jewish people. While, however, thought and feeling were centred upon the event, he was free from despair. With him it was a settled conviction that the people of God, as a whole, could not be destroyed, and that deliverance must come from some source. Instead of giving way to despondency, he turned his distress into a power that urged him to still greater endeavors. There was no more a fear of appearing as a Jew, nor did he hesitate because his loud lamentation would attract general attention, and thereby expose him to the derision and disdain of many. However reluctant he might have been to expose his beloved Esther, whose welfare had ever been a matter of great concern to him, to extreme danger, still he persisted with the greatest determination that she should run the whole risk, and only rested when she gave her assent. It is barely possible that he attributed some blame to himself because of his firmness against Haman, or thought that on that account he more than any other was under obligation to remove the threatened danger. The sole moving impulse was doubtless his love for his people. But this should not be less in any true member of the Church. It should rather, in proportion as there are more members in the body of Christ, be the stronger than it was in him. Would that no one among us were behind him as regards energy, self-denial and a willingness to make sacrifices! There are doubtless many who are able to endure all this in their own person. Butif no lighter considerationthe thought that their relatives, yea, even wife and children, may suffer on account of their confession, bows them down. Would, if necessary, that we too may stand equal to Mordecai in willingness to surrender our dearest kin!
Est 4:6 sqq. Mordecai manifests a remarkable tenacity as opposed to Esther. He keeps his position at the gate of the king until she sends him not only her maids with garments, but also Hatach to transmit his message. He departs not thence until she has resolved to stand before Ahasuerus as a Jew pleading for the Jews. Under other circumstances he might have been thought to be tiresome by his persistency and demands; but his relation to her now justified it. When he had been accustomed to inquire concerning her health and well-being, to give her counsel, to care for her, he had shown no less persistency; and his demand that now she should reveal her Jewish descent, and as such should venture all, was equally in keeping with his character. So long as no danger threatened he counseled her to keep silence respecting her Jewish parentage; but now he had himself taken the lead in an open confession of the fact. Although it had before been difficult for him to approach Esther as the queen, or request any favor at her hand, now he hesitated no longer to implore her help, not so much for himself, as for the whole people. There was no motive for him to be selfish, or to conduct himself in a heartless or severe manner towards her. Hence there was no question but that his undertaking would succeed, that Esther would be willing to comply with his request. It is eminently desirable that those who, like him, must move and induce others to make sacrifices of self and possessions in the service of the kingdom of God, should stand on a level with him in this respect.
Brenz: At first the lazy (i. e. Jews) do not snore. For the Holy Spirit exhorts us in all adversities to confide in the Lord; He does not exhort us to be indolent, indifferent and sleepy. For our confidence in the Lord is a powerful and efficacious means of stimulating in His service all strength and limbs. Further, the Jews, though in the greatest peril, do not utter virulent words against the king, nor do they fly to arms. Mordecai and the other Jews rend their garments, put on sack-cloth, strew ashes upon their heads, wail, weep and fast. These manifestations signify not that the Jews in Persia were turbulent, but that they take refuge in God; since help could not be discovered upon earth, they seek it from heaven. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.. By this example we too are taught that when afflictions are sent upon us, we should reflect that God then sets before us the fat oxen and calves which we may offer to Him. In this way we offer to God in our prayers the afflictions which we sustain, and call upon the name of the Lord that He may help us. Behold, however, the reverse of this order of things. The palaces of princes are divinely instituted to be the places of refuge for the miserable. On the contrary in the palaces of Persia nothing is regarded as more odious and abominable than men with the signs of affliction. Heaven is ever open to the cries of mourners, and God is never unapproachable to those calling on His name by faith.
Starke: Temporal fortunes and successes are never so great as not to be subject to sorrow, terror and fear (Sir 40:3). God permits His Church to be plunged into sorrow at times; He leads her even into hell; but He also takes her out again (1Sa 2:16). Though the Lord elevate us to high honors, we should never be ashamed of our poor relatives (Gen 47:2), but rather relieve their needs (1Sa 22:3). We should never reject proper and suitable means to escape a danger, but promptly use them (2Co 11:32-33).
Est 4:13 sqq. Mordecai manifests a precious sense of trust, saying: For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place. But he who would save his soul will lose it. The risk which Mordecai called upon Esther to assume, that she should come to the king uninvited, and manifest herself as a daughter of the people thus devoted to destruction, was indeed great and important. Moreover, the hope that Xerxes would recall his edict, thus, according to Persian ideas, endangering the respect due his royal majesty, and likewise abandoning his favorite minister, was very uncertain of fulfilment. But Esther had been elevated to a high position. Mordecai, who in a doubting manner sends her word: Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? doubtless did it from a conviction that she must now prove herself worthy of such distinction, if she would retain it. He also conveys the idea that the higher her position the greater her responsibility, and consequently, in case of failure because of carelessness or fearfulness, the more intense her guilt. In these convictions of Mordecai are contained the most earnest exhortations even for us. This is especially true since we are all called to be joint heirs of Jesus Christ to the throne of the heavenly kingdom. In the deportment of Esther a no less reminder to duty is contained. It appears quite natural that Esther should order a fast not only to be observed by Mordecai and the rest of the Jews, but she also imposed on herself this fast of three days duration. Had she had a little more of the common discretion of her sex, she would have feared the effects of the fast upon her appearance. Hence she would have adopted quite a different plan or preparation previous to her entrance into the kings presence. Here also she reveals the same attractive feature of mind and manner as when she was first presented to the king. Instead of placing reliance upon what she should externally put on or adorn herself with, we find her trust placed upon something higher. She well knows that she will only succeed if the great and exalted Lord be for her, who, notwithstanding His glorious majesty, yet dwells among the most lowly of men. It is in just such times as these, when we are raised to the greatest endeavors and self-sacrifices, that we must not expect to accomplish these things by our own power, but only through Him who in our weakness is our strength. Otherwise, despite our best intentions and most successful beginnings, we shall soon grow discouraged and fail. Our own weakness is but too often made manifest to our eyes. It is only when we consider and remember that the hand of the Lord is in it all that we will be saved from a lack of courage.
Brenz: As it is the most pleasing worship to God to support the Church with all our strength, so He execrates no one more than him who withholds from the Church when in danger that help which he is able to render. If the cry of a single poor man is so availing that although unheard by man, it finds an avenging ear in God, what must be the influence of the cry of the whole Church in her affliction imploring assistance from Him who it hopes is able to help? This teaches us that God confers power upon princes, riches upon the rich, wisdom upon the wise, and other gifts upon others, not that they may abuse them for their own pleasure, but that they may assist the Church of God, and protect it in whatever way they can. For the Church on earth is so great in the eyes of God, that He requires of all men whatever may serve her. The people, He says, and the king that will not serve thee shall perish, and the nations shall dwell in a solitary place.
Starke: Our flesh is always timid when it has to encounter a hazard (Exo 4:13). My Christ in His divine majesty stands at the entrance into the faith, and sounds the free invitation to each and all, ever frequent, ever dear, ever happy (Sir 25:20-21). One should succor his neighbor in peril and need (Pro 24:11; Psa 82:3), and especially the brethren in the faith (Gal 6:10), even at the peril of ones own life (1Jn 3:16). We are born for good not to ourselves, but to others, and thus God oftentimes shows us that through us He aids our own, our country and the community (Gen 45:5). Faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1Jn 5:8). We may use ordinary prayer for important blessings (Jam 5:14; Gen 24:7; Gen 43:14). Life can never be spent better than when it is the aim to lose it (Mat 16:25; Act 20:24; Act 21:13).
Footnotes:
[1][Est 4:1. , a later or Araman form for , seems to be intensive of , including the simple call for help, , and the shriek from pain or danger, , and denotes an earnest and vociferous demonstration.Tr.]
[2][Est 4:3. See Note 7 in preceding section.Tr.]
[3][Est 4:11. The pronoun, being expressed in the original, is emphatic.Tr.]
[4][To rend ones clothes in grief was as much a Persian as a Jewish practice (see Herod. viii. 99; schylus, Pers. 5401, 1039, etc.). Rawlinson.Tr.]
[5][According to Herodotus (iii. 69), the wives of a Persian king, whether primary or secondary, shared his bed in rotation. As their number sometimes exceeded three hundred, the turn of a particular wife might not come for nearly a year. Rawlinson.Tr.]
[6][As to the golden sceptre Rawlinson observes. A modern critic asks: Is it likely that a Persian king would always have a golden sceptre by him to stretch out towards intruders on his privacy? It seems enough to reply that in all the numerous representations of Persian kings at Persepolis, there is not one in which the monarch does not hold a long tapering staff (which is probably the sceptre of Esther) in his right hand.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This chapter begins with the relation of the effect Haman’s plan had upon the minds of the Jews. The great distress in which the whole were involved. An account is given to Esther. She conferreth messages with Mordecai upon it. A fast is appointed by Esther, before she ventures into the king’s presence.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(1) When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; (2) And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. (3) And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
The subject riseth to a very interesting point at the opening of this chapter. Mordecai well knew that he was the cause which had called forth Haman’s vengeance. He doth not recant however, or humbly seek peace with Haman. This would have been to have courted the favor of man, and slighted the confidence he had in GOD. It was GOD’S cause in which he was embarked: and, no doubt, his eyes were to the LORD for deliverance. But until deliverance should be wrought, if it pleased the LORD to grant such a mercy, Mordecai gives vent to sorrow. It is certainly a beautiful feature in his character, that he came forth publicly, by this cry in the midst of the city, to show that he was a Jew. But while viewing the subject in its first and literal sense as an history, we may, I think, without violence, as it concerns the church of GOD, behold it also spiritually. A proclamation of GOD’S righteous law is gone forth against sin and transgression; for, void of deliverance by JESUS, universal, and everlasting destruction is assuredly to fall, from the presence of our LORD, on all who know not GOD, and obey not the gospel of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. And while the awakened sinner is unacquainted with the means of escape in the redemption by JESUS, like Mordecai he will rent his clothes and cry aloud with a great and bitter cry; what must I do to be saved?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Not Afraid of Sackcloth
Est 4:2
In the book of Est 4:2 , we read, ‘None might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth’. St. Paul in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians 3:12 says, ‘Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech’. In the first text we read of a refusal to face the facts of life, the hard and painful facts ‘None might enter into the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth’. In the second we read of an unflinching sincerity of vision, and of a sincerity which does not flinch because it is armed by a great hope ‘Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech’.
There are three ways in which we may deal with the harder things of life. First of all, we may take the way of the Eastern King and resolve not to see them, to bar the door against them, to act as if they did not exist. There is a second way. We may face them without the Christian hope. There is a third way. We may face them with the Christian hope, and that is the true and only wisdom. Let us dwell for a moment on those three ways or methods.
I. We may close the eyes and ears, and say that we will not look upon the things that affright and affront us. ‘None might enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.’ We know what that leads to, that life lived in an unreal world, in a world of imagination. We know what it has done in history through all the ages. We may close the doors and curtain the windows and hide, as it were, our faces from misery, but it is in vain. The flaring lights flicker, the storm outside begins to mutter and to break, and the inexorable call comes, and we have to open our eyes and look out on the woe and the wrong and the torture of this world, on all the wretchedness that is rising against us to sweep us from our place. In other words, even the king cannot keep his gate against the dark ministers of pain that insist upon an entrance, and will force it at last.
II. We may look willingly or unwillingly at the facts of life without any hope in Christ. I will not speak of those, and there are many, who look upon the agony of the world simply to find in it the opportunity of new sensation. I wish to speak rather of the hopeless, earnest, despairing outlook on the miseries of life. There are those like the poet whose hearts become as
A nerve o’er which do creep
The else unfelt oppressions of the world.
They meditate upon sin and grief and death, upon the vast sum of human woe, upon their little and slow means for diminishing it, till the heart spends itself in fierce and hopeless throbs. The thought beats upon the brain like as on an anvil. Yet all becomes at last so commonplace and so sad and so far beyond remedy. The waves of mournful thought cannot be stemmed, but they flow in vain. The end is at best a quiet misery.
III. We come to the one wise way of facing the problems and the agonies of life without flinching and without fear. We may face them so as possessors of the Christian hope, and in no other way ‘Seeing then we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech’.
St. Paul has been speaking of the comparative dimness of the Mosaic ministry. That ministry had passages of glory, but the glory was transitory and faded away. It was shone down by the everlasting splendour of the new ministry of Christ. In Christ the veil was taken away, and taken away for ever. There was a veil on the face of Moses: there is no veil on the face of Jesus. It is as if the eyes that sought each other with such desire burned the screen that parted them. So, said the Apostle, since we live in light, we speak in light. We declare every truth of the Gospel, we make every claim for our ministry. The future glory will make all our words good. We are not afraid to look on the hostile elements of life and call them by their true names. We need no disguise, no euphemism, no softening. We use great boldness of speech, and are not afraid. Christianity, be it remembered, is the only religion that has fairly measured itself with sin and grief and death. It has undertaken at last to subdue them completely. It recognizes the sternness of the battle; it confesses that the foes are terrible foes. It has no hope save in the might of Christ Who is conquering and to conquer, but in Him it reposes an unshaken and absolute and inviolable trust.
‘None might enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth,’ but Christ our King offers His welcome and His heart to those who are clothed in sackcloth, who are weary and heavy-laden. The heart is heavy
To think that each new week will yield
New struggles in new battlefield.
But if He is with us in the fight, everything will be changed. Said St. Paul once, ‘I will abide and winter with you’. He has promised to be with us to the end of the world, and He will winter with us through the dark, cold years until the winter ends, until we pass from the turmoil of this world to the peace of that.
W. Robertson Nicoll, The Lamp of Sacrifice, p. 37.
The Transfigured Sackcloth
Est 4:2
Christianity is sometimes scouted as ‘the religion of sorrow,’ and many amongst us are ready to avow that the Persian forbidding the sackcloth is more to their taste than the Egyptian or the Christian dragging the corpse through the banquet: but we confidently contend that the recognition by Christ of the morbid phases of human life is altogether wise and gracious.
I. We consider, first, the recognition by revelation of sin. Sackcloth is the outward and visible sign of sin, guilt and misery. How men shut their eyes to this most terrible reality coolly ignoring, skilfully veiling, emphatically denying it! What is popularly called sin these philosophers call error, accident, inexperience, indecision, misdirection, imperfection, disharmony; but they will not allow the presence in the human heart of a malign force, which asserts itself against God, and against the order of His universe. The sackcloth must not mar our shallow happiness, nevertheless sin thrusts itself upon our attention. The greatest thinkers in all ages have been constrained to recognize its presence and power. The creeds of all nations declare the fact that men everywhere feel the bitter working and intolerable burden of conscience. Sin was the burden of the life of Christ because it is the burden of our life. Christ has done more than insist on the reality. The odiousness, the ominousness of sin. He has laid bare its principle and essence not in the spirit of a barren cynicism does Christ lay bare the ghastly wound of our nature but as a noble physician who can purge the mortal virus which destroys us.
II. We consider the recognition by revelation of sorrow. Sackcloth is the raiment of sorrow, and as such it was interdicted by the Persian monarch. We still follow the same insane course, minimizing, despising, masking, denying, suffering. Nevertheless suffering is a stern fact that will not long permit us to sleep. A man may carry many hallucinations with him to the grave, but a belief in the unreality of pain is hardly likely to be one of them. Reason as we may, suppress the disagreeable truths of life as we may, suffering will find us out, and pierce us to the heart. Christ gives us the noblest example of suffering. He himself was preeminently a man of sorrows; He exhausted all forms of suffering, touching life at every point, at every point He bled, and in Him we learn how to sustain our burden and to triumph throughout all tragedy.
III. We consider the recognition by revelation of death. We have again adroit ways of shutting the gate upon their sackcloth which is the sign of death. Walt Whitman tells us ‘That nothing can happen more beautiful than death’. And he has expressed the humanist view of mortality in a hymn which his admirers regard as the high-water mark of modern poetry. But will this rhapsody bear thinking about? Is death ‘delicate,’ ‘lovely and soothing,’ ‘delicious,’ coming to us with ‘serenades’. Do we go forth to meet death ‘with dances and chants of fullest welcome?’ It is vain to hide the direct fact of all under metaphors and rhetorical artifice. Without evasion or euphony Christ recognizes the sombre mystery. He shows us that death as we know it is an unnatural thing, that it is the fruit of disobedience, and by giving us purity and peace He gives us eternal life.
W. L. Watkinson, The Transfigured Sackcloth, p. 3.
References. IV. 10-17. A. D. Davidson, Lectures on Esther, p. 149. IV. 13-14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx. No. 1777.
The Story of Queen Esther
Est 4:13-17
Some people are puzzled to discover how the book of Esther comes to be in the Old Testament. It contains no religions teaching. The name of God is not once mentioned in it from the first verse to the last. How comes it in the Bible. No teaching of religion, no prophesying of Jesus, no foreshadowing of the evangelical truths of redemption true not in pious phrase, but what the book does paint for you is a majestic picture of a human heart struggling against its own weakness, rising to a grandeur that had in it the glory of Christ’s own self-sacrifice.
I. You remember the story. A dissolute Persian monarch in a drunken frolic requires of his queen to do a deed that ran against all that was womanly within her, and she refused. Mercilessly he deposes her from the throne, and he sets to to select another queen. The fair maidens of the land are collected, and from among them he chooses the beautiful young Jewess Esther, and makes her his queen.
II. Esther was a Jewess. She owed her birth and her breeding to that despised exiled people. She had won her proud position on the emperor’s throne through the planning and toiling and sacrifice of her Jewish guardian. And now her people’s destiny hangs on the balance. A deadly conspiracy against them has brought it about that on a given day rapidly approaching there is to be a universal merciless massacre of these defenceless Jews. And through the mouth of her old revered guardian the demand comes to her the one human being that might have influence with the cruel king to cancel the decree and save the lives of men, women, and children at the risk and peril of her own life in asking it, to go and intercede for them. Esther began arguing within herself was she bound to hazard her life for these Jews? Why should she come down from the throne and take her stand among them, exposed to cruel massacre and death? The fact of the matter was, the queen was standing in a false position. She could not see the truth, she could not see the right, where she stood.
III. Mordecai recognized the root of the queen’s cowardice, and swiftly and sternly he sent back a reply that shattered those barriers of her selfishness, and lifted her out of her little self-centred world and set her on the pinnacle whence the whole line and way of duty shone out unmistakably. ‘Go back,’ said he, ‘and tell the queen to be ashamed of her despicable selfishness. Go tell the queen that she does not live in a will-less random world where she may pick and choose the best things for herself. If she will not save God’s people, then God will find another deliverer and she herself shall be dashed aside.’ What a new world we are in now! What a new light floods everything! The queen felt it. All that was noble, all that was good in her waked and seized the upper hand and crushed down her baseness and her meanness and her selfishness. She saw how it was. Wrapped round with that sense of human sympathy, nerved and braved by the thought of all these human lives hanging on her heroism, the weak woman conquered and she could go and do the deed of valour. Esther by that deed of heroism delivered God’s people from destruction. In her measure she did the same thing that Christ did perfectly later. Like Him she laid her own life down on the altar. That it was not sacrificed does not diminish the value of the offering. By her deed in her own day and generation she saved God’s people from imminent destruction, by that deed preserved in history, she lifted up and made strong the hope and faith of generations after.
W. G. Elmslie, The British Weekly Pulpit, vol. II. p. 345.
Self-sacrifice
Est 4:14
In our daily lessons yesterday we began the reading of the book of Esther, which is so full of instruction upon the law of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the first law of the kingdom of God. Self-sacrifice is the one condition of life, of progress, and of fruitful service. It is by drinking the Saviour’s cup of suffering, and shaving His baptism of blood, that men qualify for high honours above. The nearer the Cross now, the nearer the Throne hereafter. That Esther, the young bride and queen, should shrink from risking her life was most natural, and many a young Christian shrinks from following Christ because of the cross involved. But self-sacrifice for Christ is the only way to usefulness and joy. But Mordecai would not accept Esther’s excuse. He knew that emergencies call for sacrifices, and that often the bold policy is the only safe one. So he sent back a remarkable reply, containing a warning, an encouragement, and an appeal.
I. The Warning was Candid and Brusque. ‘Think not that thou shalt escape in the king’s house more than all the Jews.’ Esther might well have thought that the queen-consort would escape the general slaughter. Her nationality was not publicly known. Surely if she held her peace, whoever else might suffer she would escape. But Mordecai knew better. ‘If thou altogether hold thy peace at this time… thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed.’ Yes, nothing would be gained by letting things slide. The policy of silence would not answer. The bold line was the only safe one. It always is so. Be bold for Christ now, and your testimony will be a blessing to many; but if you hold your peace, Satan will some day drive you into a corner, where you must either publicly deny your Lord or be forced into a confession which will have very little value.
II. With the Warning came Encouragement. ‘Enlargement and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place,’ if thou hold thy peace. Mordecai knew that God was fully equal to this emergency. God had never failed His people. He knew that deliverance should arise from some quarter. His only fear was lest Esther should lose this golden opportunity of becoming the saviour of her race. We ought all to share Mordecai’s faith. However dark the outlook may sometimes seem, however great the social and political difficulties of our day, there is no doubt as to the final issue. The growing despair of nations is only the surer evidence of the approaching advent of Christ. What part shall we take in preparing the way for the Prince of Peace?
III. So the Message closed with an Appeal. ‘Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ Esther, the captive Jewess, had been raised to the throne of Persia. You, the slave of sin and death, God has redeemed by precious blood. Is it not for such a time as this, that just when the witness of men who know God is most needed your voice may be raised for Christ? That when youth and vigour and enthusiasm are wanted to free England from increasing irreligion and sin, and to carry the banner of the Cross amongst the millions of heathen in distant lands your life, bought at such a price, should be wholly yielded up to God? It is in time of war that soldiers come to the front. It is in days of darkness and corruption that God’s people must prove themselves the light of men, the salt of the earth.
IV. The Decision was Made. The three days’ fast for herself and her maidens and all the Jews was arranged. And at the close the young queen and bride took her life in her hand and went in to see the king. She risked her all, and God made her the saviour of the whole nation.
Public Spirit
Est 4:14
I. God’s cause is independent of our assistance. Mordecai believed that God watched over Israel night and day; many a time had He delivered her, when everything appeared desperate and the help of man had utterly failed; and the record of God’s faithfulness in the past gave the assurance that in some way of His own He would prevent the extinction of His people. This was a noble attitude of mind; and it is one which we should seek to cultivate in reference to the cause of Christ. If religion is real at all, then it is the greatest and most permanent of all realities. If Christ’s own words are true, then it is no limited or hesitating loyalty we owe Him. One man, with truth and the promise of God at his back, is stronger than an opposing world.
II. We are not independent of God’s cause. One reason there was which might have tempted Esther to do nothing; she was not known to be a Jewess. But Mordecai interposed between her and all such refuges of his by assuring her that, if the Jews were massacred, she and her father’s house would perish with the rest. We cannot hold back from Christ’s cause with impunity. It can do without us, but we cannot do without it. If Jesus Christ is the central figure in history, and if the movement which He set agoing is the central current of history, then to be dissociated from His aims is to be a cipher, or perhaps even a minor quantity, in the aim of good.
III. Christ’s cause offers the noblest employment for our gifts. Powerful as were the opening portions of Mordecai’s appeal, it seems to me it must have been the closing sentence which decided Esther. It is a transfiguring moment when the thought first penetrates a man that perhaps this is not the purpose for which he has received his gifts at all when the image of humanity rises up before him, in its helplessness and misery, appealing to him, as the weak appeal to the strong; when his country rises before him as an august and lovable mother and demands the services of her child; when the image of Christ rises before him, and, pointing to His cause struggling with the forces of evil yet leading towards a glorious and not uncertain goal, asks him to lend it his strength when a man ceases to be the most important object in the world to himself, and sees, outside, an object which makes him forget himself and irresistibly draws him on. This call saved Esther. The same call comes now to you. We must begin with ourselves. Are we to have aught to give the world?
J. Walker, The Four Men, p. 128.
References. IV. 14. J. E. McFadyen, The City with Foundations, p. 63. G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 285. Bishop Woodford, Occasional Sermons, vol. ii. p. 55. IV. A. Raleigh, The Book of Esther, p. 88. V. 1-8. A. D. Davidson, Lectures on Esther, p. 171. V. 9-14. Ibid. p. 192.
The Penalty of Hate
Est 4
1. When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes [a common sign of Oriental sorrow], and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry;
2. And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
3. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4. So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he received it not.
5. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.
6. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street [the square, or wide open place] of the city, which was before the king’s gate.
7. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8. Also he gave him the [a] copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
9. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10. Again [ and is better] Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
11. All the king’s servants [court], and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his [one unvarying rule] to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre [a custom referred to by this writer only], that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
12. And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
13. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself [imagine not in thy mind] that thou shalt escape in the king’s house [occupation of the palace will be no protection to thee], more than all the Jews.
14. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement [a breathing space] and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place [heavenly interposition]; but thou and thy father’s house [Esther was not Abihail’s only child] shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
15. Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
16. Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day [probably thirty-six hours]: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
17. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Progress
IN course of time Esther succeeded Vashti as queen. Some have blamed Mordecai for not returning with his people, for lingering in the strange land when he might have gone home. But who can tell what he is doing? How foolish is criticism upon human action! We think we have great liberty, and we have a marvellous way of blinding ourselves to the tether which binds us to a centre. We want to do things and cannot; we say we will arise and depart, and behold we cannot gather ourselves together or stand up. Some event occurs which entirely alters our whole purpose. We long to be at home, and yet we cannot begin the journey thitherward. Men should stand still and think about this, because in it is the whole mystery of Divine Providence. We cannot account for ourselves. There are those who challenge us to state our reasons for pursuing such and such a course of action; when we come to write down our reasons we have nothing to write. Do not scatter blame too freely. If life comes easily to you, so that you can manage it with the right hand and with the left, without any anxiety or difficulty, be quite sure that you are living a very poor life. Do not boast of your flippancy. An easy life is an ill-regulated life. A life that can account for itself all the four-and-twenty hours, and all the days of the year, is a fool’s life. Blessed are they who know the pain of mystery, who see before them an angel whom they cannot pass, who hear a voice behind them, saying, This is the way; walk ye in it: though it look so bare and hard and uphill, yet this is the way. Out of all this should come great religious consideration. We want to sit beside our friend, and cannot; we want to return to the old homestead, and no ship will carry us; we want to get rid of burdens, and in endeavouring to throw off the weight we only increase it All this is full of significance. We may look at it in one of two ways: either fretfully and resentfully, and thus may kick against the pricks, and find how hard it is to play that game of opposition against God; or we can accept the lot and say, “I am called to be here; I should like to have laboured in another land, but thou hast fixed me here; I should have loved to surround myself with other circumstances, but thou hast determined the bounds of my habitation: Lord, give me light enough to work in, give me patience in time of stress, and give me the strength of confidence.”
The nationality was concealed; it was not known that Mordecai was a Jew, beyond a very limited circle, nor was it known that Esther belonged to the Jewish race. We say, How wrong! Who are we that we should use that word so freely? Who gave us any right or title to scatter that word so liberally? Even things that are purely human, so far as we can see them, have mysteries that ought to be recognised as regulating forces, as subduing and chastening all the actions of life. Why did not Mordecai declare his nationality? Who asks the question? Do you know what it is to be down-trodden, never to be understood, always to have ill-usage heaped upon you? Do you know what it is to be spat upon, taunted, reviled, loaded with ignominy? If so, you will be merciful and generous, because you will be just. Many a man is suffering to-day from misconstruction, who could explain everything if he cared to do so. Some men would be as courageous as the boldest of us if they had not been ill-treated in youth. You must go back to the antecedents if you would understand many things which now occasion perplexity and excite even distrust. If the boy has had no chance in life; if he has been hungered, starved in body, starved in mind, beaten by cruel hands, or turned away from by still more cruel neglect; if he has had no one to fight his little battles; if every time he lifted up his face he was smitten down, what if he should turn out to be a man who fears to speak his mind, who hesitates long before he adopts a definite action and policy? Who are these brave people who would always be at the front? They are always at the front when there is any fault-finding to be done, but never found there when any great sacrifice is to be completed. There may be explanations even of suspicious actions. Suspicion would vanish if knowledge were complete. Out of all this comes the sweet spirit of charity, saying, Be careful, be tender, be wise; judge not, that ye be not judged: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Many a man is more courageous than he appears to be, and there may yet come a time when he will prove his courage. It requires long years to forget first disappointments, early ill-usage, infantile neglect. Some are better at the end than they were at the beginning. Some men are good at a long race. Others are quicker at the start: they get on the road very speedily and ostentatiously, and the despised runner comes along labouringly, but he is an awkward man on a long race; he will wear the little flimsy creature down, and when he is asked a thousand miles away where his competitor is, he will say, I do Hot know. Some come to the full estate of their power almost at once “soon ripe, soon rot.” Others require long time, and they are younger at sixty than they were at thirty. We are not judges, blessed be God. Would heaven we could withhold the word of censure, and say, These men would be better if we knew them better; they are in quality as good as we are; they have not been growing in the same rich soil, but they may flourish when we are forgotten. Let us, then, see how the little story unfolds itself.
Here is a man advanced without any discoverable reason. His name is Haman, “the son of Hammedatha the Agagite ” an information which tells nothing, a pedigree which is a superfluity. But the king, whose character we have just studied a little, promoted him, advanced him; and whenever a man is advanced without reason he loses his head. A man must always be greater than his office. No honour we can confer upon him can move his equanimity or disturb his dignity, for whilst he is modest as virtue he is still conscious of a divinely-given power which keeps all office under his feet. A man arbitrarily set on the throne will fall off. Any one who is less than his office will be toppled over. Men must grow, and when they grow they will be modest; the growth is imperceptible. The grand old oak knows nothing about its grandeur; it has been developing for centuries, and is unconscious of all admiration. Entitle yourselves to promotion and advancement by solid character, large knowledge, faithful industry, steady perseverance, by moral quality of every name and degree; then when you come to high office you will be modest, calm, thankful, generous. Haman went up to the second place without, so far as we can discover on the face of the record, right or reason.
“But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence” ( Est 3:2 ).
This was not little or pedantic on Mordecai’s part; the reason is religious. Here is an act of Oriental prostration which means religious homage, and Mordecai knew but one God. He was not wanting in civility, he was faithful to religious conviction. Some men would bow down to a dog if they could increase their salary by so doing! Bowing down, they would say, costs nothing: why should we trouble ourselves about a sentimental act, a piece of etiquette and ceremony? we can get promotion by it, and the end will justify the means. Mordecai was in a strange country, but he was a Jew still. He was an honest believer in God. He knew well enough what Haman could do for him; he knew also what Haman could do against him: but he was of a fine quality of soul. He will talk presently, and then we shall know something about him. He is grand in silence, he is overwhelming in speech. He will not talk long, but he will talk fire. This was told to Haman, and the question was asked “whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: “look at his record, track his footprints, set the bloodhounds upon him. He had told them that he was a Jew, and that probably was given as his reason; and the very reason he assigned was turned into a charge against him. It would appear as if, in stating that he was a Jew, he meant to explain why he did not throw himself down in the common prostration. Men often have their reasons turned like sharp swords against them; their very confidence is turned into an impeachment. He who lives with bad men must expect bad treatment. Haman then began to take notice of the Jew.
“And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath” ( Est 3:5 ).
Little natures require great revenge. Little natures endeavour to magnify themselves by exaggeration. Small statues require high pedestals. Haman will not lay hands upon Mordecai, he will lay hands upon the whole Jewish race, so far as that race can be discovered in the country, and he will kill every man, woman, and child. Was he a right man to be promoted and advanced? Elevation tests men. A little brief authority discovers what is in a man’s heart. How many men are honest, and modest, and gentle, and gracious, until they become clothed with a little brief authority! They do not know themselves what wonder if they forget themselves? Haman therefore resolved upon the extirpation of the Jews in his country
“And Hainan said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them. If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries” ( Est 3:8-9 ).
It is of no use being in office unless you do something. Have a bold policy kill somebody! Be active!
“And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee” ( Est 3:10-11 ).
This is the effect of self-indulgence on the human will. We have seen how the king lived. We cannot tell exactly what time passed between the action we have just studied and the action which is now before us, but probably a considerable period passed. The man’s soul has gone down. You may ruin any man by luxury. Inflame his ambition, and he may seem to be a strong man; but ask him to do anything that is of the nature of resentment, and he will instantly succumb: his will had been destroyed. Xerxes said in effect to Haman, Do whatever thou pleasest: I hear the chink of silver in thy hand, thou hast promised tribute and support, go and write any number of letters you like, and kill any number of men you please, but let me alone. Then came the dark day in history that day all cloud, that day that had no morning, no noontide no hint of blue.
“When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry” ( Est 4:1 ).
That is all we can do sometimes. Speech is useless, words are a mockery; the soul is filled with woe. It is not unmanly, it is not weakness; it is indeed an aspect of human greatness; it is man seeking after the ineffable, the eternal, the infinite, crying where he cannot speak, for a cry is more eloquent than a sentence. All who have known the bitterness of life have been in this very condition in some degree. When poverty has been in every room in the house, when affliction is a familiar guest, when disappointment comes like a crown of thorns upon the head of every day, what if even strong solid men express themselves in a loud and bitter cry? Mordecai had, however, something left; he said, I must work through my relative; Esther the queen must come to my deliverance now, and through me to the deliverance of the whole people in this foreign land. So he began communications with the queen; the queen explained and hesitated, pointed out the difficulties, but Mordecai would hear nothing of difficulty. He made a grand appeal to her:
“Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed” ( Est 4:13-14 ).
We have anticipated the speech. How nobly it is argued; how pathetically it is uttered! The man was shut up to one course. There are times when we are dependent upon one life: if this fail, God fails. Who does not know something of this experience, when ingenuity is baffled, when invention can go no farther, and yet there is just one thing that may be tried, that must be tried? These are the circumstances which test character; these are the circumstances, too, which test our friends. We only know our friends when we are in extremity. This is Christ’s own test of character. He said, “I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat”; in other words, I was in extremity, and my extremity was your opportunity. This is precisely the reasoning of Mordecai. The Jews were an hungered, and they pined for the meat the bread, the water, of fraternal sympathy. There are times when we must risk everything upon a last effort. Are there not some of us who have risked nothing? In crises we know what men are. Mordecai’s religious confidence triumphed. He was a Jew of the right type; he said enlargement and deliverance should arise from another quarter: God would not forsake his people; he has himself punished them, but in all God’s correction there is measure: it is impossible that Hainan’s murderous policy can succeed. There are times when men leap in their inspiration; they become majestic through moral conviction, they feel that things are not handed over to a wicked hand. Though the night be dark, and the wind be loud and cold, and friends there may seem to be none, yet through that very darkness deliverance will come, and the world will be wrested from the clutches of the devil.
Then came the sublime personal appeal
“And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ( Est 4:14 ).
Now we may have explanation. “We wondered why thou shouldest have been chosen to be queen in place of Vashti; others appeared to be more beautiful than thou, but by some means, not then explicable, thou wast brought to the kingdom: now the explanation is at hand.” God discovers himself by surprises. For a long time all things proceed monotonously, even wearisomely, and quite suddenly we begin to put things together, and to shape them, until they become pillars, arches, houses, sanctuaries; then we say, This was the meaning of it all: the darkness is gone, the light shineth, and behold God, even invisibleness, is at hand, so that we can lay our hand upon him, fall down before him, and bless his all-sufficient and reverent name. This hope nerves the weakest; this hope reveals the depths of the human constitution. Are there not crises in which we are all placed? What have you your wealth for? What a trial is prosperity! Why was it given to you? That you might make every good cause prosper; that you might make every way easy along which the kingdom of heaven was passing; that there might be no crying in your streets. Your wealth was given to satisfy the cry of need, to bless the cause of honesty. How dare you go to bed with all that gold in the coffer? For what was your power given? not to gratify your ambition, not to make you a name amongst men; but that you might threaten the enemy, undo heavy burdens, smite the tyrant, and speak comfortably to every brave man who is working under arduous and trying circumstances. Who dare bear his power simply as a decoration? For what was your education given to you? That you might be a light in darkness, a teacher of the ignorant, a friend to those who have had no such advantages as you have enjoyed. You were not educated that you might chatter in polysyllables, astound human ignorance by an information which it could never test; you were educated in the providence of God that you might help every man to learn the alphabet, to spell the name of God, to make out the gospel of Christ. “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” If men had understanding of the times, saw their opportunities, rose to the occasion, in the spirit of Christ, in the spirit of the cross of Christ, they would make the world feel how true are Christ’s words: “Ye are the salt of the earth…. Ye are the light of the world…. Ye are a city set on a hill.” Christ Jesus the Son of God always calls men to help others, to deliver the oppressed, to undo heavy burdens that are too grievous to be borne. In going forward to such work as that we are obeying Christ’s command when he said “Follow me.”
XXV
THE STORY OF ESTHER
Esther
Our subject for this discussion is “The Story of Esther.” First, a few words by way of general introduction to the book. The book of Esther belongs to what is called The Haggiographa, that is, the writings. The books of the Old Testament are divided into three groups: The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings. This book belongs to the third group. The time of this book is during the sixty years of silence between the dedication of the Temple and Ezra’s return. It should be located right between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra) perhaps about thirty-eight or thirty-nine years after the dedication, or 478 B.C.
The author is unknown, but unquestionably he was a Jew, possibly Ezra or Mordecai, but probably neither of them. The style is against Ezra as author, while the high praise of Mordecai is against Mordecai as author and, besides there are no first personal pronouns in the book referring to the author. It was evidently written by a Jew contemporary with Mordecai. Some say Joakim, the high priest, wrote it, but this is hardly probable, since he does not seem to have had a knowledge of the Persian court sufficient for such a task. The date is about 450 B.C.
There is a great deal of difference in the way the book of Esther is regarded by scholars and others. Many Gentiles have but little use for it, because it is such a Jewish book. Ewald, a great German critic, says that it is like coming down from heaven to earth to read Esther. Luther said he wished the book had never been written it is so Judaizing. So you see this book is variously estimated. The Jews value it highly. They maintain that the book of Esther will last when the prophets have perished. They always read it with great joy and say its place in the canon of the Holy Scriptures is unquestioned. But in many editions of the Bible it was not included; it was not considered worthy of a place. But by a large majority of the scholars it is included in the canon, as rightfully belonging to the Holy Scriptures.
The book was undoubtedly written to give a historical basis or ground for the Feast of Purim. This feast was observed for centuries before Christ in the month of March. The book was written by a Jewish patriot to give the occasion of this feast. This book has some peculiarities. The name of God is not once mentioned. There is no mention of prayer in it. There is not even a reference to Jerusalem nor the Temple. But it must be remembered that it is a national book; written for national purposes and from a national motive. It is intensely Jewish, referring to a tragic incident in their history, recounting the marvelous way in which they escaped from a great crisis. There are two allusions in the book to facts in previous Jewish history, viz: Mordecai’s captivity (Est 2:6 ) and the dispersion of the Jews in all the provinces (Est 3:8 ).
The book is real history. The arguments against the historicity of book are as follows:
1. According to the history of Herodotus, and that is our chief authority for the history of this period, especially Persian history, the queen of Ahasuerus at this time was Amastris, whom he married many years before the events found in the book of Esther could have happened, and she never was put away, but maintained a great influence over him and largely shaped the course of his life. She was a Persian woman of very bad personal traits: unscrupulous and crafty, controlling the king in many matters. She was entirely different from what Esther is pictured as being. Our reply to that argument will come up in a later reply to it.
2. The law of the land compelled the Persian monarchy to marry in the families of his own relatives, or five of the noblest Persian favorites. Thus it would have been impossible for a Jewish woman to have been made the queen.
3. Esther is regarded as the queen in this book. But she could only have been the chief favorite in the royal harem. This is probably the only position in which we can place her and be in harmony with the facts.
4. It is argued that the book clearly indicates that Haman knew the race of Mordecai, but not that of Esther. How could he be ignorant of the race?
5. The appalling massacre of their enemies by the Jews, seventy-five thousand at one time, seems incredible. It looks like the fancy picture of a novelist. The reasonable thing is to deny that seventy-five thousand citizens of the Persian Empire could be killed or butchered in such a way.
6. It is highly improbable that the massacre should have been deferred for eleven months after it was decreed. Lots were cast, and according to the lot Haman fixed the date of the decree which he had secured from the king. It is neither improbable nor by any means impossible, but perfectly true.
7. The story is so well knit together as to resemble a fairy tale. But cannot God arrange his providences as well as a writer could arrange them? Is God’s mind inferior to a novelist’s?
8. The religious element is in the background, and scarcely referred to either directly or indirectly. It is true that God is not directly referred to, nor is prayer mentioned, but God is implied, and there may be a reason for the silence in the matter of religion. The writer may have found it better to conceal the element of the Jewish religion than to reveal the power behind the throne.
9. Its moral tone is unworthy of Scripture. The best characters in the book are represented as ruthlessly demanding this massacre and then demanding its repetition, not satisfied with the butchery of five hundred people in one city alone, only satisfied when three hundred more were put to death. Such is at variance with the Scripture, and seems to be unworthy of a place in the canon, they say.
Now the arguments in favor of the historicity of the book are as follows:
1. It is true to the Persian manners and customs, even down to the minutest details. It is true to the life, times, and customs of the Persian people. No man could have written this book unless he was familiar with the Persian life in all of its details. So at once it is evident that it cannot be fiction.
2. The character of Xerxes, or Ahasuerus, is correctly pictured. Point by point this king can be matched with the picture and record of Herodotus, the great historian. The man who wrote this book must have known this king, or he never could have written the book as we have it.
3. The existence of the Feast of Purim itself must have some historical occasion and is a mighty argument for the historicity of the book. Critics have tried to account for this feast which has existed now for twenty-three or twenty-four hundred years in other ways, but have utterly failed. The only way to account for the feast is to accept the feast as actual history.
4. The great council in the third year in the reign of Ahasuerus mentioned in the first of the book of Esther, that is, the feast actually occurred and was called together to plan an expedition against Greece. That expedition he carried out as secular history plainly records. Then were fought the battles of Thermopylae and Marathon on the land, and the sea contest at Salamis, when the hosts of Persia were scattered like chaff before the Greek patriots. It is a historic fact that this great assembly came together in the third year of the reign of Ahasuerus.
5. There is no historical discrepancy in the book. The most critical of the German critics has failed to point out a single incident which contradicts history.
6. It makes its appeals to the chronicles of the kings of Persia, as found in the last chapter. The writer would not have dared to do that writing as he did in the land of Persia, if his record had not been true and he had not authority for what he wrote.
7. It tacitly, though not openly, recognizes a providence in history, and was written to record the divine providence in relation to God’s chosen people. Much scripture is written for the very purpose of recording God’s dealings with his people in their preservation, and the incidents of their natural existence. Why should not one book then be written with this great event as its real background?
8. The ruthless demand of Mordecai and Esther for the massacre of their enemies must be studied in the light of their age and the circumstances that had been forced upon them.
9. God’s providences may produce as good and as well knit a story as the imagination of a novelist. To deny that is really to deny the workings of divine providence, or to deny that God is as great as man.
The classic name of Ahasuerus is Xerxes, the boundaries of whose empire were India and Ethiopia. The places of the scenes of the book are Shushan, the palace of the Persian king, and the provinces.
We may now pursue our study of the book itself by taking up the story chapter by chapter as follows:
Chapter 1 : In the palace of Artaxerxes there is a great feast, lasting 180 days; his magnificence is displayed. A second great feast is made for the people of Shushan. There are revelling and drinking till the men are all drunken. The king is intoxicated. He commands to bring his wife, Vashti, for his drunken lords to look at, that he might display her beauty. The refusal of the queen to come and be insulted, the anger of the king, the advice of one of his counsellors, the issuing of the decree that all women, throughout the Persian Empire should ever after obey their husbands about as foolish a decree as any man ever made.
Chapter 2 : A new queen is sought. A bevy of beautiful girls is brought one by one before the king. Among them is Esther, a Jewess, brought up by Mordecai. She succeeds in pleasing the king and becomes queen. A great feast is made in honor of her. About that time a plot is discovered by Mordecai in which two of the king’s chamberlains plan to assassinate the king. Mordecai reveals the plot.
Chapter 3 : The promotion of Haman, the Agagite, to be prime minister. Mordecai, the Jew, refuses to bow down to him. Haman is angered and mortified. He will not be content with putting to death one Jew, but asks the king on promise of payment of a large sum of money for permission to put to death the entire Jewish nation, on the condition that he replace his loss out of the money of those he killed. The decree is granted. The lot is cast to decide the day. The edict goes forth that on that day eleven months hence all the Jews are to be put to death.
Chapter 4 : The grief of the Jews. Mordecai commands Esther to intercede on their behalf before the king. She asks him to fast three days on her behalf. The answer to Mordecai, “Do not think that thou thyself shall escape their massacre?”
Chapter 5 : Esther appears before the king, taking her life in her own hands, for it might mean death to appear before the king unbidden. She is accepted. This incident is to Esther like the experience of Nehemiah in the reign of Artaxerxes, the son of this same king. Everything seemed to depend upon the whim of this childish king. She invites him to a banquet. She knows how to get on the best side of him. She asks Haman to be with them also. Haman hears the news that he is to banquet with the king and his queen, and he is very much elated. He tells his wife about it, then complains about this man, Mordecai, who will not bow the knee to him. His wife says, “Get ready a gallows fifty cubits high and hang Mordecai on it.” He follows his wife’s advice and prepares the gallows.
Chapter 6 : Incidents leading up to the honoring of Mordecai. The state records are read. The story is told how the king’s life had been spared by a man named Mordecai. He asks the question, “Has this man been honored? He saved my life.” Answer, “No.” While he is thinking about this, Haman comes in. The king asks him, “What shall I do to the one I desire to highly honor?” Haman, thinking it is himself that the king desires to honor, gives this suggestion: “Put the king’s robe on him and a chain about his neck, and have the chief man in the kingdom lead his beast through the streets of the city.” He said that, thinking that he was to be thus honored himself. “All right,” said the king, “You go and do that to Mordecai,” and he had to do it. There was no escape from the king’s command. Then he went home like a sulky boy because he had been whipped. As soon as he reaches home, word comes that he is to go to the banquet.
Chapter 7 : The banquet passed off without incident. Persians were very fond of drinking and banquets. The king wanted to know what Esther demanded. She wanted time to get him in a good humor, so she asked that he come to another banquet. At this the king declared that he was ready to grant her request even to half of the kingdom. Now the time had come. She began to beg for her life and for the life of her people. We may imagine how the king felt when he learned that his favorite queen was to be killed. See how she works him up. Yes, she was to be killed, for the decree did not exclude even her. “Who is going to kill my very idol, my favorite queen?” “Why, this wicked Haman is going to do it.” This is another psychological moment. Haman begins to beg and to plead with Esther for his life; he even climbed up on the couch where she is reclining. The king thinks that he is even trying to add insult to injury, and so his rage knows no bounds. The servants say that he has made a gallows fifty cubits high on which to hang Mordecai. The king commands them to take the wretch and hang him on it.
Chapter 8 : Mordecai is promoted to Haman’s place and becomes chief minister. Esther begs that the decree against the Jews be revoked, but the law of the Medes and Persians changes not. The only thing that can be done is to issue another decree, so the king asks her what she will have. She and Mordecai have talked it over and she is ready for that request. She asks that the Jews have the privilege of slaying their enemies. There was no other way out of it. This shows Mordecai’s shrewdness and ability. There was great rejoicing among the Jews at this turn of affairs.
Chapter 9 : The day arrives. The Jews are prepared. The nobles help the Jews because a Jew is prime minister. The nobles knew on which side their bread was buttered. So they help the Jews and altogether, seventy-five thousand of the people are slain; five hundred in Shushan the palace alone. Esther and Mordecai make another request. Esther wants the massacre repeated. She wanted another day of butchery. I do not know why. The king grants it. There is great rejoicing among the Jews. This occurred on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, or our month of March. Mordecai and Esther fix this day in which all the Jews shall celebrate this great event. She has the edict issued under the seal of Mordecai the prime minister, and so the feast is established. That is how this feast originated. Every year on the fifteenth of March, all the Jews celebrate it. They do not celebrate it in a very religious fashion now. Still they regard it as a great day.
Chapter 10 : This chapter speaks of the greatness of Mordecai, as the prime minister of the Persian king.
Now let us look at the chief characters of the book, as follows:
1. Ahasuerus : There is no question but that this Ahasuerus is the Xerxes of history, and is an exemplification of despotism. He was an absolute monarch, a despot. In him we see the outworkings of despotism. Caligula of the Roman Empire was a despot, and his despotism drove him mad. It is despotism that made this king, Xerxes, ridiculous in the eyes of the world. He was the slave of his ministers and servants. He knew nothing but what they told him. He was absolutely dependent upon them, for all of his information. He was like a child in his silly notions. His servants and nobles deceived and tricked him, and he was so suspicious of them that he was a very slave to his slaves. He was afraid of them, and they knew that if he suspicioned them, he would kill them, and so he was afraid of them, and they were afraid of him. He was the slave also of his passions. He spent his time drinking, eating, banqueting and satisfying his gluttony and lust. He was not much above the beast. Because the Hellespont wrecked his ships, he ordered it to be flogged. He was the slave of his whims and fancies, the slave of his temper and his feelings. He knew no control but his own will, the tool and the plaything of the favorite of his harem, willing to ruthlessly murder thousands of his own subject to satisfy his favorite queen. We must, however, say for him that he recognized the services of Mordecai in saving his life, and honored him. But he did this because it was called to his attention, and not because he sought it out or remembered it.
2. Vashti : She has been honored above many women in history. She is recognized as one who would forfeit her position and crown rather than to sacrifice her honor and her pride. She refused to obey the king at the risk of her own life. But she maintained her dignity and self-respect. She was valorous and womanly. She was having a feast with the women, and it is thought by some that she may have refused to do the king’s bidding because she had taken a little too much wine, hence was not much disposed to be ordered, but I rather think this is not true. She was a rare gem in the midst of that corrupt Persian Court.
3. Haman : This man’s name is a synonym for vanity and fulsome pride, ruthlessness and savagery, deceit, cruelty, and all that is ignoble. He is the incarnation of insane conceit. Honors made a fool of him. Now pride in itself is not such a bad thing. A man may have pride of the right sort and really be helped by it. But a man with this kind of pride wants everything in the universe to be his slave. Even preachers may have this disease. They sometimes think that everybody and everything ought to bow down to them. Because Mordecai would not bow his knee to Haman his vanity was hurt. When a man thus allows his vanity to rule him, he sees everything out of proportion. Haman could not be satisfied with the murder of Mordecai, but he must do the big thing and kill the nation. Vanity is insatiable, and often causes wars. It was this man’s vanity that led to his downfall.
4. Mordecai : He is one of the great characters of the book. He was a Jew and a poor one, but he was loyal to the king, under whose government he lived. The Jews have become citizens of nearly every nation in the world. Here we have a Jew the prime minister of the empire. One of the greatest prime ministers that Great Britain ever had was a Jew. Mordecai was faithful to his king. He was elevated to be prime minister, but it did not give him the “big head.” When he was led through the streets he did not feel puffed up. He had sense enough to know that that sort of thing would not last long. Here is a man who waited and worked. We do well to learn that lesson working and waiting and doing your best will bring its reward, in due time. God always has a place ready for the man who works and waits and does his best.
5. Esther : She was brought up in the family of Mordecai and trained by him. She was trained well beyond any doubt. She was beautiful but not spoiled by her beauty. She was able to use her beauty in the right way. Though she was the favorite of the king and was successful with him, it did not spoil her. She remained loyal to her uncle and did not forget him. Neither did she lose her religion when she became a queen in the most wicked court of her times. There is no mention that there was prayer connected with the three days fast, but doubtless there was. She takes her life in her own hands for her people. She knew how to manage the king. She outwitted the cunning Haman. She was severe. She was one of the greatest heroines of history, and she has been called by many the saviour of her people. She was beautiful, talented, brave, shrewd, and a womanly woman, yea, one of the greatest of women.
QUESTIONS
1. At what point in the history of Israel does the book of Esther come in?
2. Who wrote the book and when?
3. What of the canonicity of the book?
4. What was the purpose of the book?
5. What are the peculiarities of the book?
6. What two allusions in the book to facts in previous Jewish history?
7. Is the book real history and what arguments prove and confirm?
8. What was the classic name of the Persian king who married Esther and what were the boundaries of his empire.
9. What was the place of the scenes of the book?
10. Give the story of the book, chapter by chapter.
11. Give a character sketch of Ahasuerus, Vashti, Haman, Mordecai, and Esther, respectively.
12. What great lessons of the book and at what points in the story is God’s hand most plainly seen?
Est 4:1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
Ver. 1. When Mordecai perceived all that was done ] M , saith Josephus, when he had learned or fully informed himself, so that he knew it to be so, as the Hebrew text hath it (Jadang.). Solicitous he was of the Church’s welfare, and sat listening, as Eli did once, what would become of the ark, 1Sa 3:13 . Now therefore, as ill news is swift of foot, saith Sophocles, , and comes like ill weather, before it be sent for, Mordecai taketh knowledge of that bloody decree, though Esther and those about her had not heard of it, Est 4:4-5 . Neither sitteth he still at home, as desponding and despairing, or seeketh by sinister practices to help himself and his people, but applieth himself, first, to God, by hearty humiliation and prayer; and then to the king, by the intercession of Esther. A carnal heart would have taken other shifting courses, like as a dog that hath lost his master will follow after any other for relief.
Mordecai rent his clothes
And put on sackcloth
And ashes
And went out into the midst of the city
And cried with a loud and a bitter cry Esther Chapter 4
Well might there be a great cry going forth from the Jew. Their doom was sealed. So it appeared. The more so as it was always one of the maxims of the Persian empire that a law once passed was never revoked – “according to the law of the Medes and Persians that altereth not.” Nothing then, it might appear, could possibly have saved the people. The master of 127 provinces had given his royal word, signed with his seal, and sent it out by posts throughout the whole length and breadth of the empire. The day was fixed; the people named. Destruction seemed to be certain; but Mordecai rends his clothes and puts on sackcloth, and goes into the midst of the city, and cries with a loud and bitter cry (Est 4:1 ), and if God’s name is not written and does not appear, God’s ears, none the less, heard. Mordecai came unto the king’s gate, for none might enter into the gate clothed with sackcloth. He came before it, not within it, and Esther heard. They told her, and the queen was exceeding grieved, little knowing the cause of the grief. And Esther sends, through one of the chamberlains, and Mordecai tells him of all that had happened unto him, and of what Haman had promised to pay, and the destruction that was impending over the Jew.
Esther upon this, we are told, gives Hatach commandment to Mordecai telling him the hopelessness of the case. The object was that she might go and make supplication to the king. But how? It was one of the laws of the Persian empire that nobody could go into the king’s presence. The king must send, and the king had not sent for the queen for thirty days. It was against the law to venture there. Accordingly Mordecai sends her a most distinct but severe message. “Think not with thyself,” said he, “that thou shalt escape in the king’s house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place.” Not a word about God. He is hidden. He means God, but so perfectly is there a preserving of the secrecy of God that he only vaguely alludes to it in this remarkable manner – “Then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;” – for God would look down from heaven; but Mordecai only speaks of the place and not of the person – “but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther, accordingly, is brought to a due sense of the situation. She enters perfectly into Mordecai’s feeling for the people and his confidence of the enlargement that would come from another place. So she bids Mordecai ”Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day.” She also, as she says, will do this. “I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king.” Not a word about the perfumes now. Not a word about the sweet odours to prepare herself for the presence of the king. To that she had submitted; it was the king’s order; but now, although she does not mention God, it is evident where her heart is. She goes with this most singular preparation, but an admirable one at such a time – fasting – a great sign of humiliation before God; yet, even here, God is not named. You cannot doubt that God is above, and that God is behind, the scenes; but all that appears is merely the fasting of man, and not the God before whom the fasting was. “And if I perish, I perish.” Her mind was made up.
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Est 4:1-3
1When Mordecai learned all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly. 2He went as far as the king’s gate, for no one was to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3In each and every province where the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.
Est 4:1 he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went in the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly These were Jewish mourning rites; more are listed in Est 4:3 :
1. tore his clothes, Est 4:1
2. put on sackcloth, Est 4:1; Est 4:3
3. put on ashes (or dust, but on the head), Est 4:1; Est 4:3
4. wailed loudly and bitterly, Est 4:1; Est 4:3
5. fasted, Est 4:3
6. wept, Est 4:3
Numbers 1, 2 are often done together (cf. Isa 58:5; Jer 6:26; Jon 3:6). The Persians also practiced #1 (cf. Herodotus, Hist. 8.99).
Est 4:2 Expressing personal emotions in the king’s presence or palace was inappropriate (cf. Neh 2:1-2).
Est 4:3
NASB, NKJV,
NJB, NIVmany
NRSV, TEV,
REBmost
JPSOAeverybody
NABall
The Hebrew has many, but this term often has the connotation of all (cf. Isa 53:11-12 vs. Isa 53:6; Rom 5:19 vs. Rom 5:18).
lay on sackcloth Sackcloth was made of coarse goat or camel hair. It was rough and most uncomfortable when worn close to the skin. The Jews wore it as an outer garment and even slept on it (cf. 2Sa 21:10; 1Ki 21:27; Isa 58:5). See Special Topic: Grieving Rites .
done = being done.
bitter cry. Not (we may be sure) without confession and prayer, as with Nehemiah (Est 1), and Daniel 9).
Chapter 4
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, he tore his clothes, he put on sackcloth with ashes, and he went out into the midst of the city, and he cried with a loud and bitter cry; And he even came before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate who was clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, wherever the king’s decree had come, there was a great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing: and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. So Esther’s maid and her chamberlains came and they told her. And the queen was exceedingly grieved; and she sent clothes to Mordecai, and she said, Take off that sackcloth: but he received it not. Then Esther called for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, who was appointed to attend her, and she gave him a commandment to go out and find out from Mordecai just what was going on. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai out in the streets. And Mordecai told him all that had happened unto him, the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay the king’s treasury for the Jews, to destroy them. Also he gave him a copy of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it to Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, and make supplication unto him, and to make a request before him for her people. So Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. And again Esther spoke to Hatach and said, Go out and tell Mordecai; All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who has not been called, there is one law and that is to be put to death, except such as to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come into the king for thirty days. And so they went out and told Mordecai Esther’s words ( Est 3:1-12 ).
So Esther hears of the cousin of hers and his wailing and lying out there in sackcloth and ashes, and so she says, “What’s wrong?” and he sends back one of the copies of the decrees that has gone out and suggests that Esther go in to her husband. Now can you imagine that kind of a husband and wife relationship? He hadn’t called for her for thirty days, and if she just appears on the scene she’s put to death, unless he would raise the golden scepter towards her and then she is spared. Quite a weird kind of a relationship, to say the truth. And so she was hesitant to go in.
And then Mordecai sent to her this message, Don’t think within yourself that you’re going to escape because you’re in the king’s house, more than all of the Jews. For if you altogether hold your peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but you and your father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this? ( Est 4:13-14 )
Number one, don’t think that just because you are in the palace you’re going to escape the king’s edict. You are a Jew; it’ll reach you there. Also, if you fail… here God is giving you the opportunity of being the instrument of saving the people. And if you fail, God will use someone else, but you will be destroyed. You and your father’s house will perish. God will bring deliverance. God’s purposes are going to stand. God has to keep the Jews alive through whatever persecution and all they may go through. God has to preserve them. God will preserve them. Their enlargement and deliverance then will arise from another quarter, but you are going to be destroyed with your family. And who knows? Maybe God has brought you to the kingdom for such a time as this.
All of these circumstances are not just coincidences. So often I hear people say, “You know, the strangest coincidence happened to me.” But coincidences really don’t exist in the Christian vocabulary. God has His hand upon our lives and He has a plan and a purpose for each thing that takes place. And many times what we look upon as great tragedies are really methods by which God is bringing certain things to us.
I look back on my own life and I can see how that the hand of God has been upon my life from the beginning. Now, I must confess there were many times in my life that I thought I was pretty well forsaken by God. I thought that God had forgotten me completely. I was certain that God wasn’t interested in me or my welfare. And I have had some very discouraging experiences. Difficult times. I’ve gone through a lot of hardships. And yet, as I look back on them now, I can see that God was using each one of those experiences for a definite plan and a purpose, as He was preparing me and as He was leading my path into that which He had in mind for me from the beginning. And that all of those disappointing experiences, all of those years of struggle in the ministry, all the years of hardship, all the years of just skimping to get by, trying to survive, were all a part of God’s plan to prepare me for the work He had in mind for me to do.
Number one, He allowed me seventeen years of failure in the ministry to thoroughly condition my mind to the fact that I could do nothing. So that when God did begin to work, I wouldn’t try to take credit for what God was doing. And after seventeen years of my best efforts, my best years, young, innovative, energetic, dark wavy hair, God let it all go! Let me get over the hill! And then He began to work. So that I am wise enough to recognize the difference between my work and God’s work. And I can look back at the seventeen years of ministry and show you my work, my best work, and it ended in failure. And I can look now at God’s work and stand with the next guy just overwhelmed and amazed at what God can do.
But it was all necessary, because I had a lot of self confidence. I had a lot of ideas, I had a lot of innovations, and God had to let me sort of waste them in seventeen years of trying until I gave up. And now it’s so beautiful. Because it’s God’s work, and I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t have to stay awake nights and pound the pillow and plan, and “What are we going to do? And how are we going to do it?” and all. It’s God’s work. It’s the Lord’s church. But it took me a long time to come to that. So, all the way, through all of these things God was working. Putting me in this place to meet these people. Moving me here to meet these people. All the way along, God was guiding and directing, though at times I thought that I was forsaken by God. Yet, God was working things out.
The first time I went to Corona to pastor, we had just two children when we first went there, and we had sixteen people in church. I gave it two of my best years. Working hard, knocking on doors, doing everything I could, and after two years we had seventeen people in church (our son Jeff was born during that period of time). Oh, that was a hard place in the ministry! And I really felt rejected by God. I ended up there resigning from the ministry. And then a gracious bishop talked me into trying again. But God’s hand was in it. You see, while I was there I met people. Though they never did come to my church, I met people who later on became a very important part of my being freed from denominational ties. For people that I met while I was there who never did attend my church while I pastored there, years later when I had got discouraged and just quit the ministry again, they said, “Why don’t you come out and start a Bible class in our home in Corona?”
And so I went out and started a Bible class in their home, which grew into a church. And I began to see God work. But, you see, had I not spent the two bitter years there and met these people I might still…why, I’m sure I wouldn’t be in the ministry today. Because I had had it. But God’s hand, I can see it all the way along. And He was working, even as God is working in your life, and you may tonight feel like, “Oh, how could God be in this mess?” But yet, God is working out His purpose. And who knows but what God hasn’t brought you into the kingdom, and that just right around the corner you’re going to begin to see God’s work after all of your futile efforts and all your struggles, when you finally turn it over to God. You give God a chance to work. You see, that was my problem. I was so stubborn. I was going to do it. I knew I could do it. And I kept trying. And I didn’t turn it over to God for years. But oh, what a joy now that I’ve finally learned to turn it over to God. And if you’ll just learn to turn it over, you can find God’s work in a very special way. Who knows, who knows what God wants to do? Who knows what God has in mind for you? Who knows the plans of God for your life?
So Esther said,
Gather together all of the Jews in the city, fast and pray for me, and I will go in unto the king: and if I perish, I perish ( Est 4:16 ).
That’s a commitment. That’s a complete commitment. That’s the kind of commitment that God wants from your life. “Lord, all the way. If I perish, I perish. But Lord, I’ll do it. I’ll go for it.”
And so Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him ( Est 4:17 ). “
Est 4:1-3
Introduction
THE ISRAEL OF GOD IN SACKCLOTH; ASHES; AND TEARS
The last verse of the previous chapter mentioned that the city of Susa was perplexed. “Although the Jews certainly had enemies in Susa, the majority of the Persians were Zoroastrians, and were likely to sympathize with the Jews. There might also have been other national groups in Persia who would have been alarmed and apprehensive at the king’s decision to slaughter all the Jews.” Some might have been fearful that their group might be next. It must have been a major shock to the Persian capital when the king’s decree became known.
The Jews throughout the whole Persian empire at once exhibited their grief, alarm, mourning and fear, in much the same manner as did Mordecai.
Est 4:1-3
MORDECAI LEARNS ALL THAT WAS DONE
“Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and he came even before the king’s gate; for none might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
This great mourning prevailed in every province of the vast empire, including Jerusalem and Judaea of course. Although the name of God is not mentioned in Esther, this outpouring of grief on the part of the Chosen People was nothing at all unless it was an appeal for God’s intervention to save his people from their threatened destruction. The sackcloth and ashes were universally recognized as signs of extreme grief and distress. “Either sackcloth or ashes was a sign of deep mourning; but both together were indications of the most distressing grief possible.”
“All the Jews throughout Persia broke out into mourning, weeping, and lamentations, while many of them exhibited their mourning as did Mordecai.” Mordecai’s purpose for such a visible demonstration of his mourning was to alert Esther that something was terribly wrong and to get the truth of the situation and its seriousness to Esther.
E.M. Zerr:
Est 4:1. The decree was known to Mordecai since it was made so public. It caused him to go into a period of mourning. Sackcloth and ashes were put on and about the body on about the same principle on which people once wore dark crepe after the death of a near relative. Rending the garment was done also as a sign of grief and anxiety. Mordecai displayed his forms of mourning through the central portions of the city, accompanying the material demonstrations with bitter outcries.
Est 4:2. There were restrictions against going inside the king’s gate while wearing mourning. Mordecai went as far as he could; he came before the gate.
Est 4:3. The mourning became general because the Jews were scattered throughout the empire. Some went to the extent of lying prostrate with their bodies covered with sackcloth and ashes scattered over them.
The news of the intended slaughter reached Esther in the royal palace, and she sent to make inquiries. Thus between the extreme need of her people and the king she became a direct link. The custom and law of the court forbade her to approach her lord save at his command. Still, the urgency of the case appealed to her, and with splendid heroism she determined to venture.
Conscious of her need of moral support, she asked that the people might fast with her. There is a note of sacrifice and abandonment in her words, “If I perish, I perish.” Her decision was arrived at after strong pressure from Mordecai; and in all probability there is evident in it a desire to save her own life, for he had warned her that she was as greatly in peril as were the rest of her people. Granting all that can be said concerning the motive of her action, the supreme teaching of the story moves on, namely, of the care of God for His people, and of His use of a natural means to deliver them.
Opportunity for Patriotic Devotion
Est 4:1-17
It seemed as if the whole nation would suddenly be cut off to satisfy the hatred of Haman, and Mordecai knew that he had been the cause of the plot. Esther was evidently living in close sympathy with her uncle, though now separated from him. In reply to the demand that she should hazard her life for the people, there was at first a natural reluctance. Was her love for her people greater than her love for herself? In her resolve there was surely something of the great love of Christ. We may be quite sure that God will carry out His plans-with us, if possible; if not, in spite of us, to our utter loss. We should look upon our position as a sacred trust to be used for others. We are created for good works, which God hath prepared for us to walk in. There can be no presumption in action which is preceded by prayer and heart-searching.
Chapter 4
In Sackcloth And Ashes
When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and came even before the kings gate: for none might enter into the kings gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province whithersoever the kings commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes (vers. 1-3).
In such solemn manner was the decree received by the condemned Jews. To Haman, and to the king, the slaughter of a nation for the gratification of a princes vanity might be a thing indifferent; but to the people thus devoted, it was the cause of heartrending scenes. They believed the word of Ahasuerus. The proclamation was sealed with the royal signet. They knew they were under sentence of death, and their hearts were filled with grief and anguish. In this, how like the condition of awakened sin- ners! All unsaved men are under a far worse condemnation than that which darkened the sky of every Jew in the Persian dominions. Yea, more: because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God that condemnation is, unlike the present instance, an intrinsically righteous one. Every honest man must side with the dying robber on the cross, and confess, We indeed justly! Death passed upon all men, because all have sinned. Therefore it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.
If this be really true, how is it that men and women in general are so indifferent to the solemn fact? Alas, alas! though God has given His Word, men will not believe it. Wherever that Word is believed the result is prostration of soul before the offended Majesty in the heavens, as in the case of the repentant publican, who cried from the depths of an anguished heart, O God, be merciful to me, a sinner! It is because men do not believe God they can go on so carelessly with the dark clouds of doom gathering ever in greater density directly over their heads.
Is my reader one of this class? If so, I pray you, receive the testimony of God against yourself ere the judgment falls. You have grievously sinned, and righteously fallen under the ban of the Holy One. He has published broadcast the proclamation, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. You have not so continued. Therefore you are under the curse! Do not, I beg of you, try to forget it. How foolish would it have been for the Jews in the days of Esther to have instituted a series of games and popular amusements in order to banish from their minds the awful fact that their death-warrant had been signed, and was about to be put into execution! In such manner did the citizens of infidel Paris act in the days of the plague. Dancing, reveling and debauchery held full sway. The gay carnival went on as though all was well; but it was only the effort of a terror-stricken people to forget the presence of the dreaded and insidious foe. Hundreds fell, stricken on the ball-room floor; hundreds more dropped, grotesquely masked, amid the gayety of the romping crowds upon the streets. The fun and the forced merriment did not stay the hand of the destroyer; the death-cart ever followed the carnival parade! And in some such foolish manner do men, over whose heads eternal judgment hangs, act every day. Oh, the folly of it! Better far to join with Mordecai and his weeping countrymen, and wear the sackcloth and ashes of self-condemnation.
No room for mirth or trifling here,
For worldly hope or worldly fear,
If life so soon is gone:
If now the Judge is at the door,
And all mankind must stand before
The inexorable Throne!
Because there is wrath, beware lest He take thee away with His stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee (Job 36:18).
There was no levity on the part of the wailing multitude in our chapter. They were in desperate earnestness. They wished to be delivered from the condemnation. Nothing else would satisfy them. Sackcloth and ashes speak of repentance and self-judgment. In this garb Mordecai and the Jews arrayed themselves.
So Esthers maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not (ver. 4). How little Esther entered into the terrible circumstances! A physician of no value, she would fain strip her aged cousin of the coarse and ugly garb of repentance and robe him in some beautiful court attire, as though a change of clothing would assuage his grief. But are there not many who deal in a similar manner with troubled souls to-day? How common is the thought that outward reformation, a change of habits, will give peace to an anxious soul! O be persuaded, dear reader: no religious ceremonies; no ordinances, however scriptural in themselves; no turning-over of new leaves will ever give a sinner peace with God. Something more than an outward change is required. Mordecai might well have cried, Take away your beautiful garments! How can they give peace to a man under the death-sentence? Does one find delight in fine raiment on the gallows? It is deliverance from condemnation I want, not a mere change of attire. And for the sinner to-day there is no true deliverance until he sees the blessed truth that Another has borne the wrath, endured the condemnation, exhausted the judgment of God against his sin,-then, and then only, does he find rest and peace.
Mordecai received it not; so the queen, realizing at last that his must be a grief she has failed to fathom, sends Hatach the chamberlain to him, to learn the cause of his strange behavior. So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the kings gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the kings treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. Also he gave a copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai (vers. 6-9).
Nothing but the knowledge that he and his people are freed from the ban will satisfy the man into whose soul the iron has so deeply entered. Esther is furnished with the evidence of the direful state of things, and doubtless well understands at last why Mordecai wept so bitterly, and why her fine raiment had no charm for him.
He would have her go in before the king and supplicate his favor for her afflicted people. She is, however, in a dilemma as to this, being herself, although a queen, subject to the iron-clad laws of Persian court etiquette. Doubtless genuinely distressed, but apparently helpless, she returns answer that All the kings servants, and the people of the kings provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live; but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. And they told to Mordecai Esthers words (vers. 11, 12).
It has evidently not dawned upon her that the kings proclamation, unwittingly, had included herself. But so the word ran: All Jews both men and women. She had kept her nationality a secret; therefore, unknown even to Haman, she had been included in the bloody edict so soon to take effect if a means of deliverance is not discovered. She therefore hesitates about risking her life, by going into the dread sovereigns presence uncalled.
Mordecai replies with spirit: Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the kings house more than all the Jews. Yet, such is his faith at this moment in the certainty of Gods counsels that he adds, For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy fathers house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
It is a stirring message, and one that has the desired effect upon the queen, for she rises in the greatness of utter self-abnegation and devotion; and, with the sentence of death now in herself, Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer: Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish (vers. 15, 16).
A greater than Esther not only took His life in His hand, but gave that precious life in order to deliver all who would confide in Him from the curse of the law and the just judgment of an outraged God. But though Esthers action gives us just the faintest hint of this, it is altogether admirable as showing on her part a growing moral elevation, hitherto unmanifested by her. That her confidence is in the unnamed One is clear, else why the summons to fasting in the city, and her own abstinence in the palace? It is here one is so struck by the absence of all reference to prayer, where one would naturally expect it. It is as though she has a sense in her soul of the unowned condition of herself and her people; so nothing is said about crying to the God of her fathers. Yet surely He heard the unuttered petition of the heart, and answered it, too, in His own way and time.
So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. The appeal is to be made to the One they dare not mention. The sequel will show how deep is His concern for the chosen nation.
THE CONSTERNATION OF THE JEWS — MORDECAI AND ESTHER
CHAPTER 4
1. The great lamentations of the Jews (Est 4:1-3)
2. Esthers discovery (Est 4:4-9)
3. Esthers helplessness (Est 4:10-12)
4. Mordecais answer (Est 4:13-14)
5. Esthers decision (Est 4:15-17)
Est 4:1-3. When Mordecai heard of what had been done and the plan to exterminate his people became known to him he rent his clothes. This and the putting on of sackcloth and ashes were the outward expressions of the most intense grief. The sackcloth was a coarse hair-cloth of a black color. Then his bitter cry and wailing was heard in the midst of the city. Because of the sackcloth, which was also used as a sign of mourning over the dead among the Persians, it was regarded as unclean, and inasmuch as the palace of the king was looked upon as a clean and holy place, Mordecai could not enter the kings gate. He had to stand outside the wall. And throughout the provinces as the proclamation became known and was read by the condemned race, there was the same weeping and wailing with fasting. Prayer unquestionably was also connected with this grief.
Est 4:4-9. Esther in the secluded portion of the palace knew nothing of the great edict which had gone forth. Her maids and chamberlains, whom she may have used to keep in touch with her uncle, then informed her that Mordecai was missing inside of the gate and that he was sitting outside in a most pitiable condition, weeping and wailing. How this report must have shocked Esther! She was exceedingly grieved and then sent raiment to Mordecai. This was according to Persian custom in connection with mourning over the dead that the nearest relations should send the mourner new garments, to put these on instead of the sackcloth. The Jews must have conformed to some of these customs. Esther thought that some one of the family of Mordecai had died. But Mordecai refused the garments for he was not mourning over death. This must have mystified Esther still more. She therefore sent Hathach, one of the kings chamberlains, her personal attendant, to Mordecai to find out the cause of his mourning.
And Hathach went forth. Mordecai told him of Hamans plot. As he possessed a copy of the decree he gave it to Hathach to deliver to Esther and then Mordecais message to Esther. To charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people. He did not say for this people but for her people. This made known to Hathach Esthers Jewish origin. Mordecai knew the great favor Esther had found before the king and he hoped that her supplication would avert the doom of the race. There is nothing said of Mordecai calling upon God, no record of his supplications to the God of Abraham. Undoubtedly he did call on Him. This is in accord with the character of the people; they are seen as out of the land and out of touch with the Lord. Yet Jehovah in unchanging mercy watcheth over them. And Hathach delivered the message.
Est 4:10-12. Esther sent the answer. Mordecai heard the alarming news that the king was unapproachable. Esther herself had not seen his face for a whole month. To enter the kings presence unbidden would mean sure death. Death to all except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live. Esther thus informed Mordecai that she is subject to the same law, and if she transgresseth it, no exception would be made, though she be the queen.
Est 4:13-14. Mordecais answer to Esther is a sublime one. It would have been quite natural for Mordecai to say If thou canst not save all the people, at least save me, and the house of thy father, for thou belongest to the unassailable house of the king. He does not think of his personal interest and safety; it is the salvation of his people which is upon his heart. He knows that Esther is in a position not only to be saved herself, but also to save her people. He gives her to understand if she does not act now and if she holds her peace deliverance for the Jews would be granted through another source. She would lose a great opportunity and she and her fathers house would perish. In these words Mordecai expressed his deep conviction that the Jewish people cannot perish. He knew the history of the past and trusted God that He would find a way out at this time also. And he believed more than this, that Providence had put her on the throne just to effect the deliverance: Who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? The answer of Mordecai is a masterpiece of eloquence. He who loved and cherished Esther as a daughter, seeks now that she should risk her life for the deliverance of Israel. He wills it, because he believes in the deliverance; because he draws from the history of Israel the assurance that as a race they cannot become extinct, and because he sees in the exaltation of Esther the divine purpose to use her in the deliverance. He encourages her to act and to risk her life and this he did by stimulating her faith in an overruling providence and that therefore she had nothing to fear.
Est 4:15-17. She responded to this eloquent appeal; her believing heart had laid hold on the suggestion of her uncle. The Jews are to be gathered together in Shushan, she requests, for three days and three nights, neither to eat nor to drink. She would do the same with her maidens. And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish.
Fasting in the Old Testament is always the symbolic form of prayer; it cannot be disassociated from prayer. In giving this command she expressed her dependence on God and put Him first before attempting to go in to the king. And then her noble word–If I perish, I perish. Her faith measured up to Mordecais expectation. She is ready to sacrifice herself in order to save her people. How it reminds us of Him who did more than say, If I perish, I perish, who gave Himself and took upon Himself the curse of the law. And Mordecai did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Typical Application
In the weeping, and wailing of Mordecai and the Jews, the rent clothes, the sackcloth and the ashes, we have a prophetic foreshadowing of the earnest turning to God of the Jewish remnant during the end of this age. How vividly Joel speaks of this man in the name of Jehovah. Therefore also now saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping, and with mourning (Joe 2:12). And then comes for them the final deliverance as revealed by Joel and foreshadowed in the deliverance of the book of Esther. Mordecais faith and Esthers noble decision are equally typical of the trust and confidence of that godly portion of the Jewish people who will pass through the time of Jacobs trouble (Jer 30:4) and who will be delivered out of it.
As we pointed out in the previous chapter, the great proclamation typifies what God has said as to the race of sinners, that the wages of sin is death. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them. The whole race is therefore under condemnation. And the Jews read this awful proclamation and reading they believed, and believing what was written they gave expression to their grief in fasting and turning to God. Alas! that Gods proclamation telling the sinner of his dreadful condition, of the death and wrath which hangs over him is less believed than the proclamation of the Persian enemy of the Jews. Yet to know and to enjoy real salvation and deliverance, the realization of our real condition as lost sinners is eminently necessary.
As already stated, Esther is a faint type of our Lord in that she was willing to sacrifice herself in behalf of her people; while He gave that blessed life and died for that nation (Joh 12:27).
all that: Est 3:8-13
rent: 2Sa 1:11, Job 1:20, Jon 3:4-9, Act 14:14
with ashes: Est 4:3, Jos 7:6, 2Sa 13:19, Job 2:8, Job 42:6, Isa 58:5, Eze 27:30, Dan 9:3, Jon 3:6, Mat 11:21
and cried: Mordecai gave every demonstration of the most poignant grief. Nor did he hide this from the city; and the Greek says that he uttered these words aloud: , “A people is going to be destroyed who have done no evil.” Gen 27:34, Isa 15:4, Isa 22:4, Eze 21:6, Eze 27:31, Mic 1:8, Zep 1:14, Rev 18:17-19
Reciprocal: Gen 37:34 – General Gen 41:14 – he shaved Exo 33:4 – and no 1Ki 20:31 – put sackcloth 2Ki 19:1 – covered Est 8:16 – Jews Job 2:12 – their voice Psa 77:2 – my soul Isa 61:3 – beauty Rev 11:3 – clothed
Est 4:1. And put on sackcloth with ashes That is, he put on a garment of sackcloth or hair, and sprinkled ashes upon his head. And cried with a loud and bitter cry To express his deep sense of the mischief coming upon his people. It was bravely done thus publicly to espouse what he knew to be a righteous cause, and the cause of God, even then when it seemed to be a sinking and desperate cause. The latter Targum upon the book of Esther gives us the following account of Mordecais behaviour upon this sad occasion: He made his complaints in the midst of the streets, saying, What a heavy decree is this, which the king and Haman have passed, not against a part of us, but against us all, to root us out of the earth! Whereupon all the Jews flocked about him, and, having caused the book of the law to be brought to the gate of Shushan, he, being covered with sackcloth, read the words of Deu 4:30-31, and then exhorted them to fasting, humiliation, and repentance, after the example of the Ninevites.
Est 4:8. He gave him the copy of the writing; for the decree, or dogma, was exposed to the public.
Est 4:11. One law of his to put him to death. This was an ancient law of the Persian kings. Herodotus has noticed it much the same as in the text. The Assyrian kings, it would seem, did not permit their subjects at any time to see them. This law was the effect of fear: the monarchs of the east being absolute and tyrannical, plots were often formed against them; it was also thought to contribute to the sanctity and divine homage claimed by those kings, that they should not be seen by their subjects. Ministers favoured this law, because it made their services more essential to the sovereign, and augmented their influence over the people.
Est 4:16. If I perish, I perish. The LXX, Though it may behove me to perish. God gave Esther the soul of a princess.
REFLECTIONS.
The poor Jews, who had now lingered in Babylon and in Persia near thirty years after the emancipation granted by Cyrus, were suddenly appalled and terrified by this sentence passed against them. No doubt they would bitterly reproach their unbelief concerning the prosperity of Zion, and the attachment to their lands and shops, which had detained them among the heathen. They would bitterly regret that they had not gone with Zerubbabel, or with Ezra, to sustain a few hardships in cultivating the inheritance of their fathers; for the brethren in the confines of the empire would have the best advantage of escaping the carnage. Thus it is that afflictions and danger bring our sins to remembrance, and constrain us to acknowledge the equity of Gods pursuing hand. Take heed, thou man of the world, lest thy heart, lingering in the avocations of life, and forgetful of Zion, do not bring upon thee some terrible visitation from God.
Mordecai and the Jews took the wisest way to avert the calamity: they put on sackcloth, they fasted and prayed. These offices of piety excite in the soul the finest dispositions. They cause us to put away and bewail all past offences, and engage the omnipotent arm to undertake the defence of the afflicted. To fasting and prayer this good man joined prudential counsel, because it is tempting the Lord when we indolently ask his help, without using the means he has already put in our power. He repeatedly urged Esther to go directly to the king, and beg the life of all her people. He counteracted her fears of dying by the consideration of the danger in which her life stood in common with the Jews. The counsellors who had ruined Vashti would hardly spare an obnoxious alien; and he encouraged her to this high duty by the grateful consideration of her elevation to the throne. And how many, and how great are the considerations which should urge us to act for God in the salvation of souls, and in the good of his people. Health, fortune, and life itself are mere private considerations when compared with the advancement of his glory.
This elevation of Esther to the kingdom, Mordecai made his last and great argument. And all those favoured characters, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, and others, whom God raised from obscurity to the greatest lustre, were not raised vainly to wear fine robes, and riot in wealth; but to benefit nations, to punish the wicked, and protect the church. The object was worthy of their mission, and their mission was worthy of the Lord. Hence every man should regard his talents and offices as so many trusts, for which he must one day give an account to God. What then must be the shame of those great men who forget the sacred characters of their duty. Let the christian learn to weep in Israels tears, that he may learn to trust that arm which covered them with an omnipotent defence.
Esther 4. The Dismay of the Jews. Mordecai Overcomes Esthers Reluctance to Intercede with the King.And now the gloom spreads. At this point, the LXX has a pathetic message from Mordecai to his niece, the queen. Surely the original had a passage of this kind: here the Heb. scribes have probably excised something that was very fitting because it spoke of Yahwehs omnipotence and His certain care for Israel. Such a passage would be true to Israelitish character, as we know it, from the time of Amos down to Jesus. The omission is unnatural, and is therefore the work of an editing hand. Mordecai cries, O Esther, pray thou too to Yahweh for help, and plead with thy husband to save us. Mordecai says that Providence has set her in the queenly place to the end that she may now do nobly and stay the disaster; therefore she must undertake the sacred, though dangerous, task. It is probable, from the description of Persian courts as given by Herodotus, that the story exaggerates the danger of approach to the monarch; and so we may conclude that the writer lived long after the Persian empire had passed away, and no one was surprised that the real conditions of things were thus incorrectly described.
Esther replies that she will venture all (Est 4:15 f.). And now the prayers of intercession offered are given in LXX, and very naturally so; whereas Heb. cuts out all this. Mordecais prayer is full of faith that his fathers God, Yahweh, is Lord of all. So He can save. Esther cries, O Yahweh, do not let Gentile deities dethrone Thee. In this she is, no doubt, making a pointed allusion to Antiochus, who set up an image of Zeus in the holy place (p. 607).
ESTHER AGREES TO INTERCEDE
(vv. 1-17)
Mordecai of course very soon learned of this satanic plot of Haman against Israel and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes in token of humiliation and repentance.Whether he prayed to God we are not told, but he cried out bitterly in the midst of the city, coming to the outside of the king’s gate, though forbidden to come into the gate clothed in sackcloth (vv. 1-2).
At the same time, everywhere the decree of Haman had been sent, the Jews fasted with weeping and wailing, many clothed in sackcloth.Again, nothing is said of whether they prayed to God(v. 3). No doubt God makes this purposely obscure because of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Him.
Esther soon received the news of Mordecai through her maids and the eunuchs of the king’s court.It naturally distressed her to think that Mordecai was clothed in sackcloth, but she did not know the reason.She sent clothing to him to replace the sackcloth, but he refused it (v. 4). Therefore she sent Hatach, a eunuch of the king, to ask Mordecai the reason for his condition(v. 5). Even Hatach had not heard of the evil plot of Haman, and Mordecai told him what had happened and how Haman had promised to pay a large sum of money for the destruction of the Jews (vv. 6-7).
Mordecai gave to Hatach a copy of the king’s decree to show to Esther with a full explanation of Haman’s plot, and with instructions for her to supplicate the king for the preservation of her people, the Jews (v. 8). On hearing this, Esther sent a reply to Mordecai, telling him that it was well known that anyone who dared to enter the inner court of the king without an invitation would be put to death unless the king held out his scepter toward the individual.Esther herself had not been called into the king’s presence for 30 days (vv. 9-11).
Then Mordecai sent an urgent response to Esther, “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than will the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish” (vv. 13-14). It may be that Mordecai had confidence that God would intervene on behalf of the Jews, though again he does not even mention the Lord. He also asked her a very pertinent question as to whether Esther had come to her present position for the very purpose of meeting this serious attack of the enemy.Certainly this proved to be true.
Esther therefore sent word to Mordecai to gather all the Jews in Shushan to fast on Esther’s behalf, not to eat or drink for three days, saying that she and her maids would do likewise, then she would go in to the king.She added, “If I perish, I perish!” (v. 16). Fasting is negative, symbolizing self-judgment, but what of the more important positive action of prayer to God?There is no mention made of this.We should think they would pray, but God omits any mention of prayer because of the Jews’ unprofitable spiritual condition.
Mordecai did as Esther asked, so that all the Jews in Shushan were drawn together in a common cause, and all would be informed now that the Queen was Jewish.
C. Mordecai’s Reaction 4:1-3
We can understand why Mordecai reacted to Haman’s decree so strongly (Est 4:1). Undoubtedly he felt personally responsible for this decree (cf. Est 3:2-5). However, we should not interpret Mordecai’s actions in Est 4:1 as a sign of great faith in God necessarily (cf. Mar 5:38; 1Th 4:13). They were common expressions of personal grief (cf. Ezr 8:21; Ezr 8:23; Neh 9:1; Lam 3:40-66).
The absence of any reference to prayer in Est 4:3 may be significant. Prayer normally accompanied the other practices mentioned (cf. 2Ki 19:1-4; Joe 1:14). Perhaps many of these exiled Jews had gotten so far away from God that they did not even pray in this crisis hour. However, the basis of this argument is silence, and arguments based on silence are never strong.
-6
MORDECAI
Est 2:5-6; Est 4:1; Est 6:10-11; Est 9:1-4
THE hectic enthusiast who inspires Daniel Deronda with his passionate ideas is evidently a reflection in modern literature of the Mordecai of Scripture. It must be admitted that the reflection approaches a caricature. The dreaminess and morbid excitability of George Eliots consumptive hero have no counterpart in the wise, strong Mentor of Queen Esther, and the English writers agnosticism has led her to exclude all the Divine elements of the Jewish faith, so that on her pages the sole object of Israelite devotion is the race of Israel. But the very extravagance of the portraiture keenly accentuates what is, after all, the most remarkable trait in the original Mordecai. We are not in a position to deny that this man had a living faith in the God of his fathers; we are simply ignorant as to what his attitude towards religion was, because the author of the Book of Esther draws a veil over the religious relations of all his characters. Still the one thing prominent and pronounced in Mordecai is patriotism, devotion to Israel, the expenditure of thought and effort on the protection of his threatened people.
The first mention of the name of Mordecai introduces a hint of his national connections. We read, “There was a certain Jew in Shushan the palace, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.” {Est 2:5-6} Curious freaks of exegesis have been displayed in dealing with this passage. It has been thought that the Kish mentioned in it is no other than the father of Saul, in which case the ages of the ancestors of Mordecai must rival those of the antediluvians, and it has been suggested that Mordecai is here represented as one of the original captives from Jerusalem in the reign of Jeconiah, so that at the time of Xerxes he must have been a marvellously old man, tottering on the brink of the grave. On these grounds the genealogical note has been treated as a fanatical fiction invented to magnify the importance of Mordecai. But there is no necessity to take up any such position. It would be strange to derive Mordecai from the far-off Benjamite farmer Kish, who shines only in the reflected glory of his son, whereas we have no mention of Saul himself. There is no reason to say that another Kish may not have been found among the captives. Then it is quite possible to dispose of the second difficulty by connecting the relative clause at the beginning of Est 5:6 -“who had been carried away”-with the nearest antecedent in the previous sentence-viz., “Kish the Benjamite.” If we remove the semicolon from the end of Est 5:5, the clauses will run on quite smoothly and there will be no reason to go back to the name of Mordecai for the antecedent of the relative; we can read the words thus-“Kish the Benjamite who had been carried away,” etc. In this way all difficulty vanishes. But the passage still retains a special significance. Mordecai was a true Jew, of the once royal tribe of Benjamin, a descendant of one of the captive contemporaries of Jeconiah, and therefore most likely a scion of a princely house. The preservation of his ancestral record gives us a hint of the sort of mental pabulum on which the man had been nurtured. Living in the palace, apparently as a porter, and possibly as a eunuch of the harem, Mordecai would have been tempted to forget his people. Nevertheless it is plain that he had cherished traditions of the sad past, and trained his soul to cling to the story of his fathers sufferings in spite of all the distractions of a Persian court life. Though in a humbler sphere, he thus resembled Artaxerxes cup-bearer, the great patriot Nehemiah.
The peculiarity of Mordecais part in the story is this, that he is the moving spirit of all that is done for the deliverance of Israel at a time of desperate peril without being at first a prominent character. Thus he first appears as the guardian of his young cousin, whom he has cherished and trained, and whom he now introduces to the royal harem where she will play her more conspicuous part. Throughout the whole course of events Mordecais voice is repeatedly heard, but usually as that of Esthers prompter. He haunts the precincts of the harem, if by chance he may catch a glimpse of his foster child. He is a lonely man now, for he has parted with the light of his home. He has done this voluntarily, unselfishly-first, to advance the lovely creature who has been committed to his charge, and secondly, as it turns out, for the saving of his people. Even now his chief thought is not for the cheering of his own solitude. His constant aim is to guide his young cousin in the difficult path of her new career. Subsequently he receives the highest honours the king can bestow, but he never seeks them, and he would be quite content to remain in the background to the end, if only his eager desire for the good of his people could be accomplished by the queen who has learnt to lean upon his counsel from her childhood. Such self-effacement is most rare and beautiful. A subtle temptation to self-regarding ambition besets the path of every man who attempts some great public work for the good of others in a way that necessarily brings him under observation. Even though he believes himself to be inspired by the purest patriotism, it is impossible for him not to perceive that he is exposing himself to admiration by the very disinterestedness of his conduct. The rare thing is to see the same earnestness on the part of a person in an obscure place, willing that the whole of his energy should be devoted to the training and guiding of another, who alone is to become the visible agent of some great work.
The one action in which Mordecai momentarily takes the first place throws light on another side of his character. There is a secondary plot in the story. Mordecai saves the kings life by discovering to him a conspiracy. The value of this service is strikingly illustrated by the historical fact that, at a later time, just another such conspiracy issued in the assassination of Xerxes. In the distractions of his foreign expeditions and his abandonment to self-indulgence at home, the king forgets the whole affair, and Mordecai goes on his quiet way as before, never dreaming of the honour with which it is to be rewarded. Now this incident seems to be introduced to show how the intricate wheels of Providence all work on for the ultimate deliverance of Israel. The accidental discovery of Mordecais unrequited service, when the king is beguiling the long hours of a sleepless night by listening to the chronicles of his reign, leads to the recognition of Mordecai and the first humiliation of Haman, and prepares the king for further measures. But the incident reflects a side light on Mordecai in another direction. The humble porter is loyal to the great despot. He is a passionately patriotic Jew, but his patriotism does not make a rebel of him, nor does it permit him to stand aside silently and see a villainous intrigue go on unmolested, even though it is aimed at the monarch who is holding his people in subjection. Mordecai is the humble friend of the great Persian king in the moment of danger. This is the more remarkable when we compare it with his ruthless thirst for vengeance against the known enemies of Israel. It shows that he does not treat Ahasuerus as an enemy of his people. No doubt the writer of this narrative wished it to be seen that the most patriotic Jew could be perfectly loyal to a foreign government. The shining examples of Joseph and Daniel have set the same idea before the world for the vindication of a grossly maligned people, who, like the Christians in the days of Tacitus, have been most unjustly hated as the enemies of the human race. The capacity to adapt itself loyally to the service of foreign governments, without abandoning one iota of its religion or its patriotism, is a unique trait in the genius of this wonderful race. The Zealot is not the typical Jew-patriot. He is a secretion of diseased and decayed patriotism, True patriotism is large enough and patient enough to recognise the duties that lie outside its immediate aims. Its fine perfection is attained when it can be flexible without becoming servile.
We see that in Mordecai the flexibility of Jewish patriotism was consistent with a proud scorn of the least approach to servility. He. would not kiss the dust at the approach of Haman, grand vizier though the man was. It may be that he regarded this act of homage as idolatrous-for it would seem that Persian monarchs were not unwilling to accept the adulation of Divine honours, and the vain minister was aping the airs of his royal master. But, perhaps, like those Greeks who would not humble their pride by prostrating themselves at the bidding of an Oriental barbarian, Mordecai held himself up from a sense of self-respect. In either case it must be evident that he showed a daringly independent spirit. He could not but know that such an affront as he ventured to offer to Haman would annoy the great man. But he had not calculated on the unfathomable depths of Hamans vanity. Nobody who credits his fellows with rational motives would dream that so simple an offence as this of Mordecais could provoke so vast an act of vengeance as the massacre of a nation. When he saw the outrageous consequences of his mild act of independence, Mordecai must have felt it doubly incumbent upon him to strain every nerve to save his people. Their danger was indirectly due to his conduct. Still he could never have foreseen such a result, and therefore he should not be held responsible for it. The tremendous disproportion between motive and action in the behaviour of Haman is like one of those fantastic freaks that abound in the impossible world of “The Arabian Nights,” but for the occurrence of which we make no provision in real life, simply because we do not act on the assumption that the universe is nothing better than a huge lunatic asylum.
The escape from this altogether unexpected danger is due to two courses of events. One of them-in accordance with the reserved style of the narrative-appears to be quite accidental. Mordecai got the reward he never sought in what seems to be the most casual way. He had no hand in obtaining for himself an honour which looks to us quaintly childish. For a few brief hours he was paraded through the streets of the royal city as the man whom the king delighted to honour, with no less a person than the grand vizier to serve as his groom. It was Hamans silly vanity that had invented this frivolous proceeding. We can hardly suppose that Mordecai cared much for it. After the procession had completed its round, in true Oriental fashion Mordecai put off his gorgeous robes, like a poor actor returning from the stage to his garret, and settled down to his lowly office exactly as if nothing had happened. This must seem to us a foolish business, unless we can look at it through the magnifying glass of an Oriental imagination, and even then there is nothing very fascinating in it. Still it had important consequences. For, in the first place, it prepared the way for a further recognition of Mordecai in the future. He was now a marked personage. Ahasuerus knew him, and was gratefully disposed towards him. The people understood that the king delighted to honour him. His couch would not be the softer nor his bread the sweeter, but all sorts of future possibilities lay open before him. To many men the possibilities of life are more precious than the actualities. We cannot say, however, that they meant much to Mordecai, for he was not ambitious, and he had no reason to think that the kings conscience was not perfectly satisfied with the cheap settlement of his debt of gratitude. Still the possibilities existed, and before the end of the tale they had blossomed out to very brilliant results.
But another consequence of the pageant was that the heart of Haman was turned to gall. We see him livid with jealousy, inconsolable until his wife-who evidently knows him well-proposes to satisfy his spite by another piece of fanciful extravagance. Mordecai shall be impaled on a mighty stake, so high that all the world shall see the ghastly spectacle. This may give some comfort to the wounded vanity of the grand vizier. But consolation to Haman will be death and torment to Mordecai.
Now we come to the second course of events that issued in the deliverance and triumph of Israel, and therewith in the escape and exaltation of Mordecai. Here the watchful porter is at the spring of all that happens. His fasting, and the earnest counsels he lays upon Esther, bear witness to the intensity of his nature. Again the characteristic reserve of the narrative obscures all religious considerations. But, as we have seen already, Mordecai is persuaded that deliverance will come to Israel from some quarter, and he suggests that Esther has been raised to her high position for the purpose of saving her people. We cannot but feel that these hints veil a very solid faith in the providence of God with regard to the Jews. On the surface of them they show faith in the destiny of Israel. Mordecai not only loves his nation, he believes in it. He is sure it has a future. It has survived the most awful disasters in the past. It seems to possess a charmed life. It must emerge safely from the present crisis. But Mordecai is not a fatalist whose creed paralyses his energies. He is most distressed and anxious at the prospect of the great danger that threatens his people. He is most persistent in pressing for the execution of measures of deliverance. Still in all this he is buoyed up by a strange faith in his nations destiny. This is the faith that the English novelist has transferred to her modern Mordecai. It cannot be gainsaid that there is much in the marvellous history of the unique people, whose vitality and energy, astonish us even to-day, to justify the sanguine expectation of prophetic souls that Israel has yet a great destiny to fulfil in future ages.
The ugly side of Jewish patriotism is also apparent in Mordecai, and it must not be ignored. The indiscriminate massacre of the “enemies” of the Jews is a savage act of retaliation that far exceeds the necessity of self-defence, and Mordecai must bear the chief blame of this crime. But then the considerations in extenuation of its guilt which have already come under our notice may be applied to him. The danger was supreme. The Jews were in a minority. The king was cruel, fickle, senseless. It was a desperate case. We cannot be surprised that the remedy was desperate also. There was no moderation on either side, but then “sweet reasonableness” is the last thing to be looked for in any of the characters of the Book of Esther. Here everything is extravagant. The course of events is too grotesque to be gravely weighed in the scales that are used in the judgment of average men under average circumstances.
The Book of Esther closes with an account of the establishment of the Feast of Purim and the exaltation of Mordecai to the vacant place of Haman. The Israelite porter becomes grand vizier of Persia! This is the crowning proof of the triumph of the Jews consequent on their deliverance. The whole process of events that issues so gloriously is commemorated in the annual Feast of Purim. It is true that doubts have been thrown on the historical connection between that festival and the story of Esther. It has been said that the word “Purim” may represent the portions assigned by lot, but not the lottery itself, that so trivial an accident as the method followed by Haman in selecting a day for his massacre of the Jews could not give its name to the celebration of their escape from the threatened danger, that the feast was probably more ancient, and was really the festival of the new moon for the month in which it occurs. With regard to all of these and any other objections, there is one remark that may be made here. They are solely of archaeological interest. The character and meaning of the feast as it is known to have been celebrated in historical times is not touched by them, because it is beyond doubt that throughout the ages Purim has been inspired with passionate and almost dramatic reminiscences of the story of Esther. Thus for all the celebrations of the feast that come within our ken this is its sole significance.
The worthiness of the festival will vary according to the ideas and feelings that are encouraged in connection with it. When it has been used as an opportunity for cultivating pride of race, hatred, contempt, and gleeful vengeance over humiliated foes, its effect must have been injurious and degrading. When, however, it has been celebrated in the midst of grievous oppressions, though it has embittered the spirit of animosity towards the oppressor-the Christian Haman in most cases-it has been of real service in cheering a cruelly afflicted people. Even when it has been carried through with no seriousness of intention, merely as a holiday-devoted to music and dancing and games and all sorts of merry-making, its social effect in bringing a gleam of light into lives that were as a rule dismally sordid may have been decidedly healthy.
But deeper thoughts must be stirred in devout hearts when brooding over the profound significance of the national festival. It celebrates a famous deliverance of the Jews from a fearful danger. Now deliverance is the keynote of Jewish history. This note was sounded as with a trumpet blast at the very birth of the nation, when, emerging from Egypt no better than a body of fugitive slaves, Israel was led through the Red Sea and Pharaohs hosts with their horses and chariots were overwhelmed in the flood. The echo of the triumphant burst of praise that swelled out from the exodus pealed down the ages in the noblest songs of Hebrew Psalmists. Successive deliverances added volume to this richest note of Jewish poetry. In all who looked up to God as the Redeemer of Israel the music was inspired by profound thankfulness, by true religions adoration. And yet Purim never became the Eucharist of Israel. It never approached the solemn grandeur of Passover, that prince of festivals, in which the great primitive deliverance of Israel was celebrated with all the pomp and awe of its Divine associations. It was always in the main a secular festival, relegated to the lower plane of social and domestic entertainments, like an English bank-holiday. Still even on its own lines it could serve a serious purpose. When Israel is practically idolised by Israelites, when the glory of the nation is accepted as the highest ideal to work up to, the true religion of Israel is missed, because that is nothing less than the worship of God as He is revealed in Hebrew history. Nevertheless, in their right place, the privileges of the nation and its destinies may be made the grounds of very exalted aspirations. The nation is larger than the individual, larger than the family. An enthusiastic national spirit must exert an expansive influence on the narrow, cramped lives of the men and women whom it delivers from selfish, domestic, and parochial limitations. It was a liberal education for Jews to be taught to love their race, its history and its future. If-as seems probable-our Lord honoured the Feast of Purim by taking part in it, Joh 5:1 He must have credited the national life of His people with a worthy mission. Himself the purest and best fruit of the stock of Israel, on the human side of His being, He realised in His own great mission of redemption the end for which God had repeatedly redeemed Israel. Thus He showed that God had saved His people, not simply for their own selfish satisfaction, but that through Christ they might carry salvation to the world.
Purged from its base associations of blood and cruelty, Purim may symbolise to us the triumph of the Church of Christ over her fiercest foes. The spirit of this triumph must be the very opposite of the spirit of wild vengeance exhibited by Mordecai and his people in their brief season of unwonted elation. The Israel of God can never conquer her enemies by force. The victory of the Church must be the victory of brotherly love, because brotherly love is the note of the true Church. But this victory Christ is winning throughout the ages, and the historical realisation of it is to us the Christian counterpart of the story of Esther.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary