Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 4:10
Again Esther spoke unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
10. gave him a message ] A.V. gave him commandment; but, although the word in the original often bears this sense, yet here the point of the expression is not the order to convey her communication but that that communication was to the effect that follows.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Again Esther spake unto Hatach,…. For there was no other way of corresponding and conversing but by an eunuch; the wives of kings being altogether under their watch and care:
and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; to go unto him, and what he should say to him from her, which is as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Appeal to Esther. Verses 10-17
Esther answered Mordecai’s entreaty with hesitation, sending it back by Hatach. She reminded him that it was a well-known law of the king that no one should come before him unless he had been bidden by the king himself. Any who violated that ban would be put to death, with the possible exception that the king might grant him mercy by extending to the intruder his golden sceptre. While Mordecai may have thought Esther had ready access to the king she had actually not been called by him for thirty days. If she should presume herself to his attention she might well forfeit her life.
Mordecai thought the risk worth the effort. He admonished Esther that she was also under the wicked decree of Marian and the king. While they were not aware of her nationality it would doubtless be learned, and
when Haman had acquired the power an extinction of the Jews would gain him he would not hesitate to have the queen killed also. There could be no doubt his ultimate aim was supreme power in Persia. If the Jews were not saved through the intercession of Esther, God would preserve them in some other place and manner, but all those of Shushan, including the house of Esther’s father would surely be destroyed.
Mordecai ended his plea to Esther with words that are the best known passage in the Book of Esther., “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Likely both had often wondered about God’s purpose in allowing her to be chosen queen for the pagan king’s harem. If her choice was the culmination of Mordecai’s ambitious hopes, as some claim, he could see now how useful she would be in her place in behalf of the Jews. If he had agonized over her fate, as seems more likely, he could understand better why the Lord permitted her to be chosen. Her position was similar to that of Joseph, sold into Egypt by his brothers, and spending two more years in prison, after seeking the aid of the butler whose dream he had interpreted (Ge, chapters 37, 39ft). God’s children need to understand that He has a reason for every condition in which they find themselves (Php_4:11).
So Esther resigned herself to make the attempt on behalf of the Jews. She sent one more message to Mordecai, reminding him again of the awful risk she was undertaking. For this he was to gather the Jews of Shushan for a three day fast on her behalf. During this time they would neither eat nor drink, night or day. No doubt they were to be reminded their fate depended on her success, and they should pray for her to the Lord. She promised, after the three days, to go in to the king contrary to the law, saying, “If I perish, I perish.” Mordecai was pleased with this answer and went into the city to gather people for the fast.
It seems when one is totally resigned to the Lord’s will all things work out for the best of the one resigned. Examples are to be found in Jacob’s surrender to allow Benjamin to go into Egypt (Gen 43:14); the father of the epileptic boy (Mar 9:20-24).
Lessons from chapter four. 1) those without God’s help are in woeful and bitter state; 2) the flesh is fearful before the challenges of the spirit; 3) willful ambition knows no bounds except God’s limitation; 4) contentment is a great lesson to be learned by all the saved; 5) prayer to God is in order before any great undertaking.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.]
Est. 4:11. The inner court] The court that faced the principal audience hallthe throne chamberwhere alone it would be practicable for Esther to see the king on such business. In the time of Deioceses the Mede, approach to the king was already very difficult; and among the Persians, with very few exceptions, no one was permitted to approach the king without a notice. As to the golden sceptre, Rawlinson observesA 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. Esthers difficulty arose from the fact that she had not been called to come in unto the king for thirty days. She did not feel quite sure of her position. To venture unsummoned might be to prejudice the cause.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Est. 4:10-12
PRUDENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Objections may be raised against any enterprise simply by way of shielding the unwillingness of the objectors. They object merely for the sake of objecting. They are unwilling to come out boldly and say that they do not intend to take any part in the scheme. They hide themselves behind the false plea of the difficulties in the way of bringing the scheme to a successful issue. They may see both the necessity and the propriety of the work being done, and are too cowardly to profess themselves unwilling to do their duty. They would show themselves as willing to do the work, and yet keep affirming that the work cannot be done. Now the after conduct of Esther cannot justify us in supposing that she raised objections on this principle. She is not here to be hastily condemned. Again, some raise objections through the working of a prudential spirit. They earnestly desire to further the enterprise, but are appalled by the presence of real difficulties. Such deserve our sympathy. Surely Esther in this trying period of her history will command our sympathy. The objections she here raises are of no fictitious character. They were real. They were well known to Mordecai, and to all those acquainted with the customs of a Persian court. Poor Esther!how well thou dost deserve our sympathy! A beautiful queen loved by all, and till very lately adored by the monarch, thou dost now stand alone and apparently forsaken of all. Yet not alone, for thy God is with thee, and will appear to thy glory. Even when we seem to be most forsaken, then it may be that the good Lord is most near. His help is sure to be near when most we need his helping hand.
The first objection raised by Esther referred to a state arrangement of the Persian court. None could unbidden approach the monarch unless by incurring the penalty of death. Even the loved wife was not excluded from this barbarous arrangement. What, then, was Esther to do under the circumstances? How was it likely that she could become a successful pleader! Here there was the prospect of death. Who likes to rush on death, especially when life is opening out new attractions! Esther was not now a disappointed jade; her heart was not yet broken. The little neglect she now experienced would soon pass away. It could not have been an unknown event in such a state of things as prevailed in a Persian court. She had then still bright prospects, and was she by mere rashness to imperil her position, and to imperil that position for no good purpose? Death can only be welcomed by those whose life is but a living death. To most death is feared. To the young and the beautiful death is a fearsome enemy. Well may Esther be appalled by the difficulty of that enterprise to which Mordecai would summon her in the intense ardour of his patriotism.
The second objection raised by Esther referred to a fact of a domestic character. She had not been called to go in unto the king for thirty days. Here is a strange anomalystrange if received in the light of Christian teaching and the customs of modern life. But not very peculiar if viewed in connection with the customs of those barbaric days. The ardour of this fickle monarch had for the time cooled. The beauty of the toy pleased him for a while, and now he flung it from him, and suffered it to lie neglected. A poor soul was Ahasuerus to prefer the company of the wicked Haman before the company of the beautiful and virtuous Esther. However, this fact made a greater difficulty in the way of Esthers success. It presented the prospect not only of death but of failure. If she had lost her influence with the monarch for herself, how could she hope to influence him for the salvation of a despised race? We cannot wonder that Esther shrank from obeying the summons of Mordecai. Our wonder is that she was ever able to nerve herself up to go in unto the king. The greatness of her heroism comes out in this fact, that she fully saw all the difficulty of her position, all the hazard of the enterprise, and yet she ventured. She calmly estimated the danger, and bravely made the venture.
Here learn
(1) That it is well to look before we leap. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.
2. That he who looks well may be expected to leap well. To look well is not to look so as to render the nature powerless by reason of the hazard. To look well is to estimate the difficulties at their true measure, and to understand the nature of the leap which is required, and to gather up all strengthstrength from every quarterstrength from earth and strength from heavenin order to make a successful leap. Esther looked well and then leaped well. The worlds heroes have been men of true vision. They have seen all. They have looked at all sides. They have considered the for and the against.
3. That the difficult leap may be the Divine pathway. Human pathways are not as the Divine. Gods pathways are not all well pavedsmooth and level. We can only travel along them by leaps; yea, the very leap itself is the Divine way. Rough was Esthers path just now, but it was her Divinely-appointed way.
4. That those who take the difficult leap at the call of duty may expect Divine support. This is what Mordecai implies in his reply to Esthers objections, and this is what we shall find that she afterwards experienced. Divine support is given to every faithful worker. Divine support is the guarantee of ultimate success. In our goings we may get battered and bruised; but a Divine hand can heal the bruises, and restore the battered part to soundness. Our very bruises may be our salvation, and contribute to the success of our cause. The cause may rise by and upon the fall of its supporters. It is not every worker who has the good fortune of Esther. She contributed both to the success of her cause, and worked out greater glory for herself. However, that servant is glorious who triumphs in his fall if it secures the success of his cause. Jesus died, that by his death men might have life. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Est. 4:10-12
There are two kinds of couragethe mere animal courage, which results from well-strung nerves, and is exerted by impulse rather than by reflection; and the moral courage, which, on a calm calculation of difficulties, and of the path of duty, will face the difficulties and prosecute the path of duty at any hazard, even at the risk of life itself. It will often be found that men are deficient in the latter of these qualities, while they are remarkable for the former. It will be found, for example, that soldiers who will rush fearlessly upon an enemy, braving death without one symptom of alarm, are incapable of submitting to the calm endurance of trouble, and are like others alarmed when they have to meet death quietly after lingering illness. It is courage of the highest and noblest order, then, we say, which braves danger and death upon cool reflection. Such was the courage of the martyrs, and such was the courage of Esther. As a timid female, she drew back at first from the hazardous enterprise to which Mordecai called her; but when she had fully weighed the matter, and perceived the real path of duty, although the danger was not in the least degree diminished, she resolved, in the strength of God, to encounter it.Davidson.
But why was Esther so afraid of her life if she should make intercession to the king for the life of her people? Was it so criminal in the court of Persia to present a supplication to the king? Or, if it was a crime in others, was it a crime even in the queen? Yes; it was universally known, says Esther, and Mordecai could not well be ignorant of it, that if any person should venture, uncalled, to approach the king in the inner court of his palace, he must be put to death, unless the king was pleased graciously to pardon him; nor was the queen herself excepted from the penalties of this law. The laws of the Persians were strange indeed! No man was allowed in a mourning-habit to enter into the kings gate; and no man in any apparel was allowed to come near the king in the inner court. Did these kings ever consider for what end they were elevated above their fellow-men? Was it not to defend the poor and the afflicted, and to do judgment and justice to all their people? How could they do the duties of princes, if they were inaccessible to their people? But if it was a crime to intrude into the private apartments of the palace, and to disturb the privacy of the prince, was it one of those atrocious crimes that can be justly punished with death? Could no easier punishment assuage the wrath of a proud mortal, who wished to make himself invisible like his Maker? Surely it may be said of a law that punished an offence like this with death, that it was written in blood; and of a government which would establish such laws, that Daniel had too good reason to represent it by the emblem of a bear.*
Blessed be God, the laws of heaven are not like those of the Persians! Our King who dwells on high is at all times accessible to the afflicted mourner. The poor and the afflicted had ready access to Jesus while he was upon the earth; nor is he less accessible in his state of glory. At all times we may come near to God, even to his throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Esther was believed by Mordecai to be a great favourite with the king; and doubtless there was a time when she was very dear to him. But Esther was afraid that this time was past, and questioned whether Mordecai would insist upon the charge he had given her, when he was informed, that for thirty days past she had not been called to go in unto the king. This she considered as a sign that his affection was alienated, and that it was questionable whether the golden sceptre would be held out to her, if she should presume to enter the kings apartment. What reason the king had for this coldness to his virtuous queen, we know not. This is plain, that it was a providential trial appointed for Esther, by which it would be known whether she had the courage to serve her people and her God at the risk of her life. It was a severe trial of her faith and charity. She felt the force of the discouragement, and expressed her sense of it to Mordecai, that she might receive further directions from him.
To whatever difficult duty we are called, we may lay our account with trials. If thou desirest to serve the Lord, look for temptation. But remember, that the man is blessed who endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive of the Lord the crown of life which he hath promised to them that love him. Those who have held on in the path of duty, under sore temptation, shall at last stand before the throne of God with white robes, and palms in their hands. But the fearful and unbelieving shall have their portion in the lake of fire burning with brimstone, which is the second death.Lawson.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
C. Contingency
TEXT: Est. 4:10-12
10
Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai, saying:
11
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 for him, that he be put to death, except those 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.
12
And they told to Mordecai Esthers words.
Todays English Version, Est. 4:10-12
and Esther gave him this message to take back to Mordecai: If anyone, man or woman, goes to the inner courtyard and sees the king without being summoned, that person must die. That is the law; everyone, from the kings advisers to the people in the provinces, knows that. There is only one way to get around this law: if the king holds out his gold scepter to someone, then that persons life is spared. But it has been a month since the king sent for me.
COMMENTS
Est. 4:10-12 Esthers first reaction was to remind Mordecai of the widely known law of the Persian monarchs about approaching his presence without being given the emperors personal permission to do so. It was not only widely known but widely respected! The law was that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king . . . who is not called . . . he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre. Herodotus confirmed the existence of such a law but wrote that were six persons to whom the law did not apply (III. 84. 118). In the bas reliefs and other inscriptions of the Persian ruins of Persepolis the Persian emperor is always pictured with a scepter (sharbith in Hebrew, meaning, rod, staff or club) in his hand. The purpose for this law was probably to protect the emperor from assassination and from trivial and inane audiences with every Persian who might have an axe to grind. Whatever the case, the law had its desired effect; it inspired fear of approaching the monarch unless bidden by the monarch himself to do so. Esthers immediate concern was fear for her life. It is not until Mordecais sharp rebuke that Esther begins to consider the consequences of opting for her own personal safety.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) Again.There is nothing for this in the original, and it would be better to put and, as the statement of Est. 4:10 is clearly continuous with Est. 4:9.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Esther Agrees to Mordeai’s Plan
v. 10. Again Esther spake unto Hatach and gave him commandment unto Mordecai, v. 11. All the king’s servants 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, v. 12. And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
v. 13. Then Mordecal, v. 14. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, v. 15. Then Esther, v. 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, v. 17. So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Est 4:10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
Ver. 10. Again Esther spake unto Hatack ] Having before found him a fit and faithful messenger, she further employeth him; so those that minister well do purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus, 1Ti 3:13 , when others shall be laid by as broken vessels, whereof there is not left a sheard to take fire from the hearth, or to take water with it from the pit, as the prophet hath it, Isa 30:14 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Esther
ESTHER’S VENTURE
Est 4:10 – Est 4:17
Patriotism is more evident than religion in the Book of Esther. To turn to it after the fervours of prophets and the continual recognition of God in history which marks the other historical books, is like coming down from heaven to earth, as Ewald says. But that difference in tone probably accurately represents the difference between the saints and heroes of an earlier age and the Jews in Persia, in whom national feeling was stronger than devotion. The picture of their characteristics deducible from this Book shows many of the traits which have marked them ever since,-accommodating flexibility, strangely united with unbending tenacity; a capacity for securing the favour of influential people, and willingness to stretch conscience in securing it; reticence and diplomacy; and, beneath all, unquenchable devotion to Israel, which burns alike in the politic Mordecai and the lovely Esther.
There is not much audible religion in either, but in this lesson Mordecai impressively enforces his assurance that Israel cannot perish, and his belief in Providence setting people in their places for great unselfish ends; and Esther is ready to die, if need be, in trying to save her people, and thinks that fasting and prayer will help her in her daring attempt. These two cousins, unlike in so much, were alike in their devotion to Israel; and though they said little about their religion, they acted it, which is better.
It is very like Jews that the relationship between Mordecai and Esther should have been kept dark. Nobody but one or two trusted servants knew that the porter was the queen’s cousin, and probably her Jewish birth was also unknown. Secrecy is, no doubt, the armour of oppressed nations; but it is peculiarly agreeable to the descendants of Jacob, who was a master of the art. There must have been wonderful self-command on both sides to keep such a secret, and true affection, to preserve intercourse through apparent indifference.
Our passage begins in the middle of Esther’s conversation with the confidential go-between, who told her of the insane decree for the destruction of the Jews, and of Mordecai’s request that she should appeal to the king. She reminds him of what he knew well enough, the law that unsummoned intruders into the presence are liable to death; and adds what, of course, he did not know, that she had not been summoned for a month. We need not dwell on this ridiculously arrogant law, but may remark that the substantial accuracy of the statement is confirmed by classical and other authors, and may pause for a moment to note the glimpse given here of the delirium of self-importance in which these Persian kings lived, and to see in it no small cause of their vices and disasters. What chance of knowing facts or of living a wholesome life had a man shut off thus from all but lickspittles and slaves? No wonder that the victims of such dignity beat the sea with rods, when it was rude enough to wreck their ships! No wonder that they wallowed in sensuality, and lost pith and manhood! No wonder that Greece crushed their unwieldy armies and fleets!
And what a glimpse into their heart-emptiness and degradation of sacred ties is given in the fact that Esther the queen had not seen Ahasuerus for a month, though living in the same palace, and his favourite wife! No doubt, the experiences of exile had something to do in later ages with the decided preference of the Jew for monogamy.
But, passing from this, we need only observe how clearly Esther sees and how calmly she tells Mordecai the tremendous risk which following his counsel would bring. Note that she does not refuse. She simply puts the case plainly, as if she invited further communication. ‘This is how things stand. Do you still wish me to run the risk?’ That is poor courage which has to shut its eyes in order to keep itself up to the mark. Unfortunately, the temperament which clearly sees dangers and that which dares them are not often found together in due proportion, and so men are over-rash and over-cautious. This young queen with her clear eyes saw, and with her brave heart was ready to face, peril to her life. Unless we fully realise difficulties and dangers beforehand, our enthusiasm for great causes will ooze out at our fingers’ ends at the first rude assault of these. So let us count the cost before we take up arms, and let us take up arms after we have counted the cost. Cautious courage, courageous caution, are good guides. Either alone is a bad one.
Mordecai’s grand message is a condensed statement of the great reasons which always exist for self-sacrificing efforts for others’ good. His words are none the less saturated with devout thought because they do not name God. This porter at the palace gate had not the tongue of a psalmist or of a prophet. He was a plain man, not uninfluenced by his pagan surroundings, and perhaps he was careful to adapt his message to the lips of the Gentile messenger, and therefore did not more definitely use the sacred name.
It is very striking that Mordecai makes no attempt to minimise Esther’s peril in doing as he wished. He knew that she would take her life in her hand, and he expects her to be willing to do it, as he would have been willing. It is grand when love exhorts loved ones to a course which may bring death to them, and lifelong loneliness and quenched hopes to it. Think of Mordecai’s years of care over and pride in his fair young cousin, and how many joys and soaring visions would perish with her, and then estimate the heroic self-sacrifice he exercised in urging her to her course.
His first appeal is on the lowest ground. Pure selfishness should send her to the king; for, if she did not go, she would not escape the common ruin. So, on the one hand, she had to face certain destruction; and, on the other, there were possible success and escape. It may seem unlikely that the general massacre should include the favourite queen, and especially as her nationality was apparently a secret. But when a mob has once tasted blood, its appetite is great and its scent keen, and there are always informers at hand to point to hidden victims. The argument holds in reference to many forms of conflict with national and social evils. If Christian people allow vice and godlessness to riot unchecked, they will not escape the contagion, in some form or other. How many good men’s sons have been swept away by the immoralities of great cities! How few families there are in which there is not ‘one dead,’ the victim of drink and dissipation! How the godliness of the Church is cooled down by the low temperature around! At the very lowest, self-preservation should enlist all good men in a sacred war against the sins which are slaying their countrymen. If smallpox breaks out in the slums, it will come uptown into the grand houses, and the outcasts will prove that they are the rich man’s brethren by infecting him, and perhaps killing him.
Mordecai goes back to the same argument in the later part of his answer, when he foretells the destruction of Esther and her father’s house. There he puts it, however, in a rather different light. The destruction is not now, as before, her participation in the common tragedy, but her exceptional ruin while Israel is preserved. The unfaithful one, who could have intervened to save, and did not, will have a special infliction of punishment. That is true in many applications. Certainly, neglect to do what we can do for others does always bring some penalty on the slothful coward; and there is no more short-sighted policy than that which shirks plain duties of beneficence from regard to self.
But higher considerations than selfish ones are appealed to. Mordecai is sure that deliverance will come. He does not know whence, but come it will. How did he arrive at that serene confidence? Certainly because he trusted God’s ancient promises, and believed in the indestructibility of the nation which a divine hand protected. How does such a confidence agree with fear of ‘destruction’? The two parts of Mordecai’s message sound contradictory; but he might well dread the threatened catastrophe, and yet be sure that through any disaster Israel as a nation would pass, cast down, no doubt, but not destroyed.
How did it agree with his earnestness in trying to secure Esther’s help? If he was certain of the issue, why should he have troubled her or himself? Just for the same reason that the discernment of God’s purposes and absolute reliance on these stimulate, and do not paralyse, devout activity in helping to carry them out. If we are sure that a given course, however full of peril and inconvenience, is in the line of God’s purposes, that is a reason for strenuous effort to carry it out. Since some men are to be honoured to be His instruments, shall not we be willing to offer ourselves? There is a holy and noble ambition which covets the dignity of being used by Him. They who believe that their work helps forward what is dear to God’s heart may well do with their might what they find to do, and not be too careful to keep on the safe side in doing it. The honour is more than the danger. ‘Here am I; take me,’ should be the Christian feeling about all such work.
The last argument in this noble summary of motives for self-sacrifice for others’ good is the thought of God’s purpose in giving Esther her position. It carries large truth applicable to us all. The source of all endowments of position, possessions, or capacities, is God. His purpose in them all goes far beyond the happiness of the receiver. Dignities and gifts of every sort are ours for use in carrying out His great designs of good to our fellows. Esther was made queen, not that she might live in luxury and be the plaything of a king, but that she might serve Israel. Power is duty. Responsibility is measured by capacity. Obligation attends advantages. Gifts are burdens. All men are stewards, and God gives His servants their ‘talents,’ not for selfish squandering or hoarding, but to trade with, and to pay the profits to Him. This penetrating insight into the source and intention of all which we have, carries a solemn lesson for us all.
The fair young heroine’s soul rose to the occasion, and responded with a swift determination to her older cousin’s lofty words. Her pathetic request for the prayers of the people for whose sake she was facing death was surely more than superstition. Little as she says about her faith in God, it obviously underlay her courage. A soul that dares death in obedience to His will and in dependence on His aid, demonstrates its godliness more forcibly in silence than by many professions.
‘If I perish, I perish!’ Think of the fair, soft lips set to utter that grand surrender, and of all the flowery and silken cords which bound the young heart to life, so bright and desirable as was assured to her. Note the resolute calmness, the Spartan brevity, the clear sight of the possible fatal issue, the absolute submission. No higher strain has ever come from human lips. This womanly soul was of the same stock as a Miriam, a Deborah, Jephthah’s daughter; and the same fire burned in her,-utter devotion to Israel because entire consecration to Israel’s God. Religion and patriotism were to her inseparable. What was her individual life compared with her people’s weal and her God’s will? She was ready without a murmur to lay her young radiant life down. Such ecstasy of willing self-sacrifice raises its subject above all fears and dissolves all hindrances. It may be wrought out in uneventful details of our small lives, and may illuminate these as truly as it sheds imperishable lustre over the lovely figure standing in the palace court, and waiting for life or death at the will of a sensual tyrant.
The scene there need not detain us. We can fancy Esther’s beating heart putting fire in her cheek, and her subdued excitement making her beauty more splendid as she stood. What a contrast between her and the arrogant king on his throne! He was a voluptuary, ruined morally by unchecked licence,-a monster, as he could hardly help being, of lust, self will, and caprice. She was at that moment an incarnation of self-sacrifice and pure enthusiasm. The blind world thought that he was the greater; but how ludicrous his condescension, how vulgar his pomp, how coarse his kindness, how gross his prodigal promises by the side of the heroine of faith, whose life he held in his capricious hand!
How amazed the king would have been if he had been told that one of his chief titles to be remembered would be that moment’s interview! Ahasuerus is the type of swollen self-indulgence, which always degrades and coarsens; Esther is the type of self-sacrifice which as uniformly refines, elevates, and arrays with new beauty and power. If we would reach the highest nobleness possible to us, we must stand with Esther at the gate, and not envy or imitate Ahasuerus on his gaudy throne. ‘He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake and the gospel’ s, the same shall find it.’