The Book of Esther

Word Study

"great mourning," Hebrew evel gadol (אֵבֶל גָּדוֹל), great grief. The death decree spread "in every province," and everywhere it came "there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes." The whole scattered people, facing annihilation, gave themselves to grief and, significantly, to fasting. Facing a threat they could not overcome by any human means, God's people turned to fasting and lament. And it sets the stage for the deliverance; the mourning and fasting of the whole people, joined soon to Esther's fast (v16), is the human side of the crisis, God's people casting themselves on His mercy.

"sackcloth and ashes," saq va-epher (שַׂק וָאֵפֶר), the outward signs of deep humiliation and lament. The text does not mention prayer explicitly (in keeping with the book's studied silence about God), but fasting in sackcloth and ashes was the classic accompaniment of prayer and repentance before God; no Jewish reader could miss that this mourning was, at heart, a crying out to God. This is the right response of the powerless to overwhelming danger: not despair, but humbling themselves before God. The scene is one of deep distress, an entire people under sentence of death, grieving in sackcloth. Yet even here, the fasting hints at hope: they do not merely mourn as those without hope, but humble themselves, and in the God-shaped silence of the book, the reader hears the unspoken cry for deliverance.

Explanation

As the death decree spread through every province, the Jewish people everywhere fell into great mourning, fasting, weeping, and lying in sackcloth and ashes. Facing annihilation they could not prevent by any human power, they humbled themselves in grief and fasting. Though the book does not explicitly mention prayer, fasting in sackcloth was the classic accompaniment of crying out to God; no Jewish reader would miss that this was, at heart, an appeal to Him. The powerless people responded to overwhelming danger not with despair but by humbling themselves before God.

Gospel Focus

The Jews' response to the death decree, "great mourning... and fasting, and weeping, and wailing," models the right response of the powerless to overwhelming danger: humbling themselves before God. Though His name is unspoken, the fasting in sackcloth is the language of crying out to Him, as God's people always have in extremity: "in their affliction they will seek me early" (Hosea 5:15). Fasting and mourning over sin and danger are not signs of unbelief but of a humble heart casting itself on God, "the LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18). When we face threats beyond our power to fix, the answer is not despair but to humble ourselves and seek God, "humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7). And there is hope even in the deepest distress, for the God who is never named in Esther, yet governs every page, hears the cry of His people. The mourning of chapter 4 is the prelude to the deliverance of chapters 7-9. So when the decree of trouble comes, do not mourn as those without hope; humble yourself before the God who saves, and trust that He who hears the fasting cry of His people will answer in His time, as He answered them, and as He answers all who call on Him through Christ.

Word Study

"enlargement and deliverance," Hebrew revach ve-hatzalah (רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה), relief and rescue. Mordecai's message to the hesitating Esther is one of the great statements of faith and providence in Scripture. He makes three points. First, a warning against false safety: "Think not... that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews." Esther's position would not shield her; she would perish with her people. Second, an astonishing confidence in God's purposes: "if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place." Mordecai is certain that deliverance will come, God's people will be saved, whether or not Esther acts; the promises of God cannot fail. God does not depend on any one person; if Esther refuses, God will use another. But, third, a solemn responsibility: "but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed." If Esther fails her moment, she will forfeit the honor and share in the ruin.

"for such a time as this," le-eth ka-zoth (לְעֵת כָּזֹאת), for a time like this. And then the climactic challenge, unforgettable in its restraint: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Mordecai will not presume to declare God's purpose outright (again the book's reverent reticence), but he points Esther to see her whole life, her rise to the throne, as God's providential preparation for this exact moment. This is the theology of the whole book in a sentence: God places His people where they are, for purposes they may not see, "for such a time as this."

Explanation

Mordecai's message to the hesitating Esther is a masterpiece of faith. He warns her that her royal position will not save her; she will perish with her people. He expresses total confidence that God will deliver the Jews one way or another, "deliverance shall arise... from another place", for God's purposes cannot fail and do not depend on any one person. But he warns that if Esther fails her moment, she will forfeit her part and share the ruin. And he challenges her to see her whole life, her rise to the throne, as God's providential preparation: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" God places His people where they are, for purposes they may not yet see.

Gospel Focus

"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" is one of Scripture's great calls to see God's providence in our placement and to act faithfully in our moment. Mordecai's words hold two truths in balance, both precious. First, God's purposes are certain and do not depend on us: "deliverance shall arise... from another place." God will accomplish His will; His work does not hang on any one person's faithfulness, and that is our comfort. Yet second, we are genuinely responsible to act in our moment, and forfeit blessing if we shrink back. God's sovereignty does not cancel our responsibility; it establishes it. God had placed Esther on the throne "for such a time as this," and He places each of us where we are with purpose, "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Your position, your relationships, your opportunities are not accidents; God has set you there for such a time as this. The question for every believer is whether we will see God's hand in our placement and act faithfully when our moment comes, or hold our peace and miss it. "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men" (Galatians 6:10). Consider where God has placed you, and ask what "such a time as this" He may have prepared you for, then, trusting His sovereign purpose, step forward and act.

Word Study

"if I perish, I perish," Hebrew ve-khaasher avadti avadti (וְכַאֲשֶׁר אָבַדְתִּי אָבָדְתִּי), and if I am lost, I am lost, a resolve of surrendered courage. Esther rises to the challenge. She calls for corporate fasting, "gather together all the Jews... and fast ye for me... three days," joining herself and her maidens to the fast. Again, fasting is the language of casting oneself on God; before she risks her life, Esther and the people humble themselves and seek God's help. Then she resolves to act: "so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law." To approach the king unbidden was punishable by death unless he extended his golden scepter (v11); Esther would break the law and risk execution to plead for her people. And she seals her resolve with immortal words: "and if I perish, I perish." This is not fatalism or despair, but the surrendered courage of faith. Esther has counted the cost, committed the outcome to God (through the fast), and resolved to do her duty whatever befalls. "If I perish, I perish" means: I will do what is right, and leave my life in God's hands; if death comes, so be it. It is the same spirit as the three Hebrews, "but if not... we will not serve thy gods" (Daniel 3:18), and of Paul, "neither count I my life dear unto myself" (Acts 20:24). Esther moved from hesitation to heroic resolve, from self-preservation to self-sacrifice, from fear to faith. Having sought God, she risked all for her people, and left the rest to Him.

Explanation

Esther rose to her moment. She called all the Jews to fast with her for three days, joining herself to the fast, a humbling of herself before God before risking her life. Then she resolved to go to the king uninvited, an act punishable by death, to plead for her people, sealing it with the words "if I perish, I perish." This was not despair but surrendered courage: having counted the cost and committed the outcome to God, she resolved to do her duty whatever the result. Esther moved from hesitation to heroic self-sacrifice, from fear to faith, risking all for her people and leaving the rest to God.

Gospel Focus

"If I perish, I perish" is the surrendered courage of faith, and it points to the greatest self-sacrifice of all. Esther, having sought God through fasting, resolved to risk her life to save her people, willing to die that they might live. In this she is a beautiful, if faint, picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not merely risk His life but gave it, going not "unto the king" but to the cross, to save His people from a doom far greater than Haman's decree. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13); "hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16). Where Esther said "if I perish, I perish," Christ said, in effect, "I will perish, that they might live," and He did, and rose again. And Esther's example calls every believer to the same surrendered courage: to do what is right whatever the cost, having committed the outcome to God. "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39); "they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). When God calls you to a costly, dangerous obedience, seek Him as Esther did, count the cost, commit the outcome to Him, and step forward in faith: "if I perish, I perish." For the one who loses his life for Christ's sake will save it, following the Savior who first lost His life to save us.