Esther 4
After hearing of the King's command for the Jewish massacre Mordecai and Jews throughout the nation rent their clothes, put on sackcloth with ashes, fasted and bitterly cried.
Mordecai even came before the King's gate, in which it was forbidden to people to enter wearing sackcloth. Esther's maids and chamberlains heard of Mordecai's actions and told her.
Being distressed Esther sent clothes to Mordecai, but when he refused to wear them she sent Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains to find out what was wrong. Hatach returned with a copy of the decree for the massacre and a message from Mordecai that she should go to the king and plead for her people.
Having not been called in to see the king for the past month, Esther told Hatach to tell this to Mordecai, reminding him that she would risk death going into the king uncalled.
Mordecai replied via Hatach that she wasn't to think that she would escape this massacre - she and all her relatives would be killed. Perhaps this was why she had been brought into her position for this time.
Esther sent a final answer back to Mordecai requesting that he and all the Jews in Shushan would fast three days and nights whilst she and her maidens did likewise, and she would then go into the king although against the law.
Sadly, I inadvertently deleted my thoughts for this week before I had re-read them. I have been unable to retrieve them from the online journal which I use. I do know though that the verse that originally caught my eye was verse 14:
'If thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time'.
I remember I glanced at the Bible margin alternative rendition, if thou 'remain completely silent', and I recall that it gave me the memory of feelings of dread. The memory of times when I knew I needed to speak to somebody about something which I expected to be difficult, and I really, really didn't want to do it.
Do you have times like this? Times when you know you must do something or speak to somebody and it fills you with fear?
Esther was facing a risk of death by attempting to speak to the king uninvited, but if she kept silent she faced certain death at the time of Jewish massacre. What did she do and what can we learn from her actions?
Firstly, by fasting she humbled herself before God and demonstrated her need and dependence on him. Although it doesn't mention that Esther prayed, it generally seems that fasting was accompanied by prayer. We read of David, 'I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom' (Psalm 35: 13). The Apostle Paul when instructing husbands and wives refers to times of 'fasting and prayer' (1 Corinthians 7:5). And later in Esther 9: 31 it refers to their time of 'the fastings and their cry'.
Maybe some of you practice fasting? Although speaking to Jews, to whom fasting was a familiar practice perhaps fasting is something which Jesus expected us to do? He said, 'But thou, when thou fastest...' (Matthew 6: 17). Later we read of the early church fasting at times of particular importance, for example when sending Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13: 2,3).
Does this speak to you making you wonder if at times of great difficulty we should, like Esther, show our dependence on and need of God's intervention by humbling ourselves with fasting?
Secondly, I recall that I noticed that Esther wasn't fasting alone. She asked Mordecai, all the Jews of Shushan and her maids to fast, and presumably pray with her. This speaks to me of the power of united prayer and encourages us to seek the comfort of fellowship in prayer, to bear one another's burdens.
I think of the time when Peter was in prison, expecting death, and when we read of his miraculous deliverance we also read that 'many were gathered together praying' (Acts 12: 12).
Lastly, I noticed that Esther said that after fasting she would go in to the king and 'if I perish, I perish' (verse 17). This may sound fatalistic, but my study Bible suggests that it is not said in hopelessness, but rather as a statement of confidence in God's will and wisdom. We can see that having looked to God in prayer and fasting it would be so - it would be a humbly trusting that having committed it all to him, and shown complete dependence on him that the outcome is his ordained will.
Let us in those situations which we dread having to speak, not keep putting them off, trying to get out of it, or trying to get somebody else do it for us. Let us follow Esther's example and look to the Lord in prayer and dependence, both privately and as appropriate ask our loved ones and fellow believers to pray for us too, and ask God for the faith to trust him for the outcome.
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