Esther
4:1-17
When Mordecai learned what had been done, he tore
his clothes, dressed in mourning clothes, and put ashes on his head. Then he
went out into the heart of the city and cried out loudly and bitterly. 2 He
went only as far as the King’s Gate because it was against the law for anyone
to pass through it wearing mourning clothes. 3 At the same
time, in every province and place where the king’s order and his new law
arrived, a very great sadness came over the Jews. They gave up eating and spent
whole days weeping and crying out loudly in pain. Many Jews lay on the ground
in mourning clothes and ashes. 4 When Esther’s female servants
and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen’s whole body showed how
upset she was. She sent everyday clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of
mourning clothes, but he rejected them.
5 Esther then sent for
Hathach, one of the royal eunuchs whose job it was to wait on her. She ordered
him to go to Mordecai and find out what was going on and why he was acting this
way. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the city square in
front of the King’s Gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that
had happened to him. He spelled out the exact amount of silver that Haman
promised to pay into the royal treasury. It was in exchange for the destruction
of the Jews. 8 He also gave Hathach a copy of the law made
public in Susa concerning the Jews’ destruction so that Hathach could show it
to Esther and report it to her. Through him Mordecai ordered her to go to the
king to seek his kindness and his help for her people. 9 Hathach
came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.
10 In reply Esther ordered
Hathach to tell Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s officials and the
people in his provinces know that there’s a single law in a case like this. Any
man or woman who comes to the king in the inner courtyard without being called
is to be put to death. Only the person to whom the king holds out the gold
scepter may live. In my case, I haven’t been called to come to the king for the
past thirty days.”
12 When they told Mordecai
Esther’s words, 13 he had them respond to Esther: “Don’t think
for one minute that, unlike all the other Jews, you’ll come out of this alive
simply because you are in the palace. 14 In fact, if you don’t
speak up at this very important time, relief and rescue will appear for the
Jews from another place, but you and your family will die. But who knows? Maybe
it was for a moment like this that you came to be part of the royal family.”
15 Esther sent back this
word to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa
and tell them to give up eating to help me be brave. They aren’t to eat or
drink anything for three whole days, and I myself will do the same, along with
my female servants. Then, even though it’s against the law, I will go to the
king; and if I am to die, then die I will.” 17 So Mordecai left
where he was and did exactly what Esther had ordered him.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I will always think of this book of the Bible
rather fondly because of my Great-Grandmother, Esther Steinkamp. Like the queen
of this story, Esther was a wonderful woman.
Like the Biblical Esther, my Great-Grandmother was a person who had a
place in two different cultures: Esther Steinkamp was born and raised in
Indiana but learned her Small Catechism
and hymns in German and spoke that language at home. Esther Steinkamp raised a family during the
Great Depression (which was certainly not easy) and was a faithful Christians
her entire life. Both had to be brave
and plucky in some tough situations and both have left a legacy of faith. So, when I think of brave women these two
come to mind.
But perhaps some of what I said above doesn’t make
much sense if you are unfamiliar with the book of Esther. A little background will help. The people of Israel had lived in the
Promised Land, first under the Judges and then under the Kings. Even though the
United Kingdom, eventually broke into two different entities, they lasted for
hundreds of years. Eventually, however,
both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah were
destroyed and many of their people were taken into exile. The exiles from
Israel (the “Lost Ten Tribes”) have disappeared from history, but the exiles
from Judah continued to keep their religion and cultural identity. In addition
to those forced from their homes, many people moved to other countries to
pursue a better life for themselves.
Life “in exile” was often a mixed bag. Quite often exiles were able to carve out a
good life in their new homes: some became successful merchants or government
officials. For others, things were much
more difficult, but no matter what your economic situation, the cultural
environment was very different. Languages, customs, food, and religion were
different in their new lands. Their new
leaders often tolerated their worship of Yahweh (the Israelite God), but there
were times when it was less than advantageous to be known as a “Jew” (a name
that comes from the land of Judah). The
Exiles were always susceptible to attack, slander, or prejudice.
Stories about Jews like Esther, Daniel (of Lions’
Den fame), and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (of fiery furnace fame) all depict
the challenges that the Jewish individuals in particular and the Jewish people
as a whole had to face in a foreign land.
When our lesson for today begins, a powerful official in the Persian
Empire has just orchestrated an attack on the Jewish people, so that they would
be annihilated and all of their property plundered. This is why Mordecai is so distressed.
Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter Esther had
recently won an empire-wide contest and had become a wife of the King of
Persia. The Bible says that she did not
reveal that she was a Jew and was thus living “under the radar” in the King’s
harem. Had her true identity been known, Esther could very possibly be in
danger.
Esther and Mordecai had remained close and now he
charges Esther to appeal to the king to save the Jewish people. This is a very dangerous thing to do, of
course, as the story tells us. Mordecai’s words to Esther must have rung in her
ears, just as they ring in ours today. “Don’t
think for one minute that, unlike all the other Jews, you’ll come out of this
alive simply because you are in the palace…” Laying low and protecting
herself will not ultimately save her: eventually she will be found out.
But his next line has great significance as well: “But who knows? Maybe it was for a moment
like this that you came to be part of the royal family.”
Here again we have the theme that can found
throughout Scripture: being blessed in
order to be a blessing to others. Like Abraham and Solomon before her,
Esther’s advantages have put her in a place to make a tremendous
difference. May we all consider that “It
was for a moment like this that fill in the blank in my
life.” What gifts, abilities, or
situations of influence has God placed us in so that we can make a difference
for the good? Are we able to recognize it?
In a world that has seen all-too-much violence
against the Jewish people, this story comes to life right from the page. Esther
decides to act bravely, just as Mordecai asks, and prepares to go to the
king. The safety of the Jewish people
depends on her poise. What happens next?
You’ll have to open up your Bibles and start reading at Chapter 5 to find out.
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