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Esther
Chapter 4
{Chapters
1-5: Danger of the Jews Extermination - Continued}
{Chapters
3-5: Malevolent Plotting
of the Prime Minister Haman - Continued}
1~~~When
Mordecai perceived all that was done,
{Haman's Holocaust Edict}
Mordecai
tore/rent his clothes,
and
put on sackcloth with ashes,
and
went out into the middle of the city,
and
cried with a loud and a bitter cry.
{Note:
This was a typical way of showing mourning in this day. Mordecai is
becoming emotional at this point instead of applying doctrine to the
situation. He probably thought he was responsible for bringing this
potential holocaust upon his people.}
2~~~And
he came even before the king's gate . . .
for
on one might enter into the king's gate
clothed
with sackcloth.
{Note:
The probably is due to the fact that the king's soul is empty. He is
constantly grieving on the inside and therefore demands no overt show
of mourning in the palace that might remind him that though he has
all the material things any person could want in this world, without
God and His Doctrine/Word in his soul, he was miserable.}
{Jews
Emote the Same as Mordecai}
3~~~And
in every province,
whithersoever
the king's commandment
and
his decree was caused to be spread,
there
was great mourning among the Jews,
and
fasting, and weeping, and wailing . . .
and
many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
{Note:
These Jews had the opportunity to return to the land, but because of
great prosperity, they elected not to return to the land. Therefore,
these Jews are probably mostly in reversionism and are not applying
doctrine to the situation - so they can only wail. And, there is no
mention of prayers being given to God for His deliverance. So that is
another strong indication of their apostasy. God will deliver them
because it depends on Who and What He is, not who and what these Jews
are. He made unconditional promises to Abraham and He is faithful no
matter what.}
4~~~So
Esther's maidens and her eunuchs came
and
told it {about Mordecai in streets} to her.
Then
was the queen writhed in great agony
and
she sent garments to clothe Mordecai,
and
to take away his sackcloth from him . . .
but
he did not accept them.
5~~~Then
called Esther for Hatach,
one
of the king's eunuchs,
whom
he had appointed to attend upon her,
and
ordered him to go Mordecai,
to
learn what {it was},
and
why {it was}.
{what was Mordecai grieving about and the cause behind it}
6~~~So
Hatach went forth to Mordecai
unto
the city square,
which
was in front of the king's gate.
7~~~And
Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him,
and
the exact sum of the money
that
Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries
for
the Jews . . . to destroy them.
8~~~
Also he {Mordecai}
gave
him {Hatach} a copy
of
the text of the decree
that
was given at Shushan to destroy them . . .
to
show it unto Esther,
and
to declare it unto her,
and
to order her that she should go in unto the king,
to
plead/'make supplication' unto him {the king},
and
to make request before him for her people.
{Note:
Mordecai takes a complete about face. He has told Esther not to
reveal she is a Jew. Now she is to reveal this and risk her own life.
This is the central moment of the book of Esther. What will Esther do?}
9~~~And
Hatach came and relayed
the
words of Mordecai to Esther.
10~~~Then
Esther spoke unto Hatach,
and
ordered him to talk to Mordecai.
11a~~~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
is not summoned . . .
there
is but one law of his . . . to put him to death,
except
such to whom the king
shall
hold out the golden scepter . . .
that
he may live.
11b~~~And,
I {Esther}
have
not been summoned
to
come in unto the king these thirty days.
{Note:
The point is even the queen can not go into the king's presence
without being invited, unless the king gave her an immediate
reprieve. So, to even try to get the king to change this edict would
be to risk immediate death. And, for this king, 30 days is a long
period of time. Esther might think she is out of favor with the king
and he just might take this opportunity to kill her.}
{Esther
wants Mordecai to Confirm His Request -
It could mean Her Death}
12~~~And
they relayed Esther's words to Mordecai.
13-14~~~
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther,
'Do
not imagine that you
shall
escape in the king's house,
more
than all the Jews . . . 14~~~
{this is a brutally blunt statement but necessary}
for
if you altogether hold your peace at this time,
then
shall relief and deliverance
{relief here is a derivative of 'breath' - to 'breath freely' is to have
relief}
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?'
{meaning that maybe God promoted her to queen for this very
purpose}
{Note:
Mordecai is claiming the promise of God to protect the Jews from
Anti-Semites. If Esther takes action and is in the plan of God, she
will be the tool of God's deliverance, but if she refuses, God will
deliver the Jews. But in that case Mordecai warns her that she and
her family could very well die the sin unto death.}
15-16a~~~Then
Esther bade them
return
Mordecai this answer, 16a~~~
"Go,
gather together all the Jews
who
are present in Shushan,
and
fast you for me,
and
neither eat nor drink three days, night or day."
{Note:
To fast means to go without food. The connotation is to spend this
extra time to pray to God, take in doctrine, or engage in some other
spiritual activity. Most likely, this request for a fast on her
behalf also included prayers to God on her behalf.}
16b~~~"I
{Esther} also and my maidens will fast likewise
and
so will I go in unto the king,
which
is not according to the law."
16c~~~"And
if I perish . . . I perish."
{Note:
Esther is immediately risking her life. If the king is merely in a
bad mood, she may die right then and there for the disrespectful act
of breaking the king's law - no one could approach the king uninvited
or risk death.}
17~~~So
Mordecai went his way,
and
did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
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