Chapter 4: 1 - 9
The book of Esther: A study of God in action
when nothing appears to be happening!
by Patsy Norwood (c) 2023 - 2024. All Rights
Reserved.
In our last lesson we learned that Haman manipulated the king
into giving him what he wanted … the lives of the Jews!
In today’s lesson though, there’s one Jew who is not taking
this lying down. Let’s see who it is …
1 When Mordecai learned all that had
happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes,
and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and
bitter cry.
Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth (coarse garment
made of goat or camel hair) and sprinkled ashes on his head. Josephus tells us that he continually cried
out that “a nation that had been injurious to no one, was to be destroyed.” With the shock of the decree and now Mordecai’s
sudden behavior, don’t you know the confusion everyone (except the king and
Haman) was experiencing intensified!
Sackcloth and ashes were universally known as a sign of grief
and distress. Notice that Mordecai did
not mourn privately but made a public display of his grief.
2 He went
as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the
king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
Do you think Mordecai purposefully got as close as he could to
the king’s gate in order to get Esther’s attention? He would not have been able to get any closer
because of the sackcloth and ashes, however surely in that location someone
would have noticed him, and word would have spread in the palace eventually to
Esther.
3 And in
every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there
was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and
many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
The Jews did the same wherever the decree was carried, there
was widespread mourning and distress.
4 So
Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply
distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth
away from him, but he would not accept them.
Let’s take note of something before we unpack this verse. Esther’s maids and eunuchs knew she had an
interest in Mordecai and her in him because of the inquiries he made on her
behalf mentioned in chapter 2, verse 11 and the communication Mordecai had with
Esther in chapter 2, verse 22. They know
there was a connection, but I don’t think they know what it was yet.
Esther learns who is making the commotion at the gate via her
maids and eunuchs and is distressed. She
sends clothes for him to change into, but he refuses them. Some commentaries said his refusal could have
been based on the fact that the horrific situation that had made him put them
on had not ceased.
Could Esther’s reason for sending clothing to Mordecai have
been for the purpose of him putting them on so he could enter the palace, meet
with her and tell her himself what was going on?
Whatever either of their reasoning was, it seems by his
refusal that he was sending Esther an unspoken message that this was serious
and that something terrible was wrong.
5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the
king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command
concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was.
Esther’s secret is about to be a secret no more! She sends Hathach, one of her attendants, to
go to Mordecai and find out what was wrong?
6 So
Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of
the king’s gate.
Mordecai went to the most public, prominent and central
location, the city square … in front of the king’s gate! It seems Mordecai might have had a plan of
his own!
7 And Mordecai told him all
that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to
pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews.
Notice that Mordecai specifically mentions the ‘sum of money’
Haman had promised to pay to destroy the Jews.
Hmmm …. Does this indicate that the king, in the end, had
accepted Haman’s offer of blood money as part of the transaction?
8 He also
gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was
given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her,
and that he might command her to go into the king to make supplication to him
and plead before him for her people.
Just in case Hathach doesn’t get all the facts straight when
he reports back to Esther, Mordecai includes a copy of the decree. It seems that he wants to make sure that
Esther fully realizes the seriousness of their situation.
Mordecai also insists in the message to Esther that she has to
go into the king and plead for her people. Wait a minute!!! “Her people?” At this point the king doesn’t know that she
is one of ‘those disobedient and rebellious people’ he and Haman condemned to
destruction.
Esther’s heritage is no longer a secret. At least one of her attendants know, most
likely more and don’t forget her maids.
You know what happens with juicy information like that! I’m sure the palace rumor mill went into
overdrive … discreetly, of course!
9 So
Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Mordecai knew the seriousness of what he was demanding Esther
do.
He also knew that if she agreed, it could mean sudden death
for her.
He knew the seriousness of anyone, even the Queen trying to
approach the king uninvited.
Yet, he commanded her to do so …
What are your thoughts?
I sincerely hope that as we study this book, you’re gathering
knowledge about God and that you’re seeing how this account of Esther fits in
with His redeeming plan for mankind. The
Bible is about God and the more we learn about Him, the more we fall in love
with Him.
In our next lesson: Esther 4: 10 – 17, we see
Esther coming up with a plan.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today's lesson. Don't forget
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with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well.
Links to previous lessons can be found HERE.
Until the next class ...
patsy @ From This Heart of Mine; (c) 2023 - 2024 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.
