1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. 2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Mordecai’s anguish is in relation to the events of chapter 3, when Haman’s prideful vengeance against Mordecai resulted in a decree against the entire Jewish nation. Because King Xerxes has sealed it into law, under the Persian rules of law, the edict cannot be erased. This is because Mordecai acted out in integrity, refused to kneel before Haman, and Haman in his bitterness found a way to condemn all the Jews. This edict is carried out in all the provinces of Persia where Jews reside.
4 When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. 6 So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Esther is living in the citadel at Susa, cut off from the everyday lives of the people. She has no idea of why Mordecai is behaving this way. We see her love for her cousin, that reciprocal love that Mordecai showed for Esther when she was taken into the harem. It isn’t until Mordecai tells the eunuch Hathak what had happened that Esther knows of the plan.
This is a moment when Esther could refuse to believe, but Mordecai does not give her that chance. He provides her not only with the monetary amount Haman is prepared to deposit into the royal treasury, but the actual edict, which, by law, had to be posted and proclaimed in each province once it became law.
9 Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
This is a very human moment for Esther. She hasn’t seen the king for a month. It is against the law for someone to approach the king without being summoned. This is an offense that can end in death. Perhaps its pushback or simply the logistics of her position, but she says she can’t get in front of the king unless he calls for her.
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
This is the crux of the book. Esther is a Jew living as the king’s wife. The Jews have just been notified they will be murdered by the regime in 11 months. Esther is in a tough position. If she goes before the king to plead for the Jews, she could be killed. If she doesn’t, scores of her countryfolk will be slaughtered. She too will be found out.
But Mordecai’s words are important to understand. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” His question is a rhetorical one, but it yields the question, is God in charge? If we believe God to be in charge, then is He in charge of all? And if He is in charge of all, then is he in charge of this very situation? In our lives, we don’t know why God has given us certain steps to follow. We are supposed to follow and he leads us to where he needs us to be.
In the first four chapters of this book, we saw a queen deposed, a King put out a search for a new queen, years passing until he finds Esther, the rise of the tyrant Haman and the call to exterminate the Jews. What this book is teaching us is something very pointed: even though we live our life and don’t always think about God, God is thinking about us. His will is being done whether we believe so or not. Whether we participate or not. And from time to time, it is our duty to rise up in the story and show what we’re made of. In Mordecai’s case, he stood with integrity in the face of pride and long-standing animosity. Now it is a time for Esther to stand up. Because, as Mordecai puts it, it’s the very reason she is there.
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.
Esther does a wise thing. Instead of rashly going to Xerxes, she instead enlists the Jews to fast for her. Fasting is a way for a person to deprive themselves of the standard staples of life in order to grow closer to the one who provides true sustenance. She wants the Jewish people, in the city of Susa, to take on this task, to be her support, to get closer to God through fasting and, as implied, prayer. Only after she has the backing of the people, acting as one in a spiritual manner, will she approach the king.