1
When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out through the middle of the city, crying out loudly and bitterly.
2
In this way he came as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.
3
In every province, wherever the king’s command and decree had reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and lamentation; many spread sackcloth and ashes as their bed.
4
When Esther’s maids and eunuchs told her about it, the queen was deeply troubled. Then she sent garments to be put on Mordecai and to take his sackcloth from him, but he would not accept them.
5
Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and gave him orders to ask Mordecai what this meant and why it had happened.
6
So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king’s gate,
7
and Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, and how much silver Haman had promised to weigh out into the king’s treasury as the price for destroying the Jews.
8
He also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, so that it might be shown and explained to Esther. Moreover, Hathach was instructed to deliver a message to Esther, that she should go before the king to seek his favor and to plead for her people before him.
9
Then Hathach came and reported Mordecai’s words to Esther.
10
But Esther instructed Hathach to tell Mordecai:
11
“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the king in the inner court without being summoned, there is only one law: death. Only the one to whom the king extends the golden scepter shall live. And I have not been called to come in to the king for these thirty days.”
12
When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai,
13
Mordecai sent this reply to Esther: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape among all the Jews.
14
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
16
“Go, gather 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 maidens will fast likewise, and then I will go in to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
17
So Mordecai went and did exactly as Esther had commanded him.
👑😢🙏 Summary of Esther 4 – The Call to Fast and Esther’s Fateful Calling
Esther 4 is the emotional heart of the book of Esther. When Mordecai heard the plan to destroy the Jewish people, he mourned in the middle of the city, calling the whole people to fast and humble themselves. Under that pressure, Esther was also faced with a great choice: remain silent and safe, or take great risk for the sake of her people. Mordecai challenged her with memorable words: “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
📌 1. Mordecai Mourns over Haman’s Plan (verses 1–3)
➡️ When he heard the contents of the decree of destruction, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes
➡️ He cried out with a loud voice and stood before the palace gate
➡️ Throughout the kingdom, the Jews fasted, wept, and mourned
🎯 In the face of a great threat, the first response of believers is to cry out to God, not to human strength.
📌 2. Esther Hears and Sends Hathach (verses 4–9)
➡️ Esther was shocked and grieved to hear Mordecai mourning, then sent a change of clothes, but Mordecai refused them
➡️ Esther sent Hathach, her servant, to find out what had happened
➡️ Mordecai explained everything, including the amount of money Haman had offered the king and asked Esther to plead with the king for her people
🎯 Esther, who had long been protected in the palace, was now faced with the hard reality her people were enduring.
📌 3. Esther’s Fear and Mordecai’s Challenge (verses 10–14)
➡️ Esther reminded him: no one may come before the king without being summoned, or she could be put to death
➡️ Mordecai replied with a statement of faith and a great challenge:
- “Do not think that you will escape in the palace…”
- “If you remain silent, relief and deliverance will come from another place.”
- “Who knows, perhaps for such a time as this you have come to royal position?”
🎯 Our present time and position may be God’s answer to His greater calling and purpose.
📌 4. Esther Makes a Decision of Faith (verses 15–17)
➡️ Esther ordered all the Jews in Susa to fast for 3 days and 3 nights
➡️ She and her maidservants would also fast
➡️ After that, Esther said:
“I will go to the king… even though it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”
🎯 True courage is obedience to God’s will, even when it means risking everything.
📖 Main Teaching
- In a great crisis, fasting and prayer are the main weapons of God’s people
- Position and personal security do not free us from the responsibility of faith
- Courage in God’s calling is built on surrender, not on guarantees of outcome
- Sometimes God places us in a strategic position “for such a time as this”
- God’s help never depends on one person, but God wants to use those who are willing
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Offer your body as a living sacrifice…”
➡️ Esther offered her life for her people — as Jesus did for the world
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
➡️ Esther’s statement “If I perish, let me perish” reflects a fully surrendered faith
“We are God’s workmanship… for good works, which God prepared beforehand.”
➡️ Esther’s calling was a divine calling that the Lord had already planned
“If someone knows how to do good and does not do it, it is sin for him.”
➡️ When we know there is a responsibility of faith, silence is not an option
🕊️ “With loud cries and bitter weeping they expressed their mourning…” – Esther 4:3
🕊️ “Who knows, perhaps it was for a time like this that you have come to royal position?” – Esther 4:14
🕊️ “If I perish, let me perish.” – Esther 4:16
🕊️ “Go, gather all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.” – Esther 4:16
