Esther 4:1-17.  Yesterday we saw what happens when people don’t listen to God or when they listen bad advise.  Xerxes had acted foolishly and his capital was in a mess.  An edict had been issued to exterminate the Jews.  Anyone who participated could claim the property of anyone they killed.  The date was set for 11 months in the future.

In today’s reading Mordecai hears the news and is very upset.  He gets dressed in the clothes of a person in mourning and goes to work screaming and crying.  When he gets to his assigned post, the gate of the palace, he stops and sits outside.  There is a law against someone in the clothes of a mourner from going into the palace.  Again we see how shallow Xerxes is as a leader.  All he seems to want are the good times.  The mourning was throughout the kingdom as Jews learned of the edict (v. 3).  But what about the queen, she too was a Jew?  In verse 4 Esther hears that her cousin is at the gate and is mourning and she too is upset.  She sends clothes for him to change into.  Evidently she hadn’t heard about the edict, but how would she?  She lived in the palace and the edict probably wasn’t big news there. When Mordecai refuses the clothes Esther has one of her servants go and find out just what is going on.  Mordecai explains the whole thing to Esther’s servant. He gives a copy of the decree to the servant for Esther and tells the servant to go to the king and beg for the lives of her people.

I think the author goes through the whole sending the servant part to point out how Esther was living in a sort of protected world.  The city was in turmoil but she didn’t have a clue what was going on.  Also it’s interesting that at this moment in the story, the people around Esther find out for the first time that she is a Jew.  I think this is a little hint by the author that this is her time.  Esther’s response to Mordecai is that it is against the law for her to approach the king without being called, and she hasn’t been called for a month.  I guess the honeymoon was over.  I can’t imagine not seeing my wife for a month, but Xerxes didn’t care he had dozens if not hundreds of women in his harem (See Song of Solomon 6:8 and 1 Kings 11:3 for an example of how many women could be in a harem).  Obviously Esther was just an object or toy to Xerxes not a “suitable helper” like God intended wives to be (Genesis 2:18).

In verses 13-14 Mordecai makes it very clear to Esther what he expects.  Remember Esther had been very obedient to Mordecai before all of this, that is the picture that has been painted of her.  Now see is faced with the most serious decision.  Mordecai indicates that saving the Jewish people is very important to God.  Remember that God is not actually mentioned in the book but verse 14 is probably as close as it gets.  Where else would help come from for the Jews.  The fact that the author never actually mentions God was probably done to show us that the Jewish people were living a pretty Godless life.  The Jewish people had been taken captive when the empire was controlled by the Babylonians in 586 BC.   When the empire was taken over by the Persians the first Persian king, Cyrus, issued an order allowing the Jewish people to return to their homeland in 538 BC (See Isaiah 44:28 where that event was predicted.  Isaiah died about 150 years before Cyrus became king).  So Esther and Mordecai were part of the Jewish people who chose not to return to their homeland.  Obviously Mordecai had a sense of being Jewish and was devoted to God in some ways but they did stay in a foreign country.  Now the question is, “Is Esther willing to be a tool of God?  Is God an important enough part of her life for her to risk losing it?”  Her cousin tells her if she doesn’t that her family will cease to exist.  That kind of talk is always very serious in the Old Testament (See “What’s I a Name”).  Mordecai state very clearly what was hinted at in verse 8 when it was revealed that she was a Jew.  “She was a Jew!  And it was time for her to stand up for her people.  Maybe she had been made queen for such a time as this.”

In verses 15-17 we see her decision, she will risk all for her people.  But first she wants her cousin and all the Jews he can find to seriously pray for her.  No food for three days, just prayer.  Then she will approach the king, and if she is executed, so be it.  In a reversal of roles Mordecai goes and does what Esther tells him to do.

That last part is kind of interesting. We need to not get caught up in our roles.  When God has a servant doing his work we need to get behind him or her.  It’s like when John the Baptizers followers got mad that Jesus was getting so much attention.  In reply John told his follower that he had to fade away and let Jesus get the attention John 3:26-30).  We also need to not get so caught up in our own lives so much that we forget who we are, followers of Jesus.  Like Jesus we need to be doing the will of God.   God has put each of us where we are, when we are, and he has given each of us a job to do.  The question for each of us is will we do it?  If not what does that say about our relationship with God?  Do we really have one?

Years ago I was in a situation where I was certain God wanted me to do something.  The problem was my girl friend didn’t want me to do it.  I had been a believer in Jesus for about three years at that time but really was living to please my self and my girl friend (who also was a Christian).  When she challenged my about going ahead with what God wanted me to do I told her if I didn’t then I was lost.  By that I meant I was headed for Hell. I don’t believe you can be a Christian headed for Heaven and then lose that.  Our new spiritual relationship with God is forever (eternal life).  What I meant was if I didn’t obey God it proved that I had never really believe in Jesus in the first place.  As the old saying goes, “The proof is in the pudding.”  Or maybe more familiar, “You need to put your money where your mouth is.”  In Esther’s case she needed to put her mouth (and life) where her heart was supposed to be.

God help me prove my love for you each day by being obedient.  Don’t let the cares of life choke out the good news that has been planted in my life.  To you I dedicate my all, help me live like it each day.