For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there arise relief and deliverance to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall perish. And who knows whether thou art [not] come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
Mordecai's reply is the turning point of the book. Her crown will not save her, help for the Jews will come with or without her, and the One who will send that help is never named.
The whole message points to God without ever saying so. One commentator notes how Mordecai shapes the sentence:
Not a word about God. He is hidden. Mordecai means God. But God stays so completely hidden that Mordecai only hints at Him in this remarkable way: "relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place." God would look down from heaven. Mordecai speaks only of the place, not of the person.
That silence runs through the whole book, and it is deliberate:
People have often noticed that the name of God never appears in the book of Esther. This is characteristic. God does not show Himself. The government of the world had fallen to that throne, with all its power and all its mistakes. But behind it, God holds the reins by His providence. He watches over the fulfilment of His purposes and over everything they need. And He cares for His people, whatever their condition and however strong their enemies.
Commentators differ on how much faith these words carry. One reads them against a book where prayer is never mentioned, and hears only a faint hope:
In their deepest distress they wear sackcloth and sprinkle ashes on their heads. They call a fast. But there is never a word of prayer or pleading... All we see in these believers is concern for their nation. As the final blow comes closer, we see distress and deep anguish, with one faint thought, prompted by faith, that help might come "from another place."
Another hears settled assurance in the same phrase, and traces its effect on the queen:
He had warned her plainly and seriously. If she stayed silent, ruin would come on her and on her father's house. Yet at the same time he was completely certain that relief and deliverance would come from another place. This is the victory that overcomes the world — our faith; and we may surely apply it here.
He could have appealed to Esther on grounds of family loyalty. He did not:
It would have been natural for Mordecai to say, "If you cannot save all the people, at least save me and your father's house. You belong to the king's household, and no one can touch you there." But he does not think of his own interest and safety. The salvation of his people is what is on his heart... These words show Mordecai's deep conviction: the Jewish people cannot perish. He knew the history of the past and trusted God to find a way out this time also. He believed more than this. God's providence had put her on the throne for one purpose — to bring about the deliverance.
Esther's first reply had been about the danger she faced. Mordecai's answer moves her off that ground. One writer draws out the two characters side by side:
She sees difficulty, and feels dangers; and she speaks, for a time, out of her circumstances. There is nothing wrong in this. She tells Mordecai the risk she would run by going into the royal presence uninvited... But Mordecai advises her as the stronger of the two. He stands above both circumstances and natural affection, for the cause of God and His people... His faith wins the day, and through him she is strengthened. Esther decides to go in to the king.
Her answer, "If I perish, I perish," is a line preachers often borrow for the anxious sinner. One commentator objects:
When the queen said "If I perish, I perish," that was not unbelief. It was the readiness of a martyr, as she was about to fall at the feet of such a tyrant. Does that justify a similar sentiment at the feet of Him who came into the world to save sinners? Who has already said, "whoever comes to me I will never cast out"?
Some readers treat the absence of God's name as a flaw in the book. It is the opposite:
Perhaps there is no more remarkable unfolding of the great truth of divine providence in the Bible. Along with this, notice how the name of God never appears in the book. Some have supposed this to be a defect. In truth, naming God openly as the story ran would have spoiled the book. The main aim is to show His hand working in secret, where no one could rightly proclaim His name. Far from being a fault, this is one of the most strengthening things about the book. We deal with the same secret providence every day.
- Hidden. God is never named in Esther, and Mordecai keeps that pattern. He speaks of the place deliverance comes from, not the person.
- Certain. Behind the throne of a pagan empire, God holds the reins by His providence and cares for His people whatever their condition.
- Placed. Mordecai's conviction was double. His people could not perish, and God had placed Esther on the throne for this very crisis.
- Costly. Esther spoke first from her circumstances. Mordecai's faith strengthened her, and she went in. Her "if I perish, I perish" is martyr courage, not the language of a doubting sinner.
- Ours. The silence that troubles readers is the point. It shows His hand working in secret — and we meet that same providence every day.
And Esther bade to answer Mordecai
Esther's reply is the moment the exchange reverses: the young queen who has been receiving instructions now issues them, and Mordecai obeys. Her orders are strange ones for someone about to face a king — not preparation, but fasting; not confidence in her position, but a readiness to die.
Before, Esther prepared for the king with perfumes, as his order required. Her answer here says nothing about them. One writer notes what she leaves out.
Not a word about the perfumes now. Not a word about the sweet odours to prepare herself for the presence of the king. She had submitted to that; it was the king's order. But now, although she does not mention God, it is clear where her heart is. She goes with a very strange preparation, but an admirable one at such a time — fasting. It is a great sign of humbling herself before God. Yet even here God is not named.
She calls for a fast, but she names neither prayer nor God. Commentators read that silence in two ways. One takes the fast as prayer in another form:
Even here it is striking to observe that, though her faith shines, the Name stays as secret as ever. Yet fasting no doubt implied the most earnest prayer to Him Who dwelt in the thick darkness. He would hear in the palace at Susa as surely as in the temple at Jerusalem.
Another writer says God left prayer out on purpose, and that the silence says something about the people:
Fasting is negative. It stands for self-judgment. But what about the more important positive action, prayer to God? There is no mention of this. We would expect them to pray, but God leaves out any mention of prayer because the Jews were in a poor spiritual state.
One writer objects to a common use of these words. Esther's danger and a sinner's are not the same:
Notice in passing the strange misapplication so common among preachers! "If I perish, I perish" was not unbelief, but a martyr readiness in the queen's mouth, about to fall at such a despot's feet. Does it warrant a similar sentiment at the feet of Him Who came into the world to save sinners? Who has already declared that "whoever comes to me I will never cast out"?
Taken at face value, her words are the language of self-sacrifice. One writer sees in them a small picture of a greater sacrifice.
Her faith measured up to Mordecai's expectation. She is ready to sacrifice herself to save her people. How it reminds us of Him who did more than say, "If I perish, I perish," who gave Himself and took upon Himself the curse of the law.
Esther has no legal right to approach; the law says death for anyone who enters uninvited. Her only hope is that the king chooses to receive her, and that shapes the whole approach.
Esther, in an act of faith, recognises that she is reliant on pure grace. She decides – after fasting and contrition ‒ to go to the king, knowing that her fate will depend on his mercy. This is how the remnant will come to approach God, in contrition of heart and trusting in His mercy.
Esther's decision is bold, yet she does not go alone or unsupported. She binds her people to her by the fast, and one writer sees both sides of her balance — she will not collapse under the trial, and she will not treat it lightly either.
Esther decides on going in unto the king. If she perish, she perishes; but she is edified to hazard all for her people. And yet, while she thus does not "faint" under the trial, neither will she "despise" it: for she will have Mordecai and her brethren wait in a humbled dependent spirit, so that she may receive mercy, and her way to the king's presence be prospered.
The man who sent the warning now takes the orders, and the reversal is itself part of the story's meaning.
It is the fearless Jew who now does everything Esther told him. He had warned her faithfully and solemnly that ruin would certainly fall on her and her father's house if she stayed silent. At the same time he was completely certain that relief and deliverance would come from another place. This is the victory that overcomes — faith — and we may apply it here. The queen is ready to perish, if need be, in such a cause. The unseen hand that holds up the universe strengthens her, and that hand would turn the king's heart at His will.
- Faith spreads. Mordecai was certain deliverance would come "from another place." That certainty reached Esther and became action.
- Faith strips. Esther drops the perfumes and calls for a fast. Humbling herself is now her way into the king's presence.
- Faith is silent about the Name. God is never named. Some commentators say the fast carried earnest prayer. Others say the missing prayer shows the state of the people.
- Faith risks. "If I perish, I perish" is a martyr's readiness, not doubt. No one coming to a Saviour who promises never to cast them out needs to speak that way.
- Faith rests on grace. Esther has no right to enter. Her life hangs on the king's mercy — a picture of how humbled hearts come to God.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.
Esther answers Mordecai by calling a three-day fast. Then she will go to the king uninvited, a step Persian law punished with death — and God, whose help the whole scene depends on, is never once named.
The law gave her no way through. Only King Ahasuerus himself could make an exception, and nothing forced him to.
If Esther appears before Ahasuerus without an invitation — and he has ignored her for thirty days — the law condemns her to death. One feeble resource is left: the king may choose to hold out the golden sceptre to her. So her only escape is the grace of a man who holds absolute authority. But can Esther count on this grace? Not at all: everything depends on the king's good pleasure.
Sweet oils and perfumes once made her ready for the king. This time she chooses a different preparation.
Not a word about the perfumes now. Not a word about the sweet oils she once used to get ready for the king's presence. She had submitted to that; it was the king's order. But now, although she does not mention God, it is clear where her heart is. She comes with a very unusual preparation, and an admirable one at such a time — fasting. It is a great sign of humbling herself before God. Yet even here God is not named. You cannot doubt that God is above the scenes, and behind them.
The verse calls for fasting but says nothing about prayer. Commentators differ over that silence. One takes fasting itself as prayer in another form:
Fasting in the Old Testament is always the symbolic form of prayer; it cannot be separated from prayer. By giving this command she showed her dependence on God and put Him first, before she went in to the king.
Another reads the missing prayer as a verdict on the people:
Fasting is negative; it stands for self-judgment. But what about the more important positive action, prayer to God? There is no mention of it. We would expect them to pray. But God leaves out any mention of prayer, because of the unprofitable spiritual condition of the Jews.
Preachers often borrow the phrase for sinners coming to Christ. One writer calls that a misuse.
"If I perish, I perish" was not unbelief, but a martyr readiness in the queen's mouth, about to fall at such a despot's feet. Does that justify the same words at the feet of Him who came into the world to save sinners? Who has already declared that "whoever comes to me I will never cast out"?
Her courage is not self-confidence. She takes the danger seriously enough to lean on others while she faces it.
Esther decides to go in to the king. She is willing to risk everything for her people. And yet she does not lose heart under the trial, and she will not treat it lightly either. She will have Mordecai and her brothers wait in a humbled, dependent spirit, so that she may receive mercy, and her way to the king may prosper.
Esther had kept her Jewish background secret. This step will end that, and one writer looks past Esther to the nation she belongs to.
All this leads to one conclusion: Esther must now make herself known. The great tribulation will bring to light the character of the Jewish remnant. Until then Esther had stayed hidden. Now, in this trial, her origin will appear in broad daylight. At the moment God steps in, the nation's identity will be out in the open.
Her willingness to die so her people might live points past herself. What Esther offered as a risk, Another offered as a certainty.
And then her noble word — If I perish, I perish. Her faith measured up to Mordecai's expectation. She is ready to sacrifice herself to save her people. How it reminds us of Him who did more than say, "If I perish, I perish," who gave Himself and took upon Himself the curse of the law.
- Barrier — Going to the king uninvited meant death. Only his outstretched sceptre could spare her, so everything hung on his good pleasure.
- Preparation — Perfumes gave way to fasting, the outward sign of humbling herself before God — though the book never names Him.
- Resolve — "If I perish, I perish" is martyr readiness, not unbelief. Preachers misuse it when they aim it at sinners coming to a Saviour who turns no one away.
- Fellowship — She will not face it alone. She calls the whole company to wait with her in dependence for mercy.
- Revelation — The trial drags her hidden identity into the open, a picture of God's people made known when He steps in. She risked her life; Christ gave His.