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.
And Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Esther 4 ends with a single quiet sentence: the man who had warned Esther now takes his orders from her. Behind it lies a threat to the whole Jewish people, and a queen who is ready to perish as she goes in to the king. And God's name never once appears in the book.
Mordecai had pressed Esther to act, and was certain that rescue would come whether she moved or not. When her answer came back, he did not argue with it — he carried it out.
It is the undaunted Jew who now complies with everything Esther ordered. He had warned her plainly and seriously that ruin would fall on her and her father's house if she stayed silent. But at the same time he was fully certain that relief and deliverance would come from another place. This is the victory that overcomes, even faith, as we may apply here. The queen is ready to perish in such a cause, if need be. She is strengthened by the unseen hand that holds up the universe — the hand that was to turn the king's heart at His will.
Esther's instruction was a fast, and Mordecai's obedience means he called the people to it. One writer notices what is missing: the perfumes that had once prepared Esther for the king.
Not a word about the perfumes now. Not a word about the sweet fragrances to prepare herself 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 goes with a most unusual preparation, but an excellent one at such a time. It is fasting, a great sign of humbling oneself before God. Yet even here God is not named.
Commentators differ on the silence around prayer. Kelly treats the fast as earnest prayer, even though the fasters never name God. Grant reads the silence as a sign of the people's poor spiritual state.
Even here it is striking to notice that, though her faith shines, the Name stays as secret as ever. Yet fasting without a doubt implied the most earnest prayer to Him who dwelt in the thick darkness. He would hear just as surely in the palace at Shushan as in the temple at Jerusalem.
Fasting is negative. It stands for self-judgment. But what about the more important positive action of prayer to God? There is no mention of it. We would expect them to pray. Yet God leaves out any mention of prayer, because the Jews were in an unprofitable spiritual condition.
Mordecai's obedience did more than start a fast. It brought the Jews together, and it made the queen's background public.
Mordecai did as Esther asked. This drew all the Jews in Shushan together in a common cause, and all would now learn that the Queen was Jewish.
For one writer, that moment looks ahead. He reads Esther as a picture of a faithful part of Israel in a future time of great trouble:
All this leads to one conclusion: now Esther must make herself known. The great tribulation will bring to light the character of the Jewish remnant. Until then Esther had remained hidden. Now, in this trial, her origin will appear in broad daylight. At the moment when God steps in, the nation will be recognized openly.
Esther was ready to die for her people. One writer sets her famous words beside a far greater self-giving.
In giving this command she expressed her dependence on God and put Him first before attempting to go in to the king. 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 the curse of the law on Himself.
God is not named in this verse, and not once in the whole book.
Many have noticed that the name of God is not found 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 God holds the reins behind it 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.
- Faith spreads. Mordecai was sure deliverance would come. That confidence stirred Esther, and her answer sent him back to obey.
- Faith fasts. He obeyed a call to fast — a great sign of humbling oneself before God, with the perfumes laid aside.
- Faith is quiet. Prayer is never mentioned. Commentators differ. Did the fast imply prayer, or does the silence show the people's poor spiritual state?
- Faith gathers. One act of obedience drew every Jew in Shushan into a common cause. It also brought the queen's hidden background into the open.
- Faith is answered. God's name never appears in the book, yet He holds the reins behind the throne. And Esther's "If I perish, I perish" points to One who gave Himself outright.