“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against 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 she had to break
The law gave her no way through. Only King Ahasuerus himself could make an exception, and nothing forced him to.
H. L. RossierIf 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.
Fasting instead of perfumes
Sweet oils and perfumes once made her ready for the king. This time she chooses a different preparation.
William KellyNot 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 missing prayer
The verse calls for fasting but says nothing about prayer. Commentators differ over that silence. One takes fasting itself as prayer in another form:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinFasting 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:
Leslie M. GrantFasting 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.
Not despair, but martyr readiness
Preachers often borrow the phrase for sinners coming to Christ. One writer calls that a misuse.
William Kelly"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"?
Courage borrowed, then shared
Her courage is not self-confidence. She takes the danger seriously enough to lean on others while she faces it.
J. G. BellettEsther 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.
Hidden identity brought into the open
Esther had kept her Jewish background secret. This step will end that, and one writer looks past Esther to the nation she belongs to.
H. L. RossierAll 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.
The greater self-sacrifice
Her willingness to die so her people might live points past herself. What Esther offered as a risk, Another offered as a certainty.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAnd 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.
Summary
- 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.