For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
Haman is dead, yet the letters ordering the slaughter of every Jew are still racing across the king's provinces. Esther's question here is not about her own survival. She asks whether she could bear to live in a kingdom that had destroyed her people.
Safe Herself, but Her People in Danger
Esther's own position is now safe. Her people's is not.
William KellyGod did more than catch the cruel enemy of His people completely in his own trap. He would also care for the Jews everywhere the king ruled, where they were still under sentence of death. The deliverance was not yet complete. The chief enemy was destroyed, but they were still in danger.
Two lives were safe. A whole nation was not.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHer life and Mordecai's life had been spared, but what about her beloved people? It is true the fateful day was still in the future. But no one had recalled the evil decree, and it had to be met in some way.
Approaching the King a Second Time
Esther had risked death once to reach the king. She does it again — but not in the same state of mind.
Leslie M. GrantEsther again risked her life by coming before the king, but no doubt without the fear she had before, for he had proven his love for her. When the king held out his sceptre to her, she begged him with tears to undo the evil of Haman's scheme to destroy the Jews.
Everything Asked on the Ground of Grace
Notice how she asks. She takes the posture of someone with no claim at all.
H. L. RossierShe speaks to Ahasuerus, throws herself at his feet, weeps and begs him. Earlier she had fasted, and had neither eaten nor drunk for three days. Now she humbles herself before the king and pleads for his grace. He alone, her lawful husband, can turn the disaster aside in grace. He holds out the golden sceptre to Esther. Then she presents her request, sensing that to see it fulfilled she depends entirely on his grace... Only grace will be able to put an end to judgment.
A Decree That Could Not Be Recalled
Esther asks the king to reverse the letters. That is the one thing he cannot give.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe former decree cannot be revoked; it must stand. Laws made by Persian kings could not be altered or changed... A cancelling of the edict is impossible and so the earlier proclamation stands. Behind this Persian custom lay the idea that a decree must be seen as coming from the king as a person with divine authority.
So the answer to her plea was not a cancellation but a second decree. The same writer shows how that saved them.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe proclamation of death stood, but alongside it came a proclamation of life. They did not need to die. Their enemies were given into their hands. They acted on this second proclamation and believed what it said. Then they learned this: the first decree stood and could not be revoked, but the second decree set them free from death and gave them liberty.
A Woman Free to Carry Other People's Burdens
Her freedom to act now came out of earlier choices. One writer turns that into a pattern for anyone who serves.
The Christian's FriendShe who had kept herself from defilement was the one to throw herself into the afflictions of others. She had guarded herself against personal entanglements, and so was free to serve. She was already dressed for work, and only waited for a call. This is the right condition of every follower of Jesus... Now, as queen, she carefully learns the state of her people throughout the king's whole kingdom, and at once puts herself under their burdens.
The Day of Ruin Turned Around
The date in the first decree never changed. What happened on that date did.
H. L. RossierAnd so the day appointed for Israel's ruin becomes the day of their deliverance — but through judgment and vengeance on their enemies. He held out the golden sceptre to Esther and received all her requests in grace. Now he puts his word into action, so that what he promised happens quickly.
Summary
- Unfinished. Haman was dead and Esther was safe. But the Jews across the empire still lived under sentence of death, so the rescue was not complete.
- Unselfish. Esther could not enjoy a rescue her people did not share. She risked her life a second time, now without her old fear, because the king had proven his love.
- Unearned. She asks nothing as a right. She falls at his feet and stakes the whole request on his grace, because only grace can stop judgment.
- Unrepealable. No one could cancel the first decree, so life came another way. A second proclamation went out beside it, and it freed everyone who acted on it.
- Undone. The day fixed for Israel's ruin became the day of their rescue, through judgment on their enemies. The woman who had kept herself free to serve was free to carry her people's burden.