Esther 4:6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
11 All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye 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.
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
Esther was not aware of the dire situation facing her people. She was sheltered in the king’s palace. She had not been honest with him, nor with herself. She was living a lie. Now she would get a true taste of reality.
The devil hates God. The devil wants to be God. He will never be that. Paul was directed to write:
II Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
God calls the devil the “god of this world”. He is busy blinding the minds of the lost. God created man with a conscience. Man knows the basic difference between right and wrong. He knows better than the wrong that we so often do. Lost man finds it easier to believe a lie than to pursue the truth.
Part of Satan’s hatred for God is his hatred for the Jews. He knows the Jews are God’s chosen people. God chose Abraham, not because Abraham was so good. He chose him because He was going to use him as an object lesson, to the world, of Who He is.
Fast forward to our text. Many of Abraham’s descendants, the Jews, decided they did not want to be God’s people. They liked the blessings that they had during the time of king David and the early days of king Solomon. However, they did not want to submit to God to continue to receive those blessings. They wanted the blessings without the relationship. That does not work.
The devil was happy to be able to deceive the nation of Israel into thinking the pagan imaginary gods of the heathen were better than the true God. He was also happy to convince Jews like Mordecai and Esther that is was better to remain in a hostile, pagan environment like Persia, rather than go back home to Jerusalem and help rebuild that special place.
In the Old Testament God’s design was that He would shine through the nation of Israel and the other nations of the world would see the blessing of knowing the true God.
We know that during the early years of king Solomon’s reign, the queen of Sheba came to visit him. She had heard of his wisdom and his prosperity in her own country. Good news travels fast. People cannot help telling a good success story, unless of course the god of this world has blinded their minds.
Mordecai assumed he was better off in Persia than in Jerusalem. He was wrong. He was so compromised that he could not force himself to go to a better place and a better way.
However, God was not going to allow the enemy to destroy His promise to Abraham. The Jews had suffered much by that time. Many were killed by the Assyrians, and the Babylonians. Now it was time for the nation to rebuild. God was constantly showing the children of Israel that His way was right.
Now He was allowing wicked Haman to work out his evil plot to a certain point. He was never out of the picture. He was never far away.
Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
In our text, Mordecai informed Esther of the situation. Esther had been trained by him, and thus she was hesitant to act now according to his new request. All of a sudden she was to expose who she truly was and she was to put her life at risk for her people.
The Persian empire did not allow a person to go before the king without an invitation. This idea is so foreign to God’s way of doing things. God invites people to come to Him. A godly pastor invites people to come hear the truth. A godly person wants to help others to know the truth.
Mordecai insisted that Esther go before the king. Esther had great respect for him and she agreed to go before the king under one condition. She asked the Jews in Shushan to fast with her for three days and three nights. Then she would go before the king. She was willing to put her life on the line for her people.
Mordecai was willing to honour her request. Again, there is no mention of God. When a religious person, that has religion in his head, but not in his heart, does “Biblical” things, he does them for selfish reasons.
Fasting was something God taught the nation of Israel about. The purpose of fasting was for the person to be able to draw nigh to God. It was a means of becoming more serious with God and getting rid of distractions.
The Jews were going to fast, but they were not crying out to God for help.
There are many people today who have turned God’s commands into rituals. Most people attend a church because they somehow think it will ease their guilty conscience. They are not interested in Truth. They choose a church that will entertain them and give them a pep talk. To them it is on the same level as attending a political rally. They want an eloquent person, they don’t care if it is a man or a woman, to tell them nice things. They want to leave believing that they are basically good people and when they don’t quite meet God’s standard, which is greatly diminished in their religious minds, He is ok with them.
The Bible presents God as a holy God. The Bible shows us that we are unworthy of even speaking to Him. He wants to hear from us, but He does not want our flattery or our lies or hypocrisy. Few people ever turn to God.
In the book of Esther, God would spare the lives of the Jews. That does not mean they all were saved spiritually. That does not mean they all went to paradise when they died. Many of them died in their sins. They were given the opportunity to be saved, but just like today, most chose not to do that.
It does not help to have a witch doctor mix up a potion to try to make you feel better. It is essential to hear the Truth and submit to the Truth. That is the way of blessing.
Pastor Bartel