Trusting God's Plan When You Don't See Him: Lessons From the Book of EstherSýnishorn

Don’t you love spotting things in the Bible that you didn’t notice the first two or three reads? Mordecai heard about the king’s order to kill all the Jews and he immediately mourned by putting on sackcloth and ashes, a very external sign of his grief. This was a practice customary for the Jewish people to show their grief and sorrow. All around the kingdom Jews were doing the same thing, wailing, fasting and mourning, but Esther didn’t know this. She was living a life of royalty, out of touch with her people.

So when Esther’s maids tell her Mordecai is in anguish, her first response is to send him some new clothes to wear. Why? This is what I finally noticed this time reading the passage. “But he went only as far as the king’s gate because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.” (Esther 4:2) This was basically the “no shirt, no shoes, no entry” policy of the palace. But Mordecai was not about to take off his mourning clothes to visit Esther because he was still lamenting. He refused to come.

Esther is living an out of touch life in the palace these days. She has no idea that all the Jews are wailing, mourning and fasting around the kingdom. No blame here on Esther either. This was probably customary for the royals to live secluded from the common folks. We also don’t see where Esther runs out into the city streets to find Mordecai either. That’s not what queens do. She orders one of the king’s eunuch’s, Hatach, to go find out what’s troubling her cousin. Sadly, she’s trapped in the confines of royal life.

When Hathach finds Mordecai, the situation is so dire that Mordecai gives a copy of the edict to bring to Esther and he urges her to “go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him forher people.” (Esther 4:8) Remember, Mordecai had explicitly told Esther to NOT reveal her Jewish heritage, but now the stakes are so high, there’s really no other choice.

When Esther hears the bad news, she reacts like many of us. She makes excuses! “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” (Esther 4:11)Esther had the natural response of fear for her life!

I’m guessing Esther and Xerxes aren’t in that honeymoon stage of their marriage any more. After all, it’s been nearly five years since she was made queen. We’ll see that the “it’s not my problem” or “my hands are tied” response will not cut it with Mordecai. Something has to be done! Stay tuned tomorrow for what happens next. It’s do or die!

Questions:

1. Do you see similarities today with people being disengaged and disconnected from reality?

2. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where taking a certain course of action would result in a significant sacrifice or trade-off?

3. How can you seek guidance and support from God when facing a seemingly impossible or no-win situation?