Study of the Book of Esther – Est 4:1-17 Our Fiery Trial

[Study Posted July 27, 2020]

Est 4:1  When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 
Est 4:2  And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 
Est 4:3  And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 
Est 4:4  So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not. 
Est 4:5  Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. 
Est 4:6  So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate. 
Est 4:7  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. 
Est 4:8  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. 
Est 4:9  And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 
Est 4:10  Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; 
Est 4:11  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. 
Est 4:12  And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words. 
Est 4:13  Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. 
Est 4:14  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? 
Est 4:15  Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 
Est 4:16  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. 
Est 4:17  So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. 

Chapter 3 of Esther focused on the plot by Haman to exterminate the Jews. That is the raising of the storm by the Lord to bring us to our wits’ end with the ultimate goal of getting us to our safe haven. As discussed, Haman represents the beast within who is used by God as His left hand to become the agency for our fiery trials with the view of destroying the old man within us (Haman). The trials that Job endured (seven plagues) are the same that Esther had started enduring in this chapter. However, this is not news that the flesh wants to hear because we love our lives. The passages of scriptures we are dealing with today have to do with our fiery trials.  That is what every elect goes through. Let’s go into the details of these trials marked out for us as exemplified in the life of Mordecai and Esther.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Job 1:9  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Est 4:1  When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 
Est 4:2  And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 
Est 4:3  And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 

Putting on sackcloth as seen in the scriptures is generally a sign of mourning due to the death of someone dear to us. In the spiritual context, the one dear to us is our flesh. The rending of Mordecai’s clothes and his putting on sackcloth signify the fact that he is dissatisfied with his own righteousness (his own clothes) and is ready to put on Christ’s righteousness, which is obtained through the death of our flesh, which causes us to mourn. Remember that the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation are clothed in sackcloth during their days of prophesying. Our lives as God’s elect are a long journey clothed in sackcloth as we mourn the daily dying of our flesh through various fiery trials. Coming to understand his words as Mordecai understood all the plans for the extermination of the Jews, we as God’s elect (Spiritual Jews) mourn. We all mourn because of what is written in the word of God concerning us as shown to Ezekiel. What is written is all about lamentations, mourning and woe because of our fiery trials.  This is not what our carnal man wants to hear.

These verses also tell us where we should express our mourning.  Mordecai expressed his mourning in the midst of the city of the King and also at the King’s gate. What do these locations tell us? The city is our Lord’s dwelling place, and so that is us (the new Jerusalem). We should be able to express what we are going through that makes us mourn in the midst of our brethren. As indicated in an earlier study, the King’s gate is where the porters of God’s elect are to help us with our load and to give us direction as to how we can get to our destination. Since we are all mourning, we can comfort one another in our trials.

Gen 37:34  And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son [Joseph] many days.

2Sa 3:31  And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier.

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Eze 2:9  And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Eze 2:10  And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Est 4:4  So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not. 

Our mourning in the city and at the King’s gate will surely receive response from our brothers and sisters as we try to bear each other’s burden. In the case of Mordecai, Esther came to his aid by providing a change of clothes for Mordecai. However, Mordecai refused the offer. Again in our earlier study, we pointed out that Esther, though she represents an elect, was not matured. Her solution to Mordecai’s problem was that he should not mourn. She thought that perhaps, God will take him out of all these afflictions even as our brothers and sisters on the other side believe that God will take them out of suffering through rapture (a bogus doctrine from the carnal mind). The fact is, whether we like it or not, we will drink this cup of suffering!! This situation is the same as when Jesus told his disciples of His impending death, and Peter took him aside to convince him not to accept the cross. Jesus refused to listen to Peter, and his response to his disciple was that Peter had a carnal mind.

Mat 16:21: From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Mat 16:22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
Mat 16:23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Berean Study Bible)

Est 4:5  Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. 
Est 4:6  So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king’s gate. 
Est 4:7  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. 
Est 4:8  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. 

Through our brothers and sisters, we are able to understand these fiery trials which are marked out for us. That was exactly what Esther tried to do by sending Hatach to Mordecai. Mordecai took his time to explain the trials facing the Jews (the elect). During our trials, we are enjoined to ask our Lord to come to our aid. That was exactly what Mordecai told Esther; that is, to make supplications to the King. The Psalmist said in Psalm 107:28 – they cried unto him in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distress. As we make our request to Him, he is able to make a way of escape so that we may be able to bear the trials.

As you can see, we are not making our request to the Lord to escape our trials, but rather to bear the trials. Sometimes in our trials we get so discouraged, and to make matters worse, we hear voices within telling us that we are finished. David felt the same way when he fled from Absalom. Then, he cried unto the Lord with his voice and the Lord heard him out of his holy hill. His holy hill is His tabernacle, His dwelling place within us. His holy hill is also Zion, His elect. So we hear our Lord from both within (Because he lives within) and from our brethren, the elect!! Hearing him is what gives us the strength to bear what we are going through.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Psa 3:1  A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
Psa 3:2  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
Psa 3:3  But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psa 3:4  I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

Psa 2:6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

Psa 15:1  A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

Psa 43:3  O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Est 4:9  And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 
Est 4:10  Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai; 
Est 4:11  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. 

Our election is not by our will or effort. We have to be called and shown mercy before we can enter the King’s inner court, the temple, to see the King. For he showeth mercy on whom he wills and hardens the heart of those he wills.  Our God showing mercy to us is the same as the king holding out the golden scepter to whomsoever he wills even though nobody deserves to come to his presence. While we are going through this process of judgment of the flesh, signified by the number 30 (30 = 3 x 10), we cannot enter the temple to worship or see the king. Another rendition of this is in Revelation 15:8 where no man can enter the temple until the seven plagues were fulfilled. That is the significance of Esther not seeing the King for 30 days.

Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Est 4:12  And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words. 
Est 4:13  Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. 
Est 4:14  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? 

Sometimes we think that somehow judgment will pass over us and we will be able to escape from these fiery trials. That may have been the thought of Esther. That was why Mordecai told her that she should not think that she will escape just because she is the bride of the King (verse 13). The unveiling of Christ in the Book of Revelation makes us aware that we will only be blessed if we read and keep those things (the fiery trials) which are written in the Book. In other words, we must go through hardships in order to enter the kingdom of God. Remember that the three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) went through the burning furnace, but they were not harmed.

If we do not want to go through suffering (i.e. if we hold our peace), we will not be part of the Lord’s deliverance but will be destroyed (we will face the white throne judgment) and others will be saved at our expense (verse 14). The fact is, we have been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this. Our deliverance is now!! As long as we are seeing Christ through the lens of our sufferings, we should be assured that our salvation is near, even at the door and we shall not pass until all the seven plagues are fulfilled in our lives!!

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Act 14:22 Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. (NIV)

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Est 4:15  Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, 
Est 4:16  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. 
Est 4:17  So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him. 

Now that Esther had come to understand Mordecai’s message, which is about suffering with her fellow Jews, she braced herself for the inevitable. In this case, she was just like Jesus who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross despising its shame. We should pay heed to the things she requested Mordecai to do and her resolve during this time of trial.

The first thing she requested Mordecai to do was to go gather the Jews. Our gathering together equips us for the fiery trials we are going through. We get strengthened to go through our trials when we gather. There are several Old and New Testament examples of this strengthening.  Remember Jesus himself was strengthened by an angel. When Jacob was on his death bed, he got strengthened when Joseph and his children came to see him. We therefore also need to be strengthened by our brothers and sisters (who are angels), when we are going through fiery trials.

Gen 48:1  And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Gen 48:2  And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luk 22:43  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

The second thing mentioned is that during this period of our trials, we should fast for three days – the three days being the process of our judgment, which is a lifetime. This fasting is not about afflicting our souls as we did when we were in the clutches of Babylon. This fasting is about stopping the feeding of our old man (so as to speed up its death) by not willfully engaging in sinful acts or not imbibing in false doctrines and lies from the harlot woman.  That is the fast that breaks every yoke. Isaiah suggested during this period of fast that we are to feed the sheep and not hide from our own flesh.  Not hiding from our own flesh is when we see ourselves as we really are – our self-righteousness, weaknesses, etc. – and it is only through the Lord’s chastening grace that we come to see who we really are.

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

The third point about this period of trial is that we have to go and see the King to make our request known. All the preparation by Esther was that she wanted to see the king to make a request. She had a firm belief that the king would attend to her request. That is to say that we must have faith and come to God in prayer during this period of our trial knowing that God will attend to our prayers.

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

2Sa 22:7  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

Psa 120:1  A Song of degrees. In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

The final point to note is that our fiery trials should bring us to a point where we are ready to lose our lives. This is where Esther came when she said that if she perish, then so be it. As the scriptures say, if we love our life, we will lose it, and if we lose our life we will gain it!! There are three examples in the word of God where individuals came to the point of being ready to lose their lives but in the end, they gained it. Esther is one example.  The other two examples are Daniel and the three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). Our ultimate example is our Lord Jesus who lost his life and has gained it as he sits at the right hand of God.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Dan 3:16  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Dan 3:17  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Dan 3:18  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The question is what does it mean to lose our lives? The statement in Matthew leading to the losing of our lives tells us what Christ had in mind.

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

From the passage above, loving our lives has to do with the way we treasure our relationships and what they offer more than our Lord Jesus. It is also about not being prepared to suffer (take up our cross). Loving our lives has to do with our natural affinity to enjoy pleasures of sin. As God’s elect, we need to give up all these for the reward just as Jesus and Moses did.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

May the Lord grant us the grace to lose our lives so that we will gain them at God’s appointed time!!

Our next discussion will be based on Esther Chapter 5.