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When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. Esther 4:1 (NIV) No chapter holds greater significance to Esther than chapter 4. Recall the God-ordained timing, Mordecai probably woke in the morning thinking of Passover, only to discover that “he and all his Jewish friends had been sentenced to die. The rope of bondage of the exile with which he had become so comfortable had now become a noose around his neck.” Thus far Mordecai has been showcased as a very proud and capable man. Suddenly we see him wailing loudly on the public streets of Susa and tearing at his clothing. Think of the last time you saw someone “wailing loudly and bitterly.” How did you react inside and why? Though the individual words appear many places in the Old Testament, the exact Hebrew phrase, “with fasting, weeping and wailing” in Esther 4:3 appears only in Joel 2...

Esther Weekly Reading Week Four – Chapter Four ReadChapter 4 Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help In  Chapter 4  Mordecai implored Esther to intervene on behalf of her people or they would all be killed. Esther reminded Mordecai that anyone who came before the king without being called, even the queen, would be subject to death. The only exception to this would be if the king extended mercy by holding out the golden scepter ( verses 10-12 ). Mordecai then uttered the most famous line from the book when he said, “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.  Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  ( 4:14, emphasis added throughout). Esther then agreed to risk her life for her people. She asked Mordecai to have her people fast for her success, and she put her life on the line by g...