Esther 4:10-17

“Then Esther replied to Hathach with instructions for Mordecai: “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!” When Esther’s reply was conveyed to Mordecai, he said to take back this answer to Esther: “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear from another source, while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be that you have achieved royal status for such a time as this!” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. If I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.”

— ‭‭Esther‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭17‬‬

 I haven’t researched the customs of Persia beyond what Esther says here. It would be intriguing to read stories of kings accepting or rejecting the entrance of people with the scepter. This also lends credibility to the idea that Xerxes was not the best husband (just ask Vashti). I’ll wait until I discuss chapter one to rethink the “beauty pageant,” but the fact that he hasn’t asked to see his wife for 30 days shows what sort of arrangement this is. Definitely not the tender loving man, building a relationship that many young women desire. (Who knows what other women have entered his life for various reasons?)

4:14 is one of the most popular verses in Christian culture, and “such a time as this” has turned into Christianese at this point. There’s some debate regarding what Mordecai was referencing with “some other source/place.” Could be just a generic reference to God’s sovereignty—He can do anything. Some think it’s Jewish leadership or a revolt. I would think a religious person like Mordecai would steer clear of revolution or fighting for deliverance. (Of course, that is the solution at the end—self-defense, so apparently, there were enough Jews with weapons to deter Persians from annihilating them.)

The king’s command would eventually apply to Esther. She would die, because she would not be able to hide her ethnicity forever. 

“Who knows” is similar to Jonah 3 when the king questions if God’s decree on Nineveh would be conditional on their repentance or not. It’s worth a shot. Who knows? Mordecai is just throwing out the possibility. A lot has happened to bring Esther into the king’s palace…some of it bad, some of it horrific and tragic. Mordecai’s response is maybe all of this happened to save the lives of all the people.

It is a testament to faith, and we can certainly see sovereignty throughout. But this is also an example where narratives need to be heavily considered before brought over into modern life. Do I believe in sovereignty? More than many things. Do I know Romans 8:28? Yes (including vv 29-30). But if I’m talking to someone who has endured similar things to Esther, even achieving greatness in the midst of them, I will hesitate to say, “This or that is why God allowed tragedy to affect you. OR This path has led to this because God ordained/orchestrated it to happen just like this.” 

All things happen for a reason? Maybe, maybe not. I learned in my language studies that “reason,” can be backward looking (cause) or forward looking (goal). And I’m not in a position to nail down either one through logic or experience. Believing in sovereignty doesn’t give me authority to lay out exactly why things happened in His plan.

Evil is evil. Period. This world is filled with chaos and pain. “Reason” may not the best word for it. But I do know that God can use our chaos for good and His glory. (Obviously the debate wages why He would allow all the evil and suffering to begin with.)

Esther’s response is to fast and pray. All the Jews in the city do the same. Then she will enter the king with her life literally on the line. That’s courage. Faith. 

She is a tremendous example, even if my circumstances look way different. My language when discussing these things, though, needs to reflect my culture/beliefs/situation not her narrative.

1 John 5:14-15

 “And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him.”

— ‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬‬

I don’t like discussing verses like this. We either end up talking in circles (making no sense to those who don’t understand Christianese) or talking ourselves into a corner/ a position that can’t be defended based on other passages or basic theology.

Surrounding verses (and overall themes of John) emphasize this word “know” bc of the heresies/opponents that John is attacking. Can talk about that in a passage of chapter 2 (probably vv 18-19). But other paragraphs in ch 5 seem to be closing thoughts and somewhat disconnected.

Grammar: v. 14 is third class condition. Present tense with ean is general present. This is why NET translated as “whenever.” V. 15 is first class condition, even though it still has ean (this is rare). 1st class is assumed true for sake of argument—never translate as since, even if the protasis (first half of conditional) is actually true. This would ruin logical force of conditional. 

At first glance, it seems John is saying the same thing twice in back to back verses. Would need to do deeper study to see if v 15 has slightly different/deeper meaning. Point is we have confidence that God hears us and that we will receive what we ask because He hears us.

Because of the conditional, there’s probably good grounds for emphasizing that phrase “according to His will,” but per my previous posts, it always seems like a cop out in Christian circles. Either the praying person isn’t spiritual enough, didn’t pray right, had wrong motives, etc. On the flip side, I thought God always hears His children…or anyone praying for that matter.

1 John 3:21-22 help understand this passage, since key terms are repeated: confidence, prayer, obedience. There must be some connection with obeying God’s will (i.e., the commandments, which for John is love) and knowing God’s will. Again, this also attacks the lifestyle and teaching of the opponents.

We could also use the following v. 16 to narrow down the “requests.” Not saying this is all that John means by “asking,” and I’m not trying to limit God by any means in order to, again, talk in circles or back into a corner. But John may be at least focusing here on one particular request: praying for those living in sin, which may end up leading to their destruction.

In either case, John must be making a point to his audience that they need. Maybe opponents are feeding more lies. We need more study on the book and context as whole before making blanket statements. We know what prayer is and God’s character. We know we pray and don’t get everything we ask. We don’t need to call anyone or anything a liar.

We don’t need to accuse solid Christians or having terrible motives or living in sin or not knowing God’s will. Maybe we can pray for God’s kingdom and spiritual maturity in ourselves and others, not so much physical things.