1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law–to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. —Esther 4
Intro: Each of us has the opportunity to reflect on God’s person and work in history and our own lives. Chapter 4 powerfully displays the dichotomy of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.
Big Idea: Life is an opportunity to
1. Reacting to God’s sovereignty (v. 1-3)
- a. Mordecai grieves (v.1)
- b. The significance of sackcloth and ashes (v.1)
Reacting properly to God’s sovereignty involves acknowledging
- c. Mordecai puts himself near the palace (v.2)
- d. The Jews mourn (v.3)
- e. Accepting both good and suffering (Job 2:10)
But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. —Job 2:10
Because of God’s sovereignty, you can
2. Responding to God’s sovereignty (v.4-11)
- a. Esther sends Mordecai garments (v.4)
- b. Esther seeks more information (v.5)
- c. Esther calculates the cost (v11)
Responding to God’s sovereignty often requires
3. Reorienting to God’s sovereignty (v.12-17)
- a. Mordecai believes deliverance will come (v.13)
- b. Mordecai encourages Esther to accept responsibility for the position she is in. (v.14)
- c. Esther knows she will need spiritual support to accept the responsibility and risk (v.16)
- d. Mordecai follows through (v.17)
- e. Psalm 62
Small Group Questions
What did God teach you through this passage and sermon? Share the work of God in your heart with the group.
What questions did this passage and sermon raise in your mind?
How does understanding God’s sovereignty affect your daily decisions?
Can you share a time when responding to God’s sovereignty required courage and sacrifice on your part?
How does the story of Esther inspire you to live in such a time as this?