Bible Study: Esther 4:1-17

[Olena Welch]

Dear friends,

I hope you had a great weekend. If you'd like to prepare for a Bible study prior to our meeting tomorrow, please see below the questions from the Bible study guide we are going through. You may choose to answer all of them or some of them – anything to help you go deeper into Scripture.

On Tuesday night, we are going to study Esther 4:1-17. Since this study begins in chapter 4, you may wish to read the previous chapters of the book. Or you can just read a brief summary below. Esther is a great character in the Bible to study and take example from. One of the Christian authors describes her like this: “An orphan in a foreign land, she displayed great courage in the midst of a crisis. Prior to risking her life for her people, she humbled herself by fasting, and then put her considerable beauty, social grace, and wisdom in the service of God's plan”.

Background

Esther was a young Jewish woman living Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, when the king deposed his queen. In order to find another queen, he set up a beauty contest. Esther's cousin, Mordecai, convinced her to conceal her Jewish nationality and to enter the contest. She was declared the winner and made queen of Persia. Trouble began when Haman was made the king's right-hand man and determined to massacre all the Jews in the Empire because of Mordecai's refusal to bow down before him. He convinced the king to issue a royal edict and to fix a day on which all Jews would be annihilated.

Esther 4:1-17

4 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes oand 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, rand 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 sa 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 tthe inner court without being called, uthere is but one law—to be put to death, except the one vto 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.” 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 wthree days, night or day. I and my young women will alsofast 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 Saying 'Yes' to God

Esther 4:1-17

We often find it easy to obey God when there is little risk or cost involved. However, when God prompts us to speak to a stranger about Christ, to take an unpopular position on a moral issue (such as abortion or homosexuality), or take a step of faith into the unknown, we often become indecisive. Four centuries before Christ, Esther found herself at a similar fork in the road with only two options before her: to offer herself as God's instrument or to deny her identity as one of God's people.

1. In what situations do you find it difficult to openly confess or obey Jesus?
2. Read Esther 4:1-17. How do Mordecai and the Jews in the provinces react to the edict of the king (vv. 1-3)? 
3. What steps does Esther take to comfort Mordecai and understand his distress (vv. 4-5)? 
4. Describe the message Mordecai gives to Esther through the king's servant Hathach (vv. 6-9)? 
5. Why is Esther reluctant to heed Mordecai's exhortation (vv. 10-11)? 
6. When have you been asked to do something that involved personal risk or cost?. Explain. 
7. What arguments does Mordecai use to contend with Esther's hesitation to intervene on behalf of her people (vv. 12-14)?
8. What does he seem to understand about God's sovereignty and care for his people (v. 14)? What does he apparently understand about Esther's unwillingness to act courageously and to exercise faith? 
9. Mordecai asked: “And who knows but that you have come to the royal position for such a time as this?” This question is one of the most famous lines in the Old Testament. Where has God placed you at this particular time in your life? What may be a few reasons for which God has placed you there? Explain. 
10. How does Esther finally respond to Mordecai and ultimately to God (vv. 15-16)? What kind of help did she need in order to obey God in such a hazardous situation? 
11. How does the support of other Christians encourage you to say “yes” to God? 
12. Esther, after the three-day fast, is graciously received by the king and effectively intercedes on behalf of the Jews. How can her example encourage you to make better use of the opportunities God has given you?

See you all tomorrow night!

Blessings,

Lena Welch