Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
1) What does Mordecai’s decision to not go past the King’s Gate tell us? (verses 1-2)
2) What is revealed by Esther’s response in verse 4 and how was her growth encouraged?
3) How does the “one law” in verse 11 give a mini-description of the gospel?
Esther 4:1-11
When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly. 2 He went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. 3 There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict came. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so that he would take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them. 5 Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who attended her, and dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what he was doing and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the King’s Gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews.
8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa ordering their destruction, so that Hathach might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and command her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead with him personally for her people. 9 Hathach came and repeated Mordecai’s response to Esther.
10 Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to tell Mordecai, 11 “All the royal officials and the people of the royal provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner courtyard and who has not been summoned—the death penalty— unless the king extends the gold scepter, allowing that person to live. I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the last thirty days.”
Original Intent
1) What does Mordecai’s decision to not go past the King’s Gate tell us? (verses 1-2)
In a word? Honor. In another word? Respect. In yet another word? Faith. Mordecai had just been placed on death row. Outside of divine intervention, there was no hope for Mordecai’s life to be spared. Mordecai was not a weak, fearful man. He had stood firm in his decision to refuse to bow to anyone other than God. Neither was his position at the palace one of unimportance. Mordecai had prestige, a certain amount of power, faith, and strength of character. With the right amount of anger, which would most certainly be brought about by this scenario, Mordecai would have had enough courage and fortitude to storm the palace on a suicide mission to take out Haman or even the king. His life would soon be over anyways. But he didn’t. This small recorded detail telling us that Mordecai, “went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate”, speaks volumes of his character and the depth of his faith. He was distraught, overcome with grief, and quite likely justifiable anger, but he was not without wise courses of action, respectful decisions, and faith that God would indeed bring about redemption, even if he didn’t see what it would look like.
2) What is revealed by Esther’s response in verse 4 and how was her growth encouraged?
Mordecai hears of Haman’s plan, and in humility, prostrates himself before God with weeping, fasting, and prayer. Esther hears of Haman’s humbling actions, and her distress motivates her to cover his rent garments and silence his tears. Maybe it was all the time she’d spent being “treated with beauty”, covering blemishes that were skin deep while hiding the identity of her Jewish heritage. Maybe she was embarrassed by her uncle’s intentional humiliation. Maybe she supposed he had gone mad. Whatever it was, Mordecai’s vulnerable display of human weakness cast upon the strength of the Almighty disconcerted Esther at her core. Her first response wasn’t to ask investigative questions, but rather to cover up her discomfort. She would rather close her eyes, and put the whole scene to rest. When Mordecai refused to shove the issue under the rug, only then did she ask. Notice again Mordecai’s honor and respect? He could have told Hathach with angry exasperation exactly why he was rejecting Esther’s offer of clothing, but he didn’t. He respected Esther enough to let her ask her own questions. When Esther did ask questions, Mordecai answered with complete facts, giving explicit details Haman’s plan of destruction. (Esther 4:7-8) He urged her to go to the King with all the details he’d shared, and that’s where she pushed back hard, giving a lengthy reply. (Esther 4:10-11) It was suicide to go to the king. Mordecai responded back with wisdom, poking holes in the way she viewed the situation, because she herself was already on death row! Mordecai never once pressured her by telling her what she must do. Rather, he respectfully presented the facts, conversed with her based on their relationship, gave her wise, godly options, then valued her by letting her make her own decision. He refused to manipulate her, and instead honored her, even though he clearly felt there was a right decision to be made.
3) How does the “one law” in verse 11 give a mini-description of the gospel?
We read the scene of Esther going before King Ahasuerus and, because we know the end of the story, it’s easy to gloss over the life-threatening situation. From the lowest slave to the highest ranking official in the king’s province, everyone knew it was suicide to enter the king’s inner court without being summoned. It was a literal death wish. No questions asked, no opportunity to speak your mind, just execution for daring to enter into the king’s presence. There was only one, very slight exception. The king himself could save your life, if He wanted. One brief extension of his scepter, and life would be spared, at least for that moment. Making the dire situation even more ominous, the king hadn’t summoned his queen in over 30 days. As was his trajectory with Vashti, his previous queen, he became bored, and annoyed, easily. If he was in a sour mood, there was nothing we have seen in his character to make him favorably disposed towards Queen Esther’s unbidden approach to his Highness. But God. God had already given Esther favor with everyone within her sphere of influence from the time she entered the king’s beauty pageant, and it continued resting on her throughout her time in the palace.
Everyday Application
1) What does Mordecai’s decision to not go past the King’s Gate tell us? (verses 1-2)
Having the ability to choose a wise response, while respecting and honoring boundaries when you are angry, hurt, sad, offended, and grieved doesn’t come naturally. Choosing a wise response in the midst of oppressive circumstances is a discipline that grows over time as we submit our will to God’s, trusting His heart over our own. Mordecai acted with a clear head and a clear conscience as he chose to honor and respect the very authority that was putting him to death. How many of us can say that?! Relationships get messy quickly, and whether it’s a working relationship between coworkers, a parent-child relationship, a friend-to-friend relationship, or one between husband and wife, there will undoubtedly be times we feel offended, hurt, and disrespected. How we respond is always our choice. One person’s poor decision does not give us a blank check to treat them with the justice we deem most fitting. (Romans 12:17) When we choose honor and respect (note this doesn’t mean agreeance), we are carrying the gospel to the other person. We are removing ourselves as the authority on justice, and leaving room for God to fight our battles. (Romans 12:18-21) Surely, none of us would blame Mordecai for acting rashly, or would we? Who knows what domino effect would be set in motion had he stormed the King’s Gate with indignant bitterness instead of respecting the governing boundary. I know I need to keep practicing this discipline in my relationships; it’s a good thing that opportunities are always abounding!
2) What is revealed by Esther’s response in verse 4 and how was her growth encouraged?
What is so precious to me about this exchange between orphan-turned-queen Esther and Uncle Mordecai, who was very much like a father to her is the beauty of true, biblical community. We are all on a faith journey. Some of us are pushing hard against religion of all kinds, let alone Christianity. Some are curious onlookers, wondering what it is that makes Christianity different from the rest. Others are thrilled with the new life of Christ, having just crossed the line of faith for themselves. Other journeys have long-walked with the Savior, but have experienced various highs and lows along the way. Wherever we are, biblical community can help us grow deeper and go farther than we would alone. The Christian life was never intended to be lived out alone; even Jesus surrounded Himself with a community of brothers He did everything with. Based solely on what we read in Esther’s story in this passage, I have little doubt that had Mordecai not been part of Esther’s community, the end of the story would have been vastly different. As much as we celebrate Esther’s heroism in this portion of Jewish history, we cannot celebrate her without also celebrating Mordecai and the role of biblical community in her life. We have these same opportunities to sharpen others around us, encouraging them by pointing them towards wisdom, speaking the truth in brave love, respecting them, walking alongside them, and giving them the space to make their own decisions. Who can you love well this week?
3) How does the “one law” in verse 11 give a mini-description of the gospel?
This throne room experience for Esther is the same for each of us, when we view it through the lens of our own relationship with God. God, in His righteous holiness is entirely set apart from all sin, like the king in his throne room. He cannot abide even the smallest hint of sin in His presence. To enter the presence of God with our sin-wrecked selves is impossible. In fact, it’s so impossible that we are condemned to Death simply by default because of our sin nature. Did you catch that? We are all on death row with a sentence of eternal separation from the Author of life and love. But, like Esther’s throne room scenario, we too have one, single ray of hope at life. What’s infinitely better in our case is that God, the King, has already guaranteed to extend His scepter towards us! When He chose to Die our death for us, He paid the penalty required by our sin, and with His resurrection, He flung open the door to the throne room of His presence. We are free to go in, to have access, to dance in freedom, to leave the chains of our sin behind, to sit and dwell with Him forever and enjoy His glorious presence! Also like Esther, just because the hope of life is extended towards us, doesn’t mean we are automatically in the throne room of God. Christ’s offer of redemption is on the table, the choice of accepting Him is ours to make. Do you have access? If so, are you living out the truth of that reality? If not, I applaud you for your honesty and ask, what holds you back from saying yes to Jesus offer of redemption and new life? Wherever you are on this journey of faith, there are people praying for you!
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
Memorize It!
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I’m considering Mordecai’s decision to not go past the gates. Not to break laws but love within them.
No matter where we find ourselves especially when situations are unfair, it’s important to live within the law of the land. Good can do amazing things even through evil men’s plans. We have seen him work all through scripture.
We need to restrain from breaking the law when we fight for our “rights”.
Even Jesus remained silent against the accusations he received.