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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
E S T H E R
CHAP. IV.
We left God’s Isaac bound upon the altar and ready to be sacrificed,
and the enemies triumphing in the prospect of it; but things here begin
to work towards a deliverance, and they begin at the right end.
I. The Jews’ friends lay to heart the danger and lament it,
II. Matters are concerted between Mordecai and Esther for the
preventing of it.
1. Esther enquires into this case, and receives a particular account of
it,
2. Mordecai urges her to intercede with the king for a revocation of
the edict,
III. Esther objects the danger of addressing the king uncalled,
IV. Mordecai presses her to venture,
V. Esther, after a religious fast of three days, promises to do so
(ver. 15-17),
and we shall find that she sped well.
| Great Mourning among the Jews. | B. C. 510. |
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1 When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his
clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the
midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
2 And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter
into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
3 And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment
and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews,
and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth
and ashes.
4 So Esther’s maids and her chamberlains came and told it
her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment
to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but
he received it not.
Here we have an account of the general sorrow that there was among the
Jews upon the publishing of Haman’s bloody edict against them. It was a
sad time with the church.
1. Mordecai cried bitterly, rent his clothes, and put on
sackcloth,
v. 1, 2.
He not only thus vented his grief, but proclaimed it, that all might
take notice of it that he was not ashamed to own himself a friend to
the Jews, and a fellow-sufferer with them, their brother and companion
in tribulation, how despicable and how odious soever they were now
represented by Haman’s faction. It was nobly done thus publicly to
espouse what he knew to be a righteous cause, and the cause of God,
even when it seemed a desperate and a sinking cause. Mordecai laid the
danger to heart more than any because he knew that Haman’s spite was
against him primarily, and that it was for his sake that the rest of
the Jews were struck at; and therefore, though he did not repent of
what some would call his obstinacy, for he persisted in it
(ch. v. 9),
yet it troubled him greatly that his people should suffer for his
scruples, which perhaps occasioned some of them to reflect upon him as
too precise. But, being able to appeal to God that what he did he did
from a principle of conscience, he could with comfort commit his own
cause and that of his people to him that judgeth righteously. God will
keep those that are exposed by the tenderness of their consciences.
Notice is here taken of a law that none might enter into the king’s
gate clothed with sackcloth; though the arbitrary power of their
kings often, as now, set many a mourning, yet none must come near the
king in a mourning dress, because he was not willing to hear the
complaints of such. Nothing but what was gay and pleasant must appear
at court, and every thing that was melancholy must be banished thence;
all in king’s palaces wear soft clothing
(Matt. xi. 8),
not sackcloth. But thus to keep out the badges of sorrow, unless they
could withal have kept out the causes of sorrow–to forbid sackcloth to
enter, unless they could have forbidden sickness, and trouble, and
death to enter–was jest. However this obliged Mordecai to keep his
distance, and only to come before the gate, not to take his place in
the gate.
2. All the Jews in every province laid it much to heart,
v. 3.
They denied themselves the comfort of their tables (for they fasted and
mingled tears with their meat and drink), and the comfort of their beds
at night, for they lay in sackcloth and ashes. Those who for
want of confidence in God, and affection to their own land, has staid
in the land of their captivity, when Cyrus gave them liberty to be
gone, now perhaps repented of their folly, and wished, when it was too
late, that they had complied with the call of God.
3. Esther the queen, upon a general intimation of the trouble Mordecai
was in, was exceedingly grieved,
v. 4.
Mordecai’s grief was hers, such a respect did she still retain for him;
and the Jews’ danger was her distress; for, though a queen, she forgot
not her relation to them. Let not the greatest think it below them to
grieve for the affliction of Joseph, though they themselves be
anointed with the chief ointments,
Amos vi. 6.
Esther sent change of raiment to Mordecai, the oil of joy for
mourning and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
but because he would make her sensible of the greatness of his grief,
and consequently of the cause of it, he received it not, but was
as one that refused to be comforted.
| Mordecai’s Application to Esther; Esther Urged to Petition the King; Esther Resolves to Petition the King. | B. C. 510. |
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5 Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king’s
chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave
him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it
was.
6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city,
which was before the king’s gate.
7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and
of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the
king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.
8 Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that
was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther,
and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should
go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make
request before him for her people.
9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment
unto Mordecai;
11 All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s
provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall
come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called,
there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to
whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may
live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these
thirty days.
12 And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
13 Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with
thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all
the Jews.
14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,
then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews
from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be
destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this?
15 Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in
Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three
days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and
so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the
law: and if I perish, I perish.
17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that
Esther had commanded him.
So strictly did the laws of Persia confine the wives, especially the
king’s wives, that it was not possible for Mordecai to have a
conference with Esther about this important affair, but divers messages
are here carried between them by Hatach, whom the king had appointed to
attend her, and it seems he was one she could confide in.
I. She sent to Mordecai to know more particularly and fully what the
trouble was which he was now lamenting
(v. 5)
and why it was that he would not put off his sackcloth. To enquire thus
after news, that we may know the better how to direct our griefs and
joys, our prayers and praises, well becomes all that love Sion. If we
must weep with those that weep, we must know why they weep.
II. Mordecai sent her an authentic account of the whole matter, with a
charge to her to intercede with the king in this matter: Mordecai
told him all that had happened unto him
(v. 7),
what a pique Haman had against him for now bowing to him, and by what
arts he had procured this edict; he sent her also a true copy of the
edict, that she might see what imminent danger she and her people were
in, and charged her, if she had any respect for him or any kindness for
the Jewish nation, that she should appear now on their behalf, rectify
the misinformations with which the king was imposed upon, and set the
matter in a true light, not doubting but that then he would vacate the
decree.
III. She sent her case to Mordecai, that she could not, without peril
of her life, address the king, and that therefore he put a great
hardship upon her in urging her to it. Gladly would she wait, gladly
would she stoop, to do the Jews a kindness; but, if she must run the
hazard of being put to death as a malefactor, she might well say, I
pray thee have me excused, and find out some other intercessor.
1. The law was express, and all knew it, that whosoever came to the
king uncalled should be put to death, unless he was pleased to hold
out the golden sceptre to them, and it was extremely doubtful
whether she should find him in so good a humour,
This law was made, not so much in prudence, for the greater safety of
the king’s person, as in pride, that being seldom seen, and not without
great difficulty, he might be adored as a little god. A foolish law it
was; for,
(1.) It made the kings themselves unhappy, confining them to their
retirements for fear they should be seen. This made the royal palace
little better than a royal prison, and the kings themselves could not
but become morose, and perhaps melancholy, and so a terror to others
and a burden to themselves. Many have their lives made miserable by
their own haughtiness and ill nature.
(2.) It was bad for the subjects; for what good had they of a king that
they might never have liberty to apply to for the redress of grievances
and appeal to from the inferior judges? It is not thus in the court of
the King of kings; to the footstool of his throne of grace we may at
any time come boldly, and may be sure of an answer of peace to
the prayer of faith. We are welcome, not only into the inner court, but
even into the holiest, through the blood of Jesus.
(3.) It was particularly very uncomfortable for their wives (for there
was not a proviso in the law to except them), who were bone of their
bone and flesh of their flesh. But perhaps it was wickedly
intended as much against them as any other, that the kings might the
more freely enjoy their concubines, and Esther knew it. Miserable was
the kingdom when the princes framed their laws to serve their
lusts.
2. Her case was at present very discouraging. Providence so ordered it
that, just at this juncture, she was under a cloud, and the king’s
affections cooled towards her, for she had been kept from his
presence thirty days, that her faith and courage might be the more
tried, and that God’s goodness in the favour she now found with the
king notwithstanding might shine the brighter. It is probable that
Haman endeavoured by women, as well as wine, to divert the king from
thinking of what he had done, and then Esther was neglected, from whom
no doubt he did what he could to alienate the king, knowing her to be
averse to him.
IV. Mordecai still insisted upon it that, whatever hazard she might
run, she must apply to the king in this great affair,
No excuse will serve, but she must appear an advocate in this cause; he
suggested to her,
1. That it was her own cause, for that the decree to destroy all the
Jews did not except here: “Think not therefore that thou
shalt escape in the king’s house, that the palace will be thy
protection, and the crown save thy head: no, thou art a Jewess, and, if
the rest be cut off, thou wilt be cut off too.” It was certainly her
wisdom rather to expose herself to a conditional death from her husband
than to a certain death from her enemy.
2. That it was a cause which, one way or other, would certainly be
carried, and which therefore she might safely venture in. “If thou
shouldst decline the service, enlargement and deliverance will arise
to the Jews from another place.” This was the language of a strong
faith, which staggered not at the promise when the danger was
most threatening, but against hope believed in hope. Instruments
may fail, but God’s covenant will not.
3. That if she deserted her friends now, through cowardice and
unbelief, she would have reason to fear that some judgment from heaven
would be the ruin of her and her family: “Thou and thy father’s
house shall be destroyed, when the rest of the families of the Jews
shall be preserved.” He that by sinful shifts will save his life, and
cannot find in his heart to trust God with it in the way of duty, shall
lose it in the way of sin.
4. That divine Providence had an eye to this in bringing her to be
queen: “Who knows whether thou hast come to the kingdom for such a
time as this?” and therefore,
(1.) “Thou art bound in gratitude to do this service for God and his
church, else thou dost not answer the end of thy elevation.”
(2.) “Thou needest not fear miscarrying in the enterprise; if God
designed thee for it, he will bear thee out and give thee success.”
Now,
[1.] It appeared, by the event, that she did come to the kingdom that
she might be an instrument of the Jews’ deliverance, so that Mordecai
was right in the conjecture. Because the Lord loved his people,
therefore he made Esther queen. There is a wise counsel and design in
all the providences of God, which is unknown to us till it is
accomplished, but it will prove, in the issue, that they are all
intended for, and centre in, the good of the church.
[2.] The probability of this was a good reason why she should now
bestir herself, and do her utmost for her people. We should every one
of us consider for what end God has put us in the place where we are,
and study to answer that end; and, when any particular opportunity of
serving God and our generation offers itself, we must take care that we
do not let it slip; for we were entrusted with it that we might improve
it. These things Mordecai urges to Esther; and some of the Jewish
writers, who are fruitful in invention, add another thing which had
happened to him
(v. 7)
which he desired she might be told, “that going home, the night before,
in great heaviness, upon the notice of Haman’s plot, he met three
Jewish children coming from school, of whom he enquired what they had
learned that day; one of them told him his lesson was,
Be not afraid of sudden fear; the second told him his was,
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; the third
told him his was
I have made, and I will bear, even I will carry and will deliver
you. ‘O the goodness of God,’ says Mordecai, ‘who out of the mouth
of babes and sucklings ordains strength!'”
V. Esther hereupon resolved, whatever it might cost her, to apply to
the king, but not till she and her friends had first applied to God.
Let them first by fasting and prayer obtain God’s favour, and then she
should hope to find favour with the king,
She speaks here,
1. With the piety and devotion that became an Israelite. She had here
eye up unto God, in whose hands the hearts of kings are, and on whom
she depended to incline this king’s heart towards her. She went in
peril of her life, but would think herself safe, and would be easy,
when she had committed the keeping of her soul to God and had put
herself under his protection. She believed that God’s favour was to be
obtained by prayer, that his people are a praying people, and he a
prayer-hearing God. She knew it was the practice of good people, in
extraordinary cases, to join fasting with prayer, and many of them to
join together in both. She therefore,
(1.) Desired that Mordecai would direct the Jews that were in Shushan
to sanctify a fast and call a solemn assembly, to meet in
the respective synagogues to which they belonged, and to pray for her,
and to keep a solemn fast, abstaining from all set meals and all
pleasant food for three days, and as much as possible from all food, in
token of their humiliation for sin and in a sense of their unworthiness
of God’s mercy. Those know not how to value the divine favours who
grudge thus much labour and self-denial in the pursuit of it.
(2.) She promised that she and her family would sanctify this fast in
her apartment of the palace, for she might not come to their
assemblies; her maids were either Jewesses or so far proselytes that
they joined with her in her fasting and praying. Here is a good
example of a mistress praying with her maids, and it is worthy to be
imitated. Observe also, Those who are confined to privacy may join
their prayers with those of the solemn assemblies of God’s people;
those that are absent in body may be present in spirit. Those who
desire, and have, the prayers of others for them, must not think that
this will excuse them from praying for themselves.
2. With the courage and resolution that became a queen. “When we have
sought God in this matter, I will go unto the king to intercede
for my people. I know it is not according to the king’s law, but
it is according to God’s law; and therefore, whatever comes of it, I
will venture, and not count my life dear to me, so that I may serve God
and his church, and, if I perish, I perish. I cannot lose my
life in a better cause. Better do my duty and die for my people than
shrink from my duty and die with them.” She reasons as the lepers
“If I sit still, I die; if I venture, I may live, and be the
life of my people: if the worst come to the worst,” as we say, “I
shall but die.” Nothing venture, nothing win. She said not this in
despair or passion, but in a holy resolution to do her duty and trust
God with the issue; welcome his holy will. In the apocryphal part of
this book
(ch. xiii. and xiv.)
we have Mordecai’s prayer and Esther’s upon this occasion, and both of
them very particular and pertinent. In the sequel of the story we shall
find that God said not to this seed of Jacob, Seek you me in
vain.
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