Esther 4:15-17
If I Perish, I Perish
Read the passage
15Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
16“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
17So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Esther answers with a plan. Mordecai is to gather all the Jews he can find in Susa and ask them to fast for her. She and her maidens will do the same: no food or drink for three days, night or day. The account names fasting; it does not record the words of a prayer.
After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!
Esther does not make the danger smaller. She names the possible cost and decides to go. Nor does she treat this as a task she must carry in isolation. She asks her people to join her in the fast before she approaches the king.
The final verse records another change: Mordecai goes and does everything Esther has instructed. Earlier she followed his instructions; now he supports the course she has chosen. Her willingness to act and his willingness to help belong together.
This is a particular response to a threat against their lives, not a rule requiring families to repeat a three-day fast without water. The passage shows the seriousness of their need and the resolve with which Esther prepares to speak.
Questions
1 What does Esther ask Mordecai to arrange?
AnswerGather the Jews in Susa and have them fast for her for three days, night and day, without food or drink.
2 Who will fast with Esther?
AnswerHer maidens. She commits herself and them to fasting as the Jews in Susa do.
3 What does she decide despite the danger?
AnswerShe will go to the king even though it is against the law. She acknowledges that she may die.
4 How does Mordecai respond to her instructions?
AnswerHe goes and does all she has asked. The relative who urged her to act now helps carry out her plan.
What This Means for Us
When someone must take a difficult but necessary step, support them in ways they actually need. Pray with them, help them prepare, or take care of another responsibility while they act. Adults may sometimes need to receive a younger person's thoughtful lead. Courage can grow alongside the willingness of others to help.
Prayer
Father, thank you for a woman who counted the cost out loud and went anyway. Give us courage that does not depend on feeling brave. And where somebody else should be leading, help us hand it over and do what we are asked. Amen.