Sermonette: Esther 4:14

A couple of months ago, I was working through Esther for Sunday School when I discovered an extremely powerful verse I didn’t know existed. The passage occurs at the most important point of the entire story. Esther, a Jewish woman, has risen to be the brand new queen of Persia, and her uncle/adopted father Mordecai has discovered a plot to wipe out all the Jews in the Persian empire. He comes to her and begs that she intercede on behalf of her people. Esther is, unsurprisingly, hesitant. The previous queen was disposed of for merely displeasing the hotheaded king, and Esther is very new to the palace. She also may be suspecting that her position as queen may protect her from the imminent slaughter of the Jews. Her uncle Mordecai, however, insists that her position won’t protect her forever if Persia becomes legally anti-Jew. Then he states something truly amazing. He states:

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”

– Esther 4:14a

Two things really struck me about this verse. First: Mordecai is absolutely sure that God will protect his people. He doesn’t worry nor does he insist that Esther has to act. God promised to protect his people and Mordecai stands firm in that promise. Maybe that salvation will come through his conveniently placed niece, maybe not. God’s plan doesn’t depend on people. He’ll keep his promises with or without his faithful followers. This is something I think Christians can stand to remind themselves. At the end of the day, God will do what God is going to do. Churches don’t grow or shrink without God’s decision. He’s not depending on us. Rather, we need to depend on him and get on board with whatever he’s doing.

The second thing that jumps out at me with this verse is the consequences that Mordecai promises will befall Esther if she fails to act. He states that if she doesn’t grab this opportunity to get onboard with God’s salvation, God will destroy her entire family. Mordecai doesn’t hesitate to use strong language, and he doesn’t give her a safe way out. Either get on board with God, or someone with a vendetta against the Jews will be the least of your worries. Once again, this is another lesson about how God’s plan works that we can all stand to hear. Sure, God’s plan doesn’t depend on us. He can always work without us. However, if God puts us in position to be used by him, and we try to decline, we invite God’s wrath. There isn’t a "pass" option with God’s plan. You’re either on board, or in the way.

All of this in one little verse in a fairly obscure book of the Bible. From this short statement from Mordecai we get two pivotal doctrines that define how we are to relate to God’s plan. First, we are reminded that God’s plan doesn’t depend on us. He doesn’t need our help, and nothing can stand in his way. If God promises something, we have nothing worry about. However, the second lesson of Esther 4:14 is that there is no way to politely decline being with God’s plan. If God is planning on you being involved in something he’s doing, there is no way to opt out. To opt out is to invite the wrath of God.