Esther 4:17 Study Bible: So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

◄ Esther 4:17 ►

So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.

So Mordecai went
Mordecai's actions demonstrate obedience and faithfulness. As a Jew living in exile in Persia, Mordecai's role is significant in the narrative of Esther. His willingness to act upon Esther's instructions highlights his trust in God's providence and the importance of communal responsibility. Mordecai's journey can be seen as a parallel to the journeys of faith undertaken by other biblical figures, such as Abraham and Moses, who also acted in obedience to God's call.

and did all
This phrase underscores the completeness of Mordecai's obedience. In the context of the Jewish faith, obedience to God's will is paramount, and Mordecai's actions reflect a wholehearted commitment to the task at hand. This mirrors the biblical principle found in Deuteronomy 6:5, which calls for loving God with all one's heart, soul, and strength, indicating that true obedience involves total dedication.

that Esther had instructed him.
Esther's role as a leader is emphasized here. Despite the patriarchal society of ancient Persia, Esther's influence and wisdom are acknowledged and respected by Mordecai. This reflects the biblical theme of God using unexpected individuals, including women, to fulfill His purposes, as seen with figures like Deborah in Judges 4-5. Esther's instructions to Mordecai also foreshadow the intercessory role of Christ, who instructs and guides His followers in the New Testament. Esther's courage and strategic thinking are pivotal in the deliverance of the Jewish people, illustrating the power of faith and action combined.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Mordecai
A Jew living in Susa, the capital of the Persian Empire, and the cousin and guardian of Esther. He plays a crucial role in the account by encouraging Esther to act on behalf of her people.

2. Esther
The Jewish queen of Persia, who is faced with the challenge of intervening with King Xerxes to save her people from a decree of destruction. Her courage and faith are central to the account.

3. Susa
The capital city of the Persian Empire, where the events of the Book of Esther take place. It is a setting of political intrigue and divine providence.

4. The Decree
A royal edict issued by Haman, the king's advisor, to annihilate all Jews in the Persian Empire. This sets the stage for Esther's intervention.

5. Fasting and Prayer
Although not explicitly mentioned in verse 17, the context involves Esther calling for a fast, which implies prayer and seeking God's intervention.

Teaching Points

Courage in Obedience
Esther's willingness to act despite the risk to her own life teaches us the importance of courageously following God's call, even when it involves personal sacrifice.

The Power of Intercession
Mordecai's role in encouraging Esther and the communal fasting highlight the power of intercessory prayer and collective seeking of God's will.

Divine Providence
The account of Esther is a testament to God's unseen hand guiding events for the good of His people, reminding us to trust in His sovereignty.

Faith in Action
Esther's actions demonstrate that faith often requires us to step out and take risks, trusting that God will work through our efforts.

Community Support
The unity of the Jewish people in fasting and prayer underscores the importance of community support and solidarity in facing challenges.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Mordecai's obedience to Esther's instructions reflect the importance of trust and collaboration in fulfilling God's purposes?

2. In what ways can we see God's providence at work in our own lives, similar to how it is depicted in the account of Esther?

3. How can Esther's courage inspire us to take bold steps of faith in our own circumstances?

4. What role does fasting and prayer play in seeking God's guidance and intervention in difficult situations, as seen in Esther's account?

5. How can we, like Mordecai and Esther, support and encourage others in our community to stand firm in their faith and take action for God's kingdom?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Daniel 6
Like Esther, Daniel also faced a decree that threatened his life and responded with prayer and faith, demonstrating God's deliverance.

Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah's response to the plight of Jerusalem with fasting and prayer parallels Esther's call for fasting, showing reliance on God in times of crisis.

Romans 8:28
This verse speaks to God's providence, which is evident in the account of Esther as God works through her to bring about the salvation of His people.

Sermons

A Bold Faith	W. Dinwiddle	Esther 4:13-17
A Suggestion and its Operation	Nehemiah Boynton.	Esther 4:15-17
Access to the Throne	A. T. Pierson.	Esther 4:15-17
Courage Ought to be Cultivated	J. S. Van Dyke, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Courage to Face Difficulties	A. B. Davidson, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Difficulties Cleared Up	S. H. Tyng, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Peril and its Attendant Success	R. P. Buddicom.	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Petition	Moray Club Sermon	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Petition	W. E. Boggt, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Resolve	The Study and the Pulpit	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Resolve	The Study and the Pulpit	Esther 4:15-17
Esther's Resolve	A. B. Davidson, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Fasting is in Itself a Prayer	W. M. Taylor, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Gospel-Consecration	T. McEwan.	Esther 4:15-17
Love to God Stronger than Death	G. Lawson.	Esther 4:15-17
Mistress and Maid	G. Lawson.	Esther 4:15-17
Moral Heroism	J. S. Van Dyke, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17
Prayer Accompanied by Appropriate Use of Means	G. Lawson.	Esther 4:15-17
Resolving to Run Risks	W. Clarkson	Esther 4:15-17
The Crisis in the Life of Esther	Sermons by Monday Club	Esther 4:15-17
The Crisis Met	W. A. Scott, D. D.	Esther 4:15-17

People

Esther, Haman, Hatach, Mordecai

Places

Susa

Topics

Carried, Charged, Commanded, Esther, Esther's, Instructions, Mordecai, Mor'decai, Ordered, Passeth

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Esther 4:12-17

5978 warning

Library

Mordecai and Esther
'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?'--ESTHER iv. 14. All Christians are agreed in holding the principles which underlie our missionary operations. They all believe that the world is a fallen world, that without Christ the fallen world is a lost world, that the preaching …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Watkinson -- the Transfigured Sackcloth
William L. Watkinson, Wesleyan minister, was born at Hull, 1838, was educated privately and rose to eminence as a preacher and writer. The Rev. William Durban calls him "The classic preacher of British Methodism." "He ranks," says Dr. Durban, "with Dr. Dallinger and the Rev. Thomas Gunn Selby as the three most learned and refined of living preachers in the English Methodist pulpit. Dr. Watkinson is famous for the glittering illustrations which adorn his style. These are for the most part gathered …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 8

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
BY A.E. GRIMKE. "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not within thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. 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. And Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer:--and so will I go in unto the king, …
Angelina Emily Grimke—An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South

Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

A Case of Conscience Resolved
WHETHER, WHERE A CHURCH OF CHRIST IS SITUATE, IT IS THE DUTY OF THE WOMEN OF THAT CONGREGATION, ORDINARILY, AND BY APPOINTMENT, TO SEPARATE THEMSELVES FROM THEIR BRETHREN, AND SO TO ASSEMBLE TOGETHER, TO PERFORM SOME PARTS OF DIVINE WORSHIP, AS PRAYER, ETC., WITHOUT THEIR MEN? AND THE ARGUMENTS MADE USE OF FOR THAT PRACTICE, EXAMINED. BY JOHN BUNYAN. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. This exceedingly rare tract was first published in 1683, and was not reprinted, either separately, or in any edition of Bunyan's …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Prevailing Prayer.
Text.--The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.--James v. 16. THE last lecture referred principally to the confession of sin. To-night my remarks will be chiefly confined to the subject of intercession, or prayer. There are two kinds of means requisite to promote a revival; one to influence men, the other to influence God. The truth is employed to influence men, and prayer to move God. When I speak of moving God, I do not mean that God's mind is changed by prayer, or that his …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

Of the Discipline of the Church, and Its Principal Use in Censures and Excommunication.
1. Of the power of the keys, or the common discipline of the Church. Necessity and very great utility of this discipline. 2. Its various degrees. 1. Private admonition. 2. Rebukes before witnesses. 3. Excommunication. 3. Different degrees of delinquency. Modes of procedure in both kinds of chastisement. 4. Delicts to be distinguished from flagitious wickedness. The last to be more severely punished. 5. Ends of this discipline. 1. That the wicked may not, by being admitted to the Lord's Table, put …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Of the Public Fast.
A public fast is when, by the authority of the magistrate (Jonah iii. 7; 2 Chron. xx. 3; Ezra viii. 21), either the whole church within his dominion, or some special congregation, whom it concerneth, assemble themselves together, to perform the fore-mentioned duties of humiliation; either for the removing of some public calamity threatened or already inflicted upon them, as the sword, invasion, famine, pestilence, or other fearful sickness (1 Sam. vii. 5, 6; Joel ii. 15; 2 Chron. xx.; Jonah iii. …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

From his Entrance on the Ministry in 1815, to his Commission to Reside in Germany in 1820
1815.--After the long season of depression through which John Yeardley passed, as described in the last chapter, the new year of 1815 dawned with brightness upon his mind. He now at length saw his spiritual bonds loosed; and the extracts which follow describe his first offerings in the ministry in a simple and affecting manner. 1 mo. 5.--The subject of the prophet's going down to the potter's house opened so clearly on my mind in meeting this morning that I thought I could almost have publicly …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
(Galilee on the Same Day as the Last Section.) ^A Matt. XII. 38-45; ^C Luke XI. 24-36. ^c 29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, ^a 38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. [Having been severely rebuked by Jesus, it is likely that the scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign that they might appear to the multitude more fair-minded and open to conviction than Jesus had represented them to be. Jesus had just wrought …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Esther
The spirit of the book of Esther is anything but attractive. It is never quoted or referred to by Jesus or His apostles, and it is a satisfaction to think that in very early times, and even among Jewish scholars, its right to a place in the canon was hotly contested. Its aggressive fanaticism and fierce hatred of all that lay outside of Judaism were felt by the finer spirits to be false to the more generous instincts that lay at the heart of the Hebrew religion; but by virtue of its very intensity …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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