Esther 4:17a-x, Psalm 1, Psalm 150-151, Daniel 3:2-45; 2 Kings/4 Kingdoms 19:14-19, Nehemiah 1:5-11
From the early days of the Church, the righteous Esther has been put forth as an example of both courage and humility. The first century father Clement of Rome, exclaimed:
Many women, fortified by the grace of God, have accomplished many heroic actions… To great danger did Esther, who was perfect in faith, expose herself, in order to save the twelve tribes of Israel that were to be destroyed. For by fasting and humiliation she begged the all-seeing Master of the ages, and He, seeing the meekness of her soul, rescued the people for whose sake she had faced danger.
(1 Clement 55:3–6.FC 1.51)
Certainly St. Clement emphasizes her particular type of heroism, as he speaks of her fasting, humiliation, begging, and meekness. In a similar way, the great Origen wrote about the exemplary “prayer and fasting” of both Mordecai and Esther, who “prayed as they ought” and so “received great favors from God” (Origen On Prayer 13.2. ACW 19:48–49). As one, the uncle and niece agree in prayer, honoring God’s name, and falling before Him in supplication and humility. Here is the passage that includes their two prayers, from Esther 4:17a-x:
Then Mordecai prayed to the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord. He said:
“O Lord, Lord, King who rulest over all things, for the universe is in thy power and there is no one who can oppose thee if it is thy will to save Israel. For thou hast made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under heaven, and thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist thee, who art the Lord. Thou knowest all things; thou knowest, O Lord, that it was not in insolence or pride or for any love of glory that I did this, and refused to bow down to this proud Haman. For I would have been willing to kiss the soles of his feet, to save Israel! But I did this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God, and I will not bow down to any one but to thee, who art my Lord; and I will not do these things in pride. And now, O Lord God and King, God of Abraham, spare thy people; for the eyes of our foes are upon us to annihilate us, and they desire to destroy the inheritance that has been thine from the beginning. Do not neglect thy portion, which thou didst redeem for thyself out of the land of Egypt. Hear my prayer, and have mercy upon thine inheritance. Turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live and sing praise to thy name, O Lord; do not destroy the mouth of those who praise thee.”
And all Israel cried out mightily, for their death was before their eyes.
And Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord; she took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body, and every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. And she prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said:
Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, for my danger is in my hand. Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that thou, O Lord, didst take Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, for an everlasting inheritance, and that thou didst do for them all that thou didst promise. And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast given us into the hands of our enemies, because we glorified their gods. Thou art righteous, O Lord! And now they are not satisfied that we are in bitter slavery, but they have covenanted with their idols to abolish what thy mouth has ordained and to destroy thine inheritance, to stop the mouths of those who praise thee and to quench thine altar and the glory of thy house, to open the mouths of the nations for the praise of vain idols, and to magnify for ever a mortal king. O Lord, do not surrender thy scepter to what has no being; and do not let them mock at our downfall; but turn their plan against themselves, and make an example of the man who began this against us. Remember, O Lord; make thyself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage, O King of the gods and Master of all dominion! Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. But save us by thy hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, O Lord. Thou hast knowledge of all things; and thou knowest that I hate the splendor of the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of any alien. Thou knowest my necessity — that I abhor the sign of my proud position, which is upon my head on the days when I appear in public. I abhor it like a menstruous rag, and I do not wear it on the days when I am at leisure. And thy servant has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honored the king’s feast or drunk the wine of the libations. Thy servant has had no joy since the day that I was brought here until now, except in thee, O Lord God of Abraham. O God, whose might is over all, hear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers. And save me from my fear!”
Mordecai’s prayer is reminiscent of many other confessions that we find in Scriptures, and have seen just recently in our reading of Azariah’s prayer in extended Daniel. With Azariah, Hezekiah, and Nehemiah (Daniel 3:2-45; 2 Kings/4 Kingdoms 19:14-19, Nehemiah 1:5-11) among others, Mordecai approaches the LORD in both remembrance and submission. He praises God as Creator—all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present—and also as the One who cares for His people Israel. He explains his refusal to bow to Haman, the right-hand man of the king, by way of his single-minded devotion to God, who alone is worthy of worship. (Evidently, in the historical context, to bow before a man means more than simply giving honor to that man, for he says “that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God,” and Esther later abhors that the pagans seek to “magnify for ever a mortal king.”) Mordecai’s words are matched with the actions of his body, which will not worship a human being. It is on the basis of God’s sovereign will that he begs the LORD to have mercy on Israel.
Esther begins where Mordecai finishes. Of course, as queen, she must bow to her husband and monarch, but begins her prayer with sack-cloth, ashes, and tears, and explains to God that she does not love her marriage bed with a pagan, nor his table, nor her crown, but adores God alone. Since Mordecai has already focused on the omnipotent God of creation, Esther fastens upon the plight of Israel, and her own need. Mordecai remembers what God has done; Esther takes this as a given, and begs for rescue. Hers is the prayer of confession, in which she acknowledges that the exile is God’s proper response to the idolatry and faithlessness of His people. The grand God of the cosmos, as envisioned by her uncle, becomes the tender Father who will rescue her from “the lion,” that is, from the death sure to be exacted by her harsh husband— the LORD is Esther’s “only Helper” and “only joy” in a barren place.
Together the prayers celebrate both the supremacy and the intimacy of God, as Mordecai stresses “we” language, and Esther mingles the “we” with the “I.” Her requests become very specific, as she has a job to do—approach the king unsummoned, to ask for leniency. And so she prays for her own courage, and for eloquence that she must possess to speak well on behalf of the people. Mordecai assumes from the beginning that he represents Israel; Esther must become an effective representative.
For some time after I left my evangelical roots, I was allergic to the use of “I” and “me” language in prayer and song. After all, the majority of our repertoire in the evangelical Church was focused upon how “I” feel, how much “I” love, and what God has done for “me.” For some time, I much preferred hymns that described God’s rich character, fastened on theological themes, and spoke about the corporate Church. But there is the pesky witness of the Psalms, which use “I” language so very regularly, even while they also call upon Israel as a whole to sing praises with understanding. Chanting the Psalms both in Church and at home brought healing to my aversion. I have come to understand how it is that God speaks to each one of us personally, and has a specific role and communion with each of us, even while we are also joined together as a body in unity. The “He,” “Thou,” “we,” and “I” come together in amazing harmony, just as we see exemplified in the prayers of Mordecai and Esther, whose personal references are made in deep humility, and for the sake both of exalting God, and helping their brothers and sisters. So in the Psalter, we begin by envisaging the Righteous Man who has the paradigmatic relationship with the Father—and we apply that “man” to ourselves, knowing that any good fruit we bear is possible because of the only Sinless One who always walks in the narrow way for our sakes. And we end the Psalms with all the world praising God in music. (And even if we continue to Psalm 151, which closes the collection of Psalms in the LXX, the theme persists: here we find a kind of signature hymn of David that celebrates the God who raised him from the role of boy-shepherd to be king and chief musician of Gods’ people).
Mordecai’s final words envision the time when “we may live and sing praise” to His name. Esther’s first words come after she has even doused her hair with ashes, and end in a humble plea that she be rescued from fear. But her main plea is that almighty God should rescue His people: “[H]ear the voice of the despairing, and save us from the hands of evildoers!”
Their prayers, like those of the Psalter, are realistic, honest, and God-fearing. May we follow these two faithful ones, those who are “perfect in faith,” as Origen and St Clement commend them to us –even in an epoque that does not seem so dire for those who love God. Perhaps, just as pride has been called the beginning of all evils, so humility may be seen as the spring of all virtues. In Mordecai’s vision, Esther was seen as a small stream that became a might, life-giving river. Her humility and faith attracted the loving response of God, who lifts up those who are humble in heart.
Edith M. Humphrey 