For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Mordecai's reply is the turning point of the book. Her crown will not save her, help for the Jews will come with or without her, and the One who will send that help is never named.
Deliverance "from another place"
The whole message points to God without ever saying so. One commentator notes how Mordecai shapes the sentence:
William KellyNot a word about God. He is hidden. Mordecai means God. But God stays so completely hidden that Mordecai only hints at Him in this remarkable way: "relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place." God would look down from heaven. Mordecai speaks only of the place, not of the person.
That silence runs through the whole book, and it is deliberate:
J. N. DarbyPeople have often noticed that the name of God never appears in the book of Esther. This is characteristic. God does not show Himself. The government of the world had fallen to that throne, with all its power and all its mistakes. But behind it, God holds the reins by His providence. He watches over the fulfilment of His purposes and over everything they need. And He cares for His people, whatever their condition and however strong their enemies.
The strength of Mordecai's confidence
Commentators differ on how much faith these words carry. One reads them against a book where prayer is never mentioned, and hears only a faint hope:
H. L. RossierIn their deepest distress they wear sackcloth and sprinkle ashes on their heads. They call a fast. But there is never a word of prayer or pleading... All we see in these believers is concern for their nation. As the final blow comes closer, we see distress and deep anguish, with one faint thought, prompted by faith, that help might come "from another place."
Another hears settled assurance in the same phrase, and traces its effect on the queen:
William KellyHe had warned her plainly and seriously. If she stayed silent, ruin would come on her and on her father's house. Yet at the same time he was completely certain that relief and deliverance would come from another place. This is the victory that overcomes the world — our faith; and we may surely apply it here.
Why Mordecai pressed her
He could have appealed to Esther on grounds of family loyalty. He did not:
Arno C. GaebeleinIt would have been natural for Mordecai to say, "If you cannot save all the people, at least save me and your father's house. You belong to the king's household, and no one can touch you there." But he does not think of his own interest and safety. The salvation of his people is what is on his heart... These words show Mordecai's deep conviction: the Jewish people cannot perish. He knew the history of the past and trusted God to find a way out this time also. He believed more than this. God's providence had put her on the throne for one purpose — to bring about the deliverance.
The cost hidden in the question
Esther's first reply had been about the danger she faced. Mordecai's answer moves her off that ground. One writer draws out the two characters side by side:
J. G. BellettShe sees difficulty, and feels dangers; and she speaks, for a time, out of her circumstances. There is nothing wrong in this. She tells Mordecai the risk she would run by going into the royal presence uninvited... But Mordecai advises her as the stronger of the two. He stands above both circumstances and natural affection, for the cause of God and His people... His faith wins the day, and through him she is strengthened. Esther decides to go in to the king.
Her answer, "If I perish, I perish," is a line preachers often borrow for the anxious sinner. One commentator objects:
William KellyWhen the queen said "If I perish, I perish," that was not unbelief. It was the readiness of a martyr, as she was about to fall at the feet of such a tyrant. Does that justify a similar sentiment at the feet of Him who came into the world to save sinners? Who has already said, "whoever comes to me I will never cast out"?
Why the silence helps us
Some readers treat the absence of God's name as a flaw in the book. It is the opposite:
William KellyPerhaps there is no more remarkable unfolding of the great truth of divine providence in the Bible. Along with this, notice how the name of God never appears in the book. Some have supposed this to be a defect. In truth, naming God openly as the story ran would have spoiled the book. The main aim is to show His hand working in secret, where no one could rightly proclaim His name. Far from being a fault, this is one of the most strengthening things about the book. We deal with the same secret providence every day.
Summary
- Hidden. God is never named in Esther, and Mordecai keeps that pattern. He speaks of the place deliverance comes from, not the person.
- Certain. Behind the throne of a pagan empire, God holds the reins by His providence and cares for His people whatever their condition.
- Placed. Mordecai's conviction was double. His people could not perish, and God had placed Esther on the throne for this very crisis.
- Costly. Esther spoke first from her circumstances. Mordecai's faith strengthened her, and she went in. Her "if I perish, I perish" is martyr courage, not the language of a doubting sinner.
- Ours. The silence that troubles readers is the point. It shows His hand working in secret — and we meet that same providence every day.