Esther 4:16 Explained
"Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." — Esther 4:16 (KJV)
A queen decides to break a law that carries the death penalty, and the book of the Bible she is in never mentions God.
Read it in context: The Book of Esther. Also gathered under verses about courage.
Esther 4:16 in context
What does Esther 4:16 mean?
The fast is the only religious act in the book and God is not named in it, which is the book's method throughout — providence is present and never labelled. 'Not according to the law' is stated plainly rather than justified. And the last clause is not resignation: it is the removal of the only argument that had been holding her back, which was the possibility of her own death.
What is the context of Esther 4:16?
Haman has secured a decree to destroy the Jews. Mordecai has told Esther that her position in the palace will not save her, and asked whether she came to the kingdom for such a time as this. This is her reply, and it reverses their roles: from here she gives the instructions.
How do I pray Esther 4:16?
Pray it when the risk is real and the calculation keeps returning the same answer. Name the thing you are afraid of and then say the clause. Esther does not receive a guarantee before she goes, and the book pointedly declines to give her one.
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