When Mordecai, the godly Jew and the uncle of Esther the queen, heard what Haman had done, he was very sad. He sat before the king’s gate in sackcloth (a sign of humiliation and sorrow) and cried with a “loud and bitter” cry. In all the king’s lands, wherever the Jews lived, when they heard this awful news they wept and were very sad.
Queen Esther had not heard what the wicked Haman had done and she did not understand why her uncle Mordecai was so sad. She sent clothing to him so that he would no longer sit in the king’s gate in sackcloth, but he refused it. When Esther questioned why he did these things, he then told her all that Haman had caused the king to do and the letter he had written about the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai also told Esther that she should go in to the king’s throne and plead for the lives of her people.
Esther reminded Mordecai that only those who were invited by the king were able to do this, and she had not been invited into his presence for 30 days. But she agreed and asked that Mordecai and all the Jews in Shushan would fast (refusing to eat food) with her and her maidens, and then after three days she would attempt to go before the king.
Before we find out what happened to Esther on our journey, we will rest while you find the following verses.
1. The Lord Jesus promised His disciples that the ____________ they felt would be turned into joy. John 16:___
Verily
2. Many people ____________ because a little girl had died. But Jesus told them that she was only asleep. Luke 8:___
And
3. The rich young man went away from the Lord Jesus because he was ____________ about what the Lord had told him to do. Mark 10:___
And
4. Jesus warned that the entrance (gate) that leads to eternal ____________ is very wide. Matthew 7:___
Enter
5. The Lord Jesus did not come to destroy men’s ____________ but to save them. Luke 9:___
For