Mordecai's mourning may have been the only thing that disturbed Esther. She may have known nothing about the decree. On the other hand she may have known of both and concluded that since the king did not know that she was a Jewess she would be safe (v. 13). However, Mordecai implied that Hathach knew she was a Jewess (v. 13, cf. v. 9), and probably others did as well.
Mordecai does not come across in this book as a "spiritual"person.67In verse 14, for example, he made no direct reference to God that would certainly have been natural (cf. Nehemiah's frequent prayers). Nevertheless he did believe that God would preserve His people and punish their enemies (Gen. 12:3). He also concluded that if Esther remained silent she would die. Mordecai saw God's hand behind the human agent of her punishment who was probably the king.
Mordecai's question in verse 14 is the main basis for the view that the doctrine of providence is the key to understanding the Book of Esther.
"The book implies that even when God's people are far from him and disobedient, they are still the object of his concern and love, and that he is working out his purposes through them . . ."68
Mordecai perceived Esther's moment of destiny.
"Mordecai is not postulating that deliverance will arise for the Jews from some mysterious, unexpressed source. Rather, by affirming that Esther is the only possible source of deliverance for the Jews, he is attempting to motivate her to act."69
"The promises of God, the justice of God, and the providence of God shine brilliantly through the entire crisis, so that the mere omission of His name obscures nothing of His identity, attributes, and purposes for His chosen people and for the entire world of mankind."70
"Without explicitly spelling out in detail how he came to his convictions, Mordecai reveals that he believes in God, in God's guidance of individual lives, and in God's ordering of the world's political events, irrespective of whether those who seem to have the power acknowledge him or not."71
Evidently there was a fairly large population of Jews in Susa (v. 16; cf. 9:15). Again there is no mention of prayer though some of the Jews may have prayed since they faced serious danger.72
"Like all human beings, Esther was not without flaw; but certainly our heroine should be judged more by the brave act she performs than by the natural fears she had to fight against. The rash man acts without fear; the brave man, in spite of it."73
Esther's words, "If I perish, I perish,"(v. 16) seem more like words of courageous determination74than an expression of resignation to the inevitable (cf. Gen. 43:14).75
"Just as Esther's fast and Jesus' humiliation (tapeinosis, Phil. 2:8) commenced on the same date, so too Esther's three-day period of fasting parallels the three-day period of Jesus' death."76
If the Jews did indeed fast for three days, as Esther requested, they would not have been able to celebrate the Passover, which their Law commanded (Exod. 12), since their fasting would have begun on the eve of Passover.77
Even though Haman was dead the Jews were not yet safe. This section of the text records what Esther and Mordecai did to insure the preservation of the Jews who then lived throughout the vast Persian Empire.
