Esther 4:3
January 1st, 2007 by Nicholas Chorba
Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced there was considerable mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic of many.
This scripture is cited here:
[…] Esther 4:3 […]
[…] Fourthly, From the full measure of ordinary sleep (2 Samuel 12:16, Joel 1:13, Esther 4:3). That thou mayest that way also humble thy body; and that thy soul may watch and pray, to be prepared for the coming of Christ. And if thou wilt break thy sleep early and late for worldly gain, how much more shouldst thou do it for the service of God? And if Ahab, in imitation of the godly, did in his fast lie in sackcloth, to break his sleep by night (1 Kings 21:27), what shall we think of those who on a fasting-day will yield themselves to sleep in the open church? […]
[…] B. OTHER FASTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT… — People often fasted without specific commandment in time of distress; some were communal affairs while others were acts of the private individual 1. THEY FASTED IN WAR, OR AT THE THREAT OF IT a. Israel fasted at Bethel in the war against the Benjamites - Judges 20:26 b. Also at Mizpah in the Philistine war - 1 Samuel 7:6 2. THEY FASTED WHEN LOVED ONES WERE SICK a. David fasted and wept for his son while the boy was ill - 2 Samuel 12:16-23 b. The psalmist also mentions fasting for his enemies - Psalms 35:11-13 3. THEY FASTED WHEN LOVED ONES DIED a. The men of Jabesh-gilead fasted seven days for Saul – 1 Samuel 31:13; 1 Chronicles 10:12 b. David and the people fasted for Saul and Jonathan - 2 Samuel 1:12 4. THEY FASTED WHEN THEY SOUGHT GOD’S FORGIVENESS a. Moses fasted forty days because of the sin of Israel – Deuteronomy 9:15-18 b. Ahab fasted to be forgiven - 1 Kings 21:17-29 c. Nineveh fasted at the preaching of Jonah - Jonah 3:4-10 d. Daniel fasted as he confessed the sins of Israel - Daniel 9:3-5 e. The general fast at the communal reading of the Law by Ezra was an act of penitence - Nehemiah 9:1-3 5. THEY FASTED WHEN FACED WITH IMPENDING DANGER a. Jehoshaphat fasted when threatened by Edom - 2 Chronicles 20:3 b. Ezra led a fast when seeking the favor of God toward his return from exile (a journey fraught with danger) - Ezra 8:21 c. Nehemiah fasted when he heard of the state of Jerusalem - Nehemiah 1:4 d. The Jews fasted when they heard that Haman had obtained the king’s decree against them - Esther 4:3 e. Esther and Mordecai fasted before she went before the king - Esther 4:16 6. THEY SET UP FASTS TO COMMEMORATE CERTAIN CALAMITIES — During and after the Exile special fasts were observed on the days the calamities had befallen Jerusalem a. The tenth of the fifth month was the burning of the Temple - Jeremiah 52:12,13 b. The second day of the seventh month was the murder of Gedaliah - 2 Kings 25:23-25; Jeremiah 41:1ff c. On the tenth day of the tenth month was the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem - 2 Kings 25:1 d. On the ninth day of the fourth was its fall - 2 Kings 25:3,4 […]