Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Esther Chapter 4
Metaphysically Interpreting Esther 4:1-17
4:1Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 4:2and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.4:3And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4:4And Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he received it not.
4:5Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was. 4:6So Hathach went forth to Mordecai unto the broad place of the city, which was before the king's gate. 4:7And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. 4:8Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people.
4:9And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 4:10Then Esther spake unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai saying: 4:11All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. 4:12And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. 4:13Then Mordecai bade them return answer unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. 4:14For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father's house will perish: and who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? 4:15Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai, 4:16Go, 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 in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. 4:17So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
April 2, 1916: Esther 4:10-17
What does King Ahasuerus represent? Will dominated by ambition.
What spiritual quality is represented by Queen Esther? Love in its power to win the will from the self.
What is the meaning of the fast held by the Jews? It is the denial of all selfishness in expressing love.
What does the golden scepter symbolize? Wisdom.
April 2, 1916: Esther 4:10-17
King Ahasuerus, or Xerxes, represents the will, puffed up by its conquests. It is the office of the will to rule, and when man is more ambitious than wise, he often makes a spectacle of himself. Xerxes had an ambition to conquer the whole earth, and he marched into Greece with an army of a million and a half of soldiers. He was checked at the pass of Thermopylae by Leonidas and his immortal three hundred, and he returned home with less than five thousand of all his vast army. Napoleon did a similar thing in his Russian expedition. The imperious will loses its head when it rules without consulting the other faculties of the mind, and always meets with disaster in the end.
Man can create such force of will that every thought that enters its fierce vibrations is pulverized. This is when the positive, unreasoning attitude is dominant. When the king is willing to listen to reason, he holds out the “golden scepter,” which is symbolical of wisdom.
Under the despotism of the will we make laws for ourselves that are unwise and often destructive to our higher ideals. The edict to destroy the Jews, which king Ahasuerus had sent forth at the instigation of Hainan, represents one of those foolish and unreasoning laws we lay down when we are influenced by sense consciousness.
A despotic father commanded that none of his family should attend certain religious meetings, where, he had been informed, evil doctrines were preached. The wife and children apparently obeyed, but secretly rebelled, and this was the opening wedge that broke up and scattered his family and caused his wife to get a divorce. His position was that of the king in this lesson: he was killing his Jews, or spiritual thoughts, without knowing it.
– UNITY magazine.
August 13, 1922: Esther 4:10-17
In this lesson what does the king represent? He represents the inflated will. King Xerxes tried to conquer the world; at this period in his history, he was exceedingly puffed up because of his conquests.
What does Queen Esther represent? Queen Esther represents spiritual love, or the harmonizing power of love.
In this lesson, what do the Jews represent? The Jews represent spiritual thoughts under the unjust condemnation of the carnal mind.
When the arbitrary will unjustly declares the destruction of the good, what should be done? The harmonizing power of love should be brought to bear upon the situation.
What is represented by the golden scepter? The golden scepter represents wisdom and power tempered with mercy through the consciousness of love.
What is meant by the praying and the fasting of Queen Esther and all her Jewish relatives before she appeared in the court of the king? This means the denial of selfish desires in order [sentence cut off].
June 17, 1923: Esther 4:13-17
What does the king represent in this lesson? The king represents man's will, puffed up with thoughts of self-importance.
What do the Jews represent? In the consciousness of man, the Jews represent, his real thoughts.
The king issued an edict to destroy the Jews. Explain. The will separated from wisdom becomes despotic and destructive. Its ambitions outrun its judgment. The king (will) ignorantly decrees that all Jews (spiritual ideals) shall be destroyed. It does this without realizing that the carrying out of this decree will destroy its queen (love).
What is the meaning of “Mordecai”? The word “Mordecai” means “victorious for Truth.” It is a spiritual power working within each soul for the full and free redemption of that soul.
What does “Queen Esther” represent? The meaning of the word “Esther” is “secret.” She represents the divine feminine, or subconscious love of man.
Esther and her people fasted three days before Esther presented herself before the king. Explain. Fasting implies denial of sensuousness and selfishness. It is necessary to dissolve all selfish desires in love before it can be used to soften the imperious will. Pure unselfish love is the greatest power in the world and all opposition comes to naught, when the power of love is given expression through will and wisdom.
June 13, 1943: Esther 4:10-17
What faculty has the power to control the human will? Love has this power.
In this lesson what represents the will and what represents the faculty of love? King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) represents the will, and Queen Esther represents “the dissolving power of spiritual love.”
Prolonged fasting weakens the physical body. Does it at the same time increase moral courage and spiritual power? Up to a certain point fasting clarifies the mind and elevates the thoughts. Accompanied by prayer, fasting elevates the consciousness to the point where selfish considerations are lost to sight and moral courage and spiritual power find full and easy expression.
What is the important thing in fasting? The thought on which the mind is concentrated. The fast that Queen Esther called was of religious significance. It was held by all the Jews (religious thoughts) in Shushan. Shushan represents pure thoughts.
What does the golden scepter represent? It represents reason, to which the will is inclined, when moved by love. To be reasonable with those we love is easy.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-11-2013
