Esther 4:11
All 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 of his to put him to death, except such 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.
Persian law required death for any man or woman who entered the king's inner court uncalled, unless the king held out the golden scepter so the intruder might live, and Esther had not been summoned to the king for thirty days. To go in unbidden to plead for her people was therefore to risk her life, with her foot upon the grave, resolved either to save her nation or perish in the attempt. After fasting and prayer she went forward in obedience, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy ease, and God gave her favor with the king and deliverance for herself and her people. Her fearful approach to an earthly throne stands in contrast to open access to God through Christ, for though sinners deserve death they may come boldly to the throne of grace and to a merciful heavenly Father whose scepter is not arbitrary.
Court Law and Peril
The law of the Persian inner court was that any man or woman who came to the king without being called fell under one law to be put to death, unless the king held out the golden scepter so that the intruder might live. Esther had not been called to come in to the king for thirty days. The rule applied to all the king's servants and to the people of the king's provinces who knew it, and it made unsummoned entrance into the inner court a capital offense to be spared only by the extension of the scepter.
To approach the king to plead and intercede for her people therefore put her life at risk. The verse presents her decision whether to risk death by going into his presence unbidden, with her foot upon the grave. She was resolved in a good cause to dare the penalty and either to save her nation or to perish in the attempt.
The verse belongs to the account in which Haman, during the reign of Ahasuerus, also called Xerxes, used the Medo-Persian government and was arranging the destruction of God's people. His attempt was frustrated and the people were preserved. Mordecai's prayer was followed by Haman's execution and Israel's freedom.
Though within the palace but outside the throne-room, she passed in unbidden with silent prayer and declared readiness to perish, and stood mute and pallid yet calm and resolute outside the ring of nobles to hear her doom. Though blooming youth, unrivaled beauty, splendid apparel, the admiration of the court, her husband's affection, lofty rank and queenly honors, and a golden cup foaming with pleasures to the brim made life attractive, her mind was made up to die. Her suspense was short, for as soon as the monarch who had raised her from slavery to share his bed and throne saw her, he stretched out the golden scepter, stopped the business of the court, welcomed her approach, and spared her. Her later entrance and the king's favor in sparing her show that access to a ruler's presence and opportunity to make a request depended on his favor.
Faith, Deliverance, and Prayer
The risk of death for entering the inner court unsummoned made the duty to approach the king crossing and perilous, for only the offer of the golden scepter could spare the intruder and she had not been called for thirty days while Haman was arranging the destruction of her people, yet after fasting and prayer she went forward and God gave her favor with the king and deliverance for herself and her people. She went in uninvited in obedience to Mordecai's command, acting as she had when brought up with him, from loyalty and obedience learned at home under his training, showing loyalty and obedience to both Mordecai and God. In risking death she chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and by that uninvited visit she saved her nation from destruction.
The Persian court rule that an unsummoned approach could be punished with death became a means God used to deliver His people, showing that God can work through customs people might otherwise reject. As with Esther, Moses and Aaron faced the danger of death when they came before Pharaoh unbidden, but God, the greater King, kept them from harm. Her fearful approach to intercede contrasts with open access to God through Christ, for though people deserve death they may come to the throne of grace and make their requests known. The danger of approaching Xerxes, where life hung on an arbitrary extension of the golden scepter, contrasts with prayerful access to a merciful heavenly Father whose scepter is not arbitrary. Her fears had wronged her lord, as believers often wrong Christ with their fears.