When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and bitterly.When Mordecai perceived 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;Now 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;
3 sermons cite this verse
… They're talking about his God. And so we see in Esther 4, verse one, this. When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes and he wore sackcloth and ashes. And he went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly, but he went only as far as the king's gate because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. So he hears the news. This is horrible. They're gonna kill all the Jewish people. And so he tears the clothes and puts on sackcloth. These are outward invisible signs of grief and profound sadness. And so he's not hiding his emotions. He's telling everybody, I am beside myself with grief over this. He's wailing. And the word reaches the palace and Esther hears about it. Your cousin's falling apart. So verse four tells us what happens. When Esther's eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, Mordecai's going crazy. He's so sad, he's so upset. She was in great distress. And so what did she do? …
… get this thing through. And Esther hadn't heard about it. She's sequestered with the women in the palace. When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth. Sackcloth is, think of a potato sack, a gunny sack. Very loose fitting, very coarse, very itchy. Was used in mourning. And then the next part added to the look. Sackcloth and ashes. That was typical. and went out into the midst of the city. And he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. Now you're going to discover that he is reactive emotionally, but he's proactive strategically. So he reacts like people in the Middle East react. If you've ever seen on television Middle Eastern funerals when they bring the casket into the street and the people throw dust in the air and jump up and down and wail and move back and forth and claw at the casket. We in the West, we don't do funerals quite like that. We're a little more reserved over here. …
Moreover, we pity the Christian who does not frequently mourn over the depravity of the times in which he lives. Infidelity has in these last days stolen the garb of religion so that now we frequently meet with volumes in which the fundamentals of the faith are denied, written by ministers of churches whose professed creed is orthodox. Our grandfathers would have shuddered at reading from a disciple of Tom Paine sentiments which pretended ministers of the Gospel have given forth to the world! Things have reached a painful pass when those who are called to office on purpose to proclaim the Gospel are allowed to use their position to sow doubts about it and sap and undermine all belief in it. Such conduct is meanness, itself, and it is amazing that the churches tolerate it! Only Satan, himself, could have put it into a man's heart to become a salaried preacher of the Gospel in order to deny its fundamental truths! He who does this is Judas Redivivus, Iscariot the second! God save us from all complicity with such practical falsehood and fraud! But when the child of God sees this and sees besides this, ritualism and latitudinarianism spreading on all sides, he feels a sympathy with Mordecai of whom we read that "when he perceived all that was done, he rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry." It were a happy omen if there were more of this—and especially if many could be found to imitate Daniel, who said, "I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." We should soon behold the dawn of better days if such ashes were commonly found upon saintly heads! …