The Sign of Jonah by Caralynn Hampson

Day 1 of 3: Three Days Without Water

Esther 8:15-17 (NRSV)

Then Esther gave the messenger this answer to take back to Mordecai: “Go and gather all the Jews who are in Susa and fast on my behalf; for three days and nights do not eat or drink, and my maids and I will also go without food. After that I will go to the king, contrary to the law, even if I must die.” So Mordecai went away and did what Esther had told him to do.

Exodus 15:22-25 (NRSV)

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

Three days of fasting before Esther was willing to speak to the king. Three days in the wilderness that the Israelites were without water.

Three is a number that appears frequently in the Bible, as most commonly known in the case of Jonah in the belly of a fish and the three days that Jesus was dead prior to his resurrection. Three days isn’t as long as the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness (which we now acknowledge with Lent), but the 3-day duration is still significant.

In the Bible, when there is a time period of three days, there is always a change on the following day. Something is different, though it might not always be as dramatic as someone being raised from the dead.

With Esther, she asked for all of the Jews in Susa to fast from food and water for three days. When someone fasts, they are forced to rely on God for the maintenance of their life. Esther was choosing to rely on God in the form of a fast before she went to the king, where she would also have to rely on God for survival since the king could kill anyone who appeared uninvited. She needed to speak to the king to keep Mordecai and the rest of the Jews from being killed by Haman.

The Israelites were not fasting out of choice in Exodus. They were without water along their journey, and they complained. They needed water to survive; so on the third day, the bitter water changed and became potable.

Change can occur even when it feels impossible. Esther needed there to be a change in Haman’s plan, and though she was terrified in approaching the king, there was eventually a change, and Haman did not kill the Jews. The Israelites in the desert had gone without water for three days, and when they did come across water—it was bitter and undrinkable. But on the third day came a change, and the once undrinkable water became drinkable.

Prayer: God who sustains Their creation in the wilderness, sustain us now and when we fast. Whether we wait and fast for three days or for forty days, remind us of Your presence and Your everlasting love. Amen.

Day 1 of 3: Three Days Without Water

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