BY PASTOR T. O. BANSO
The Book of Esther is an interesting book in which, though God was at work, His name is not mentioned throughout its ten chapters. Another book without the name of God mentioned is Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), except for the LORD used in Song of Songs 8:6 in a few Bible translations.
One of the characters of the Book of Esther is Mordecai, the uncle of Esther (Hadassah), an orphan who became a queen. Through her brave action, Esther saved the Jewish race from genocide, and the Book of Esther is named after her.
It is easy for people to remember that Esther made a faith declaration: “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16b NKJV). But we must never forget who said what prompted that. Mordecai did.
When Esther sent a message to Mordecai that she could not go to the king without the king inviting her, he sent a challenge back to her: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14 NKJV).
Mordecai possessed some sterling attributes we need to study and emulate. I have identified eight of them.
1. A caring and fatherly uncle and mentor. Esther was an orphan. Mordecai, her uncle, took her as his daughter and she lived with him. Esther 2:7 says, “And Mordecaihad brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter” (NKJV). Some uncles would have turned her into a house girl, who would appear miserable. Mordecai must have taken good care of her so that she maintained her beauty.
Mordecai was also caring and wanted Esther to become the queen. She advised her not to reveal her nationality and family background (Esther 2:10, 20). Mordecai mentored Esther.
When she was taken to the palace with the other ladies, Mordecai monitored how she was every day. Esther 2:10-11 says, “Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. Every day he walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her” (NIV). Be caring; be a good mentor.
2. A loyal and faithful person. He was a loyal and faithful person. This was revealed in how he served the king at his duty post at the palace gate. He didn’t join the plot to assassinate the Persian king, Ahasuerus (Xerxes), but passed the information to Esther, who informed the king (Esther 2:21-23).
Be loyal and faithful. “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV). The New International Version says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Don’t be a disloyal and unfaithful person. Luke 16:10 says, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities” (NLT).
3. A humble and diligent worker. After he revealed the plot to assassinate the king, he was not rewarded, but he continued to serve the king. Also, after he was honoured by the king and taken round the city by Haman, Mordecai returned to his duty post. He didn’t let the honour go to his head (Esther 6:10-12).
Be humble and diligent; don’t be arrogant and lazy. According to Proverbs 10:26, “A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers—like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge” (TLB). Proverbs 12:24 says, “Work hard and become a leader; be lazy and never succeed” (TLB).
4. A patriotic citizen. Patriotism is love for one’s country. Though living in a foreign land, Mordecai still loved his race. He loved his people. He was concerned about preserving the Jews, not how he and his family would escape. He, therefore, moved against Haman’s plot to wipe out the Jewish race through a decree he had made the king sign (Esther 4:1-9). Mordecai succeeded in his counter-move, resulting in Haman’s death and his emergence as the prime minister. The Jews esteemed him because he worked for their good and spoke up for their welfare (Esther 10:3b). Love your country even if you’re living in a foreign country, like Mordecai.
5. A man of faith. Mordecai believed in God that if Esther failed to act, there would be relief and deliverance for the Jews from another place (Esther 4:8, 13-14). Esther accepted Mordecai’s challenge, and God didn’t have to use another person or means to bring relief and deliverance to the Jews. Esther allowed God to use her.
Have faith in God, as Jesus said (Mark 11:22). Have faith in God, whatever the situation you are in. Believe in Him for a positive change or miracle, regardless of your challenge. You may not know how God will do it but believe He will. Have faith in God. According to Jesus, with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). He also said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23 NKJV).
6. A principled person. Mordecai refused to bow or pay homage to Haman the Agagite, prompting Haman’s genocidal plot against the Jews. Nevertheless, Mordecai remained unwavering. The Bible does not tell us the reason for Mordecai’s defiance other than that he said he was a Jew. “After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you transgress the king’s command?’ Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew” (Esther 3:2-4 NKJV).
The reverence for Haman that the king commanded might have been beyond the normal honour for those in authority; it was probably divine. Such reverence for Haman would be idolatry, which God prohibited. Therefore, Mordecai refused to bow and pay homage to Haman.
Mordecai’s refusal could also be because Haman was an Agagite, a descendant of Agag. Agag was the title of the king of the Amalekites. God was against Amalek, Haman’s race, and had commanded the Israelites to destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven, as recorded in Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget” (NKJV).
According to Exodus 17:16, the LORD had sworn to have war with Amalek from generation to generation. In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul disobeyed God’s command to destroy the Amalekites totally and even spared Agag, their king. But the Prophet Samuel whom God sent to confront Saul with his sin announced that God had rejected Saul as king and killed Agag.
There is a relationship between Mordecai and Saul. Esther 2:5 describes Mordecai as a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, and the son of Kish. Saul was also a Benjamite; his father was Kish (1 Samuel 9:1-2, 21). Bible scholars believe that Mordecai’s great-grandfather, Kish, was the father of Saul whose name was also Kish. Mordecai must have known about the Amalekites, the arch-enemy of the Israelites, and how Saul’s disobedience, including sparing Agag, made God reject him as king. Mordecai must also have been aware that God had said the Amalekites must be destroyed and their memory erased from under heaven. Therefore, he hated the evil that Haman, an Amalekite, a descendant of Agag, represented.
Mordecai was principled. Be principled. Obey God’s Word. Love what God loves; hate what He hates. David said, “O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies” (Psalm 139:21-22 NLT). While you should walk in love towards everyone, hate what evil people represent. Don’t bow to evil. Mordecai had the courage of his convictions despite the genocide that Haman plotted against the Jews.
7. A great motivator. Mordecai encouraged Esther to appear before the king despite what the custom said. He motivated her to risk her life to save the Jews (Esther 4:13-14). If not for what Mordecai said, Esther wouldn’t have risked appearing before the king when the king had not sent for her. If divine intervention had not suspended the custom, the king would have ordered that Esther be killed for violating the custom.
Be a motivator; be an encourager. Motivate people to live holy, obey God, serve Him, and fulfil their destinies. Inspire them. Deborah, Israel’s only female judge, motivated Barak, a man, to mobilize a ten-thousand army against the army of Jabin, the Canaanite king, after twenty years of being under their oppression. Deborah went with Barak when he said he would only go if she would go with him. Be a motivator.
8. An effective leader. Mordecai mobilized the Jews to fast for Esther as she had demanded to be done before she would appear before the king (Esther 4:15-17). Mordecai also coordinated the writing and the dispatch of the king’s counter decree which mandated the Jews to defend themselves (Esther 8:9-11). Furthermore, he sent a letter to the Jews to start the annual festival (Purim) to commemorate their deliverance (Esther 9:20-30).
Everyone is a leader one way or another. However, not everyone is an effective leader. Be an effective leader. Cultivate leadership skills. Learn from the Word of God and other effective leaders.
Conclusion: Emulate these exceptional attributes of Mordecai. Get rid of wrong, sinful attributes, attitudes, and habits in your life. Cultivate godly ones that will make you please God and be deeply appreciated by fellow humans. Let your life be profitable to God and a blessing to humanity.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
