Esther 2:5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
8 So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women.
10 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.
11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
Now we are introduced to one of the main characters of this book. The primary nation of the Old Testament is Israel. The people of Israel were called Hebrews or Jews. Mordecai’s short genealogy is given here. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. This was the same tribe that king Saul was from. It was also the same tribe that was almost destroyed in the time of the judges due to their sodomy.
As we noted already, Mordecai was a contemporary to Ezra. Ezra came back from Babylon after the captivity. He was led by God to head up the rebuilding of the Temple. Mordecai was of those Jews who decided to remain in the Medo/Persian empire. He was quite comfortable to live amongst the pagans. It was not that he had a vibrant testimony and sought to help the king to know the true God. He was just content to live there rather than go back to Judah and help rebuild his homeland. God would use him in spite of his compromised lifestyle. God is not justifying compromise. God is showing His authority and that He will accomplish His will. We read in Luke 19:40 that God can even use the stones to exalt Him. God did not make us stones. He made us people who need to choose to know Him and glorify Him. Mordecai had a peripheral knowledge of God and he certainly did not choose to glorify Him. In spite of that, God would be glorified. Mordecai is the one who missed out on blessings God alone could give him.
We also need to remember that God “winked” at certain things in Old Testament times. Since the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, God expects more from His children because He has provided the Holy Spirit to indwell His child. God does not give us the failures of man to give us an excuse. He simply shows the failures of man and how important it is to trust in Him.
In verse 7 we read that Mordecai brought up Hadassah/Esther. Hadassah means “myrtle”. That was her Hebrew name. Her Persian name was Esther. Her parents were dead and Mordecai, her cousin, raised her. God pointed out that she was fair and beautiful. God is not against natural beauty. She was a “maid”. She was single.
Due to the compromised lifestyle of Mordecai, Esther was fair game for Hegai as he was searching for young virgins for the king to examine. Hegai was a eunuch. The king would choose one of the young virgins to be the queen instead of Esther.
In verse 9 we read that Esther pleased Hegai. He gave her all that she required for her purification. She was also given seven maidens to assist her. Hegai elevated Esther to the best place in the house of the women. He favoured her and gave her the prime spot in preparation for the king’s examination.
Verse 10 tells us that Esther had kept her lineage secret. She had not revealed who she was. She learned from her cousin. He thought it better to keep this special relationship with God private. That is not why God chose the Jews. He wanted them to live in such a way as to remind the nations around them of the true God. Mordecai did not do that and he did not teach his cousin to do that either.
In verse 11 we read that Mordecai had a concern for what was happening to his cousin. He had not raised her to trust in the Lord. He was not trusting in the Lord himself. He was quite powerless to do anything about what was going on. He knew there was a better way, but he had rejected that way for himself and for his cousin. Now all he could do was worry. That is the opposite of what God wants His children to do. He wants us to trust in Him and follow Him.
This imposed secrecy would create a dilemma for Esther for a time. God revealed His sovereignty in protecting Esther and Mordecai. He did that in spite of their secrecy. God would expose them and He would also protect them.
Daniel and his three friends had not been ashamed to be known as Jews when they were taken captive. They requested to be able to keep themselves separate from the paganism in Babylon. They were captives, but they were not about to just fit into the paganism of their masters. The reason the Jews ended up in Babylon was due to their continued idolatry. God punished them for that. Many of the Jews that were taken captive just wanted to blend in with the culture. They did not learn the important lesson God wanted to teach them.
God did not condone the secrecy of Mordecai and Esther. Just because He would use them for His glory, did not mean He approved of all they did. We need to keep in mind that God sets the standard, not man. He made a promise to Abraham, and He would keep that promise. A few Jews like Daniel and his three friends were blessed in being able to help the Babylonians see the importance of knowing the true God. Later Daniel would also have an impact in the Medo/Persian Empire.
Today, God is not impressed with secret Christians. Christians can be either Jews or Gentiles that are born again. God saves us that we would be a light in a dark world.
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
There are many people who do not know the Lord. There is much wilful ignorance when it comes to what a true Christian is. We have God’s Word. We can know what a true Christian is like. Those who are saved, need to identify with their Master. We have the privilege of helping others to see the beauty of being born again. Many will despise that, but a few will trust in the Lord and enter into the joy of His salvation.
Pastor Bartel