He Sought The Welfare of His People

“For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.”

If only the politicians of the world were like Mordecai. He is second to Ahasuerus in the Persian kingdom. He was great and popular among all people. His greatness and popularity are attributed to his seeking the welfare of his people and speaking peace to them. It has not been easy for Mordecai to arrive at such a position. His family had obviously elected to remain behind in Persia, rather than return to Israel with Zerubbabel under the decree of Cyrus in 538 B.C. Ahasuerus reigned from 486 to 464 B.C., and, therefore, Mordecai and his family had not returned either under Ezra in 458 B.C.

The book of Esther has troubled many people over the centuries. For instance, there is no mention of God in the book at all. It promotes a festival not authorized by Moses in the Law, and there is, it would appear, a retaliatory or vengeful attitude displayed in the book that some people find offensive. Luther criticized it as being excessively Jewish (something he often did). But it is true, that the providence of God is revealed in all the events of the book. The book of Esther was accepted by the Jews as Scripture before our Lord was born. Joseph even says that the Hebrew Scriptures were written from the time of Moses to Artaxerxes (Ahasuerus). This would seem to make Esther the last book of the Old Testament canon. Esther was written largely to explain the Feast of Purim (Est. 9:28). This feast was to be celebrated continually and we still find it celebrated today.

Esther and Mordecai are central figures in the book of Esther, along with Ahasuerus and the evil Haman. Esther is raised by Mordecai as his daughter—she really is his cousin (see 2:7, 15). She was an exceptionally beautiful girl. Due to the removal of Queen Vashti, Ahasuerus seeks a new queen, so Esther is taken into the harem of the king. Esther pleases Ahasuerus and is chosen as his new queen. At the same time, the evil Haman who is highly respected and honored by Ahasuerus is provoked by Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to him and give him honor (3:1–6). He is so filled with fury against Mordecai that he extends his anger toward the people of Mordecai, who are the Jews. He seeks to exterminate every Jew. This extends to Esther who has not revealed her nationality at the request of Mordecai (2:10). Mordecai has also saved the life of the king by exposing a plot to assassinate Ahasuerus (2:19–23). A record is made in the book of the chronicles.

This record becomes a central feature in the story in Esther 6. In the meantime, Haman has instigated a plot to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom and he has the king’s approval (3:6–15). Haman sends out messengers with instructions to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom on a particular day in the future (3:13). Mordecai then urges Esther to go to the king and plead for her people, which means she must reveal herself as Jewish. There are two famous lines spoken by both Mordecai and Esther as they deal with how they should respond to the threat of Haman. Mordecai instructs Esther in Esther 4:14: “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther’s reply is equally impressive: “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish” (Est. 4:16). Mordecai’s request points to the sovereign purposes of God working behind the scenes, and Esther’s reply points to her willingness to submit to whatever the outcome may be. Esther’s plan is to give Ahasuerus a feast and invite Haman to it. She delays revealing her request to Ahasuerus who has promised to honor it up to half his kingdom (5:6; 7:2). Haman had, prior to this invitation, built gallows to hang Mordecai on them, and then he had the indignity of having to honor Mordecai, since Ahasuerus had read the chronicles and discovered that Mordecai had saved his life (6:1–3). He decides to honor Mordecai when Haman comes to request death for Mordecai (6:4). Haman has to lead Mordecai through the streets of the city as he wears the king’s royal robes and wears a crown proclaiming that Mordecai was the man that the king delighted to honor (6:11). You can sense the mortification of Haman, and even his family acknowledges that it would be very difficult to overcome Mordecai and the Jewish people at this time (6:12, 13). The result of all these events is that Esther’s request is granted and Haman is hanged. Mordecai is elevated and messages are sent to resist Haman’s orders, and so the Jewish people are saved (7:7–8:2, 9–16).

There is a remarkable and harmonious weaving of these events together that make the book so interesting to read. The life and career of Mordecai are quite significant. He is obviously a patriot. He cares for his people and he cares for a foreign king on whom his future and his peoples’ hinge. He is also a man of principle. He saves the life of a king, when in such times many would have turned a blind eye to the plans to assassinate the king. He becomes a man of power. His rewards from Ahasuerus are ultimately all used for the good of his people. Mordecai lived in a time when men sought power, killed for power, and betrayed others for it. But Mordecai lives for his people and their good. His influence extended far and wide—to all his people. He actively sought their welfare and spoke peace to them. He did not have a long period of time in which to do this. Ahasuerus would be assassinated in 465 B.C., and we know nothing further of Mordecai and Esther, save that the Feast of Purim remains along with a record of their lives.

This final verse of Esther reminds me of our Lord Jesus Christ. Did not our Lord seek the welfare of his people and did he not speak peace to them? The name of Jesus means Savior. He was so named because he would save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Mordecai saved his people from physical destruction, but Jesus saves us from spiritual destruction. Jesus is the “Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). The angels sang about peace on earth at this birth (Luke 2:14).

This peace can only be the peace that justification brings since Luke states, “peace among those with whom he is well pleased.” This peace is not the politician’s peace. This is the peace of sins forgiven and someone being right with God. This is what Paul means in Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The people of God are not all men without exception. We do not believe in some universal brotherhood of all men, saved by virtue of their common humanity. All those who belong to Jesus Christ have repented of their sins and have cast themselves upon the mercy of God. We have no merits of our own and claim none. Our humanity is not a merit. It is our downfall because we are sinful in nature and dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). The only merit we have is the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness imputed to us.

The result is peace with God and peace from God. Jesus truly is the greater Mordecai who continually seeks the welfare of his people, and who continually speaks peace to their troubled hearts. This is the Jesus who truly is popular with his people.