Mordecai the Magnificent

Mordecai was a man of responsibility
- When Esther was orphaned he took her in “as his own daughter”.

Mordecai was a man of advice
- He instructed Esther not to reveal her nationality… she was a Jew.

Mordecai cared about Esther
- He walked “back and forth” every day outside the harem where Esther was kept to learn “how Esther was and how she fared”.
- After Esther was made Queen he sat outside the King’s gate.

Mordecai was loyal to King Ahasuerus and the Persian Empire
- He obeyed the command to bring Esther to become a wife of the King.
- He became aware of a plot to assassinate the King and made it known. The conspirators were hanged and Mordecai’s name was recorded in the “Book of Chronicles”.

Mordecai was loyal to God
- He refused to bow down and pay homage to Haman. Even after Haman devised and implemented a plan to annihilate the Jews Mordecai still refused to pay homage to him.
- Mordecai made a public display in the middle of the city in “sackcloth and ashes… wailing loud and bitterly”, when Haman’s plan to annihilate the Jews was made public. By doing so he announced his loyalty to God as a Jew.

Mordecai planned and made provision to thwart Haman
- He prepared by acquiring a copy of the edict and finding out the “exact amount of money Haman had promised to the King”.
- He equipped Esther with this information.
- He managed Esther’s concerns about approaching King Ahasuerus.

Mordecai’s actions caused many people to convert to Judaism because of the “dread of the Jews”. While Haman was alive no one wanted to be a Jew… with Mordecai’s rise to power it was cool to be a Jew.

Mordecai was politically wise
- Even though King Ahasuerus had authorized the Jews to “annihilate the entire army of any people or province that might attack them” and to “plunder them”. The Jews did not take any “plunder” Why? Because “plundering” was not their motivation and Mordecai did not want it to be charged against them.

Mordecai instituted an annual celebration for the Jews to commemorate their great victory… Purim.

Mordecai was a man of great faith (obviously), that is made abundantly clear in his conversation with the reluctant Queen Esther when he told her,

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise from the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish…”

Mordecai placed all his hope not on Esther but on God. Mordecai’s name is recorded 55 times in the book of Esther. Esther’s name is recorded 54 times. They were both important to the story. Esther was not just a pretty face, she was wise and faithful as well. More on her next week.