Esther: Silent but Sovereignনমুনা

At the end of the ten-year story of Esther, King Xerxes still ruled over the 127 provinces from India to Cush, and his power and might were still recognized throughout his vast empire. 

Verse 1 tells us that Xerxes imposed a tribute throughout the empire. This was a tax increase imposed on all of the inhabitants of the kingdom. When a Persian monarch made a new tax arrangement they were said to ‘lay a tribute on the land’. Since Xerxes had previously lost some of his territories during the war with Greece and had then lost thousands of lives when the Jews defended themselves against their attackers, it’s not surprising that he would seek to increase his income in this way.

Mordecai also became incredibly powerful and respected across the empire. He is described in verse 2 as a man of ‘greatness’ and verse 3 gives us four reasons for that. 

1. Mordecai was ‘second in rank to King Xerxes, pre-eminent among the Jews’. Persia was a Gentile empire and the Jews living there did so only by permission of the government. That a Jew was made second in command to King Xerxes would have been surprising to both Jews and Gentiles. 
2. Mordecai was ‘held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews’. The Jews of Persia knew of Mordecai’s words and actions on their behalf and they honored him. Unlike Xerxes, Mordecai didn’t govern through fear and control. He wasn’t greedy or self-serving. He didn’t seek to honor himself or Esther but God alone. So the Jews respected Mordecai and thought highly of him. 
3. Mordecai ‘worked for the good of his people’. Mordecai wasn’t primarily concerned with his own good or that of his family. He cared about all of God’s people, across all 127 provinces of the empire, and he worked hard to bring about peace and protection for them. 
4. Mordecai ‘spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews’. In some translations, this sentence reads, ‘spoke peace to all his people’. Chapter 9 verse 30 tells us that Mordecai sent ‘words of goodwill and assurance’ to the Jews across the province. Mordecai spoke a message of hope and security to the Jews. Undoubtedly his words of assurance and peace point forward to Jesus, the promised Prince of Peace. 

Mordecai failed to receive an immediate reward for saving Xerxes’ life at the end of Esther 2. He became the object of Haman’s hatred and persecution in chapters 3 and 5. But at the end of the book, Mordecai is honored, not just by Xerxes but by his fellow Jews throughout the kingdom.

Reflection

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:6–7. Pray for patience in trials and confidence in God’s justice.