Before honor comes humility. Consider the credentials of Mordecai (Esther 2:5). He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. He was no ordinary, run-of-the mill resident of Shushan. He was unique and stood apart because of his birth, like every believer should. Mordecai did not compromise or blend in with others for the sake of peace; rather, he lived as a stranger and pilgrim representing his God in a far away land.
His Care and Compassion
He was certainly Christlike when he took in a helpless, homeless relative who had no living parents and no means to repay him (Esther 2:7). He wasn’t looking for honor; he just did what was right. Like the Lord Jesus Who said, “When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12-14).
His Character
His character is seen as he walked every day. A consistent life walked out is greater than one talked out. He lived for others on a 24/7 basis. What a testimony! His deeds were chronicled and certified (2:23) in the recordings of the king and in the recordings of the King of kings. Even though we may not know the benefit of it now, all that we have done will be revealed in God’s own time. This is both a comforting and challenging truth.
His Courage
It takes courage to stand alone (3:2). Mordecai had courage to stand in an enemy land in opposition to the command of the king. He did not stand to bring honor to his own name but to the God in Whom he believed and Whose Word he obeyed. Real men know what it is to weep. Mordecai cried with a loud and a bitter cry (4:1). He did not weep in regret for what he had done nor for his own future, but for the Lord’s people and the suffering that was before them. The Lord Jesus spoke as He went to the cross: “Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children” (Luke 23:28).
His Counsel
It takes a wise man to give good counsel and an even wiser man to receive counsel. Mordecai did according to all that Esther commanded him (4:17). Esther went to the king and Mordecai went to his knees in prayer. And now, it’s coronation time. In this book where God’s name is not mentioned, God is definitely at work and richly rewards His faithful servant, Mordecai. He has taken the lowest room and now he is asked to come up higher. “What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor?” The enemy Haman, who has sought his death, now issues the compensation he expected for himself. Mordecai is clothed in royal apparel (6:8), and crowned with a great crown (8:15). “Mordecai the Jew was … accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed” (10:3). What an end! Give this man place! What a picture, as well, of our Lord Jesus Christ!
