Esther Week 3: Obedience, Integrity, and Remembrance

What do you do when you’re faced with what seems to be an impossible and unpopular decision. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, we see this happen. Atticus Finch stands as a symbol of unwavering integrity and courage to what is just and right. In the racially charged town of Maycomb, Alabama, Atticus takes on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of beating and raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell. In this day, it would have been an unpopular decision to take that case on due to the color of Tom’s skin. Though Atticus knows the odds of winning are slim and that his decision will bring scorn and threats to his family, Atticus knows there’s more to the story and it’s worth fighting for. He stays loyal to his principles, trusting that doing the right thing is more important than public opinion or personal gain. And while they do not find success in winning the case, Atticus makes his fair share of points to make it obvious to everyone in the courtroom that Tom Robinson was innocent and any verdict otherwise was sham. Everyone knew Mayella did not suffer at the hands of Tom Robinson, but was more than likely abused by her father Bob Ewell and in the movie and the book there’s a shift that happens where the feeling in the room is seeking anger and justice toward Bob. Bob worked it all out in a pathetic attempt to stay free and out of jail by accusing Tom Robinson knowing a black man would never win the case. All throughout, Atticus stands for what’s right and doesn’t care about his reputation or status. After Jem and Scout witness their father’s decision to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus says this after killing a rabid dog in their neighborhood which is symbolic about his courage to fight an unjust case:

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do."

Atticus Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird

We see this today when Mordecai and Esther seek justice and truth and staying obedient to God’s mission and purpose over their lives by making an unpopular decision to save the King that is keeping their people in exile.

Stay obedient to God’s mission come what may

Background:

In our series over the Book of Esther so far, we’ve seen that King Xerxes threw a party to end all parties and that had some consequences. He requested his wife, the queen, to be in the presence of the party, wearing her royal crown to display her beauty. With integrity for herself and her body, Queen Vashti refused and Xerxes and his henchman in haste and stupidity put into law that the women must respect their husbands and follow his orders. They took the queen’s status away and Xerxes would never see Vashti again. This came with regret in the beginning of Chapter 2 of Esther after he cools down from his anger. Last week, we saw that the King makes a call for a new queen, and through a series of unfortunate events and in many ways dehumanizing or oppressing many virgin women, Esther is the one that King Xerxes is attracted to and makes Queen. So far in our story, though, Esther hasn’t made it known that she is Jewish and so now we’re left to wonder what will happen if/when she will. (Spoiler, she will). Today, though, we are looking at how Mordecai, Esther’s adoptive father, stays faithful and obedient to Xerxes as his king, but also the mission and purpose God has for him in this moment. For us, today, we’ll see that same call of staying obedient to God’s mission and purpose for our lives. Like Atticus Finch, it may mean stepping up when we know the results won’t follow. It may mean getting out of our comfort zone. It may mean stepping up to a professor who is unjustly treating students, standing up for the Gospel that’s being berated by our peers, or to stand with a person through their circumstances that has them left with no idea of what to do or where to go. We’re called to step up for what’s right as followers of Jesus whether related to the faith or not, because our reactions are always related to our faith, and it’s not just in the big things, but also the small things.

Esther 2:19–23 NIV

When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up. During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.

Stay obedient to God’s mission come what may

Obedience 2:19-20

Integrity 2:21-22

Remembered 2:23

Obedience 2:19-20

Starting off with Obedience, we see a second gathering of the virgins. Now, this is kind of fuzzy because we’re not really sure why or what was happening with this gathering. It could mean the virgins who remained in the harem that weren’t presented to Xerxes were taken to the concubine’s harem. It could mean even though Esther was queen, he still saw these women to serve his lustful cravings. It could also be an ongoing process of expanding the royal court and giving the men in the royal court wives. Why is this in there? We really don’t fully know, but what we do know is that Mordecai was positioned at the King’s gate. Here’s why that matters. It wasn’t accidental or coincidental that he was placed there. It was with God’s providence and purpose for Mordecai to be commissioned to sit and judge at the King’s gate. As we will see, that will matter in a little bit, but Mordecai was obedient to the call to sit and to be some form of watchman over what was happening at the King’s gate.

Next, we see Esther’s obedience to Mordecai. There’s more to Esther than just her beauty. She’s humble. She could take advice. She listened and respected her guardian Mordecai deeply. And he told her to keep her family background and nationality as a Jewish follower hidden from the king and Esther obeys Mordecai’s advice. We talked about this last week some, but was this the right thing to do? Was it right for Esther to keep silent? We’re never really told and while she keeps silent, we see she’s silent for this moment, but she does speak up about who she is in the future as a believer in Yahweh God and follows Him. In this situation we don’t know whether it was right or wrong, but I think Wallace Benn gives some good insight into what’s happening here and it’s a long quote, but I think it’s worth it to read.

“I think in many ways there is a subtle piece of advice here. If you are in a dangerous pagan situation, it is probably wise not to flaunt your faith. Please don’t misunderstand me, because as we go on in the Book of Esther we will discover that at the right time Esther stood up and was counted. When she needed to identify as a believer she stood with her own people, and she was brave and courageous. I am not at all advocating that Christians bury their light under a basket, as Matthew 5:15 puts it; that we hide our Christian profession. But it may be right, in a very hostile situation, not to flaunt our faith. In other words, it is important to build relationships first, to get alongside people, to be seen as a human being, before people understand that we are believers…maybe the right thing to do in a pagan, hostile environment is to conduct ourselves in such a way that the way we live gets noticed and makes an impression, and to pray for opportunities to speak, and when they come, bravely identify ourselves as believers. That’s something for us to think about as we apply the relevance of Esther’s behavior to our own situations.”

All Esther knew is that Mordecai, who was an older and wiser follower of Yahweh God, felt that in this moment it was necessary for her to conceal her identity, and she obeyed him. And eventually God will use their identities as His followers in the future to save their people. In their own ways, Mordecai and Esther were being obedient to what was given to them and God will surely use them.

Integrity 2:21-22

As Mordecai was sitting post in front of King Xerxes gate he heard doorway guards, Bigthana and Teresh, talking. They weren’t just shooting the breeze though. They were angry and conspired to assassinate their king. So Mordecai finds out about the plot and tells Esther, who in turn, relayed the information to the King and gave credit to Mordecai for gathering the intel.

Mordecai and Esther in their positions rescue the king. This king who lived a life of a pagan, who was a self-glorifying, woman abusing king. Who held the Israelites in exile. As Landon Dowden writes,

“If you were writing this story to win an Oscar for best picture in Jerusalem, you would be off to a rough start.”

Dowden, Christ-Centered Exposition: Esther, Pg. 73

Why would Esther and Mordecai act on behalf of the King’s good? And why is what they are doing considered integrity, our second point? It seems reasonable with a corrupt king to just allow the plan to unfold. But that’s not what happened. Remember, Mordecai and Esther stayed obedient to the mission and purposes of the role they were given. Mordecai was in a respected position as a gatewatcher and when he heard something that concerned the safety of the king, he didn’t sit back, but he took the information to the places it needed to so that the king would stay safe. He did what he thought was right and noble in the moment and that proved to be foundational for the future of our journey through Esther.

So let’s take notice of what the Book of Esther is revealing to us. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility work together in crucial ways. We should take notice that when God’s people have problems, God is at work to solve them and oftentimes before the problems themselves. If you remember, the Name of God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther. It’s clear, though, that God is working behind the scenes in every verse and every chapter. The Book of Esther is full of happy coincidences. When we are full of integrity, we see God’s hand at work not just in the big things, but in the small things and ordinary choices. As Wallace Benn puts it,

“God is wonderfully at work in the little coincidences of our lives, often behind the scenes in an inscrutable way that only time will reveal. Churches that are constantly looking for the miraculous can miss this. We all need to be encouraged to further ponder God’s good providence and “the miraculous quality of the ordinary.”

Wallace Benn, Preach the Word: Esther, Pg 152-153.

It’s integrity that allows us to see that the ordinary decision of the ordinary day of our lives matter and mean something when it comes to the Kingdom of God. It’s integrity to not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing when it comes to giving, to go into your room and pray to your Father who is unseen, and to put oil on your head and wash your face so that it’s not obvious to others that you are fasting, as Jesus would say in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says that those who put on display in front of others their giving, praying, and fasting, have received their earthly reward. But those who do them in secret without trying to get noticed would be seen by their Father who is unseen and He would reward you. It’s integrity to be a Kingdom worker by doing the Kingdom work of God without seeking attention or status of others, but doing it solely because it’s the Jesus thing to do. It’s about bringing hope and healing to the world. And even in corrupt places with corrupt kings, by living with integrity, like Mordecai and Esther, it can lead to the freedom of your people. How might God be calling you to live with integrity in your everyday life? What is the Jesus thing to do in the little situations of your everyday life at school, work, and with your friends?

Step up and stay obedient to God’s mission and purpose for your life by living with integrity.

Remembered 2:23

Mordecai’s report was investigated and it came out to be true, so the two officials who conspired an assassination attempt on the king were impaled on two poles. And all of this was recorded in a book of the annals or chronicles in the presence of the king. Because of what Mordecai and Esther did to reveal to the king the plot for his life, they would be remembered. It’s not for the aspect of seeking glory, it’s doing the right thing and God using it to display to the world how His Kingdom workers are working. In Hebrews 11, we read what many call the Hall of Faith which is kind of like the Hall of Fame for followers of Yahweh God, but it only goes to a certain point. But, this is what we read in the first 6 verses of Hebrews 11:

Hebrews 11:1–6 NIV

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

We read about what faith is. It’s confidence in what we hope for and trust about what we do not see. Esther and Mordecai did not know how their story would unfold in Persia, but they trusted that if they stayed faithful to God and the places of position God had led them into, then God would use them. Like the ancients being commended for their faith in Hebrews 11, Mordecai and Esther are being commended here in this Scroll of Esther. That’s why these events were recorded, remembered, and still read to this day. They stayed obedient to the mission God gave them and God honored them for their faithfulness. To quote again Wallace Benn and we read part of this quote earlier:

“One of the great lessons, which we will see in more detail later in the Book of Esther is this: it isn’t only when God spectacularly answers prayer–we see a friend healed, or we know God’s healing in our own life–and it isn’t only when God does something dramatic or miraculous that He is at work. God is wonderfully at work in the little coincidences of our lives, often behind the scenes in an inscrutable way that only time will reveal.”

Wallace Benn, Preach the Word: Esther, Pg 152.

For Esther, we have 8 more chapters to see what time would reveal. 500 years from this point, time would reveal God’s greatest work when Jesus came to the scene to bring the Kingdom of Heaven here on the Earth as it is in Heaven. To bring healing and hope for the world. To die the death that we all deserve, but conquered death to bring life to those who follow Him and make Him their identity. And when we follow Him and stay obedient to His mission and purposes for our lives, we experience what Jesus says in John 10:7-10

John 10:7–10 NIV

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

May we seek to have that life and live it to the full by being obedient and full of integrity and through these ways of living be remembered by the True King of Kings, by receiving the Crown of Life.

James 1:12 NIV

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Obedience, integrity, and remembrance. We see that here in our story of Esther, but the truth remains for us today. When we’re obedient to Jesus, when we live full of integrity in honor of His Gospel and living His Kingdom, we will have the beautiful moment happen where Jesus will present to us the crown of Life promised to those who love Him. Will you be one of those people? Will you be presented with the Crown of Life?

Let’s pray.