©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 2:19-23 (ESV) - Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
Question to consider: In what way can we see the hand of God working behind the scenes in this story?
Even though the name of God is not invoked in the book of Esther, the sovereignty of God is evident. Mordecai did not tell Esther to remain quiet about him being her uncle or that she was a Hebrew because he knew that one day he’d be able to secretly witness a plot against the king. He was a man of faith and acted according to that faith.
If Mordecai told Esther he thought it was best for her origin to remain a secret, it was because he was led in that direction by God. This does not mean that every gut feeling we have is a message from God. Often our inward thoughts are corrupted by sin so following our passions is not a good idea. However, if you are reading this as a Christian, I’m sure you can attest to times in your life in Christ when you have experienced a leading by the Spirit of God toward a particular course of action. Often you can look back and see that the hand of God saved you from catastrophe by leading you in another direction.
God made sure Mordecai was at the king's gate when the plot was being laid against Ahasuerus. This does not mean that Ahasuerus was highly favored by God or even deserving of being saved from this plot against him. This was a means through which God would allow Mordecai to be favored by the king and be used to thwart the greater plan of the devil against the Hebrews living in Persia. This would also further endear Esther to Ahasuerus because she was trustworthy enough to deliver the news about a plot against him.
When I say that God is sovereign, I mean that God does what He pleases in the world and cannot be thwarted. This raises the question of why a sovereign God would allow Bigthan and Teresh to plot an evil act against the king which would end up with their hanging. Simply put, evil does not originate from God but from a creation in rebellion against Him. God has intervened at appropriate times throughout history to bring about His plan of salvation in Christ and to harvest a people for Himself rooted in love. In this part of the plan, Mordecai and Esther were used by God to preserve the holy line of Israel for the incarnation of His Son more than four hundred years later.
Dear heavenly Father, we recognize that we live in a world that is in utter rebellion against You. Please help us to be Your instruments of righteousness, exposing sin and calling people to repentance in Christ so that they may be reconciled to You. Amen.