Daily Lesson for Tuesday 19th of December 2023

Living as they were in a foreign land, sooner or later Mordecai and Esther, if they were to remain faithful to God, might have run into trouble. This, certainly, became the case for Mordecai.

In Esther 3:1-15, we learn that King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) honored Haman and gave him a high position full of power. Everyone was told they must bow down before Haman. But we read: “Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor” (Esther 3:1-15:2, NIV). The Bible does not give the reason that Mordecai did not kneel before this man. But we know why. He is a faithful Jew. Mordecai is not willing to pay homage to a descendant of Agag, an Amalekite, enemies of his people since the Exodus (Deuteronomy 25:19). How could a faithful Jew kneel down before an Amalekite? Or, for that matter, worship anyone but the Lord?

“Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you transgress the king’s command?’ ” (Esther 3:1-15:3, NKJV). Though we don’t know in detail how he responded, the next verse says that “Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew” (Esther 3:1-15:4, NKJV). Surely in that response, Mordecai had an opportunity to explain that as a worshiper of the God who created the heavens and the earth, he could not worship any sinful human being. No doubt Mordecai was to some degree able to witness about his faith, a faith that he adhered to so strongly that it endangered himself and, unfortunately, others.

“From Daniel and his companions and Mordecai, a bright light shone amid the moral darkness of the kingly courts of Babylon.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 13, 1884.

When Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people, describing them as “ ‘a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws’ ” (Esther 3:1-15:8, NIV). A people whose customs are different and who do not obey the king’s laws? A perfect recipe for persecution.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-12-mordecais-faithful-witness/

Daily Lesson for Monday 18th of December 2023

Eventually, after the fall of Babylon and the rise of Medo-Persia, many of the Jews returned to their ancestral lands. But not all returned. Some remained where they had been living for a generation or more.

With this background in mind, we have a bit of the context for the story of Esther. “In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel” (Esther 1:2, NKJV). Here is where the biblical narrative unfolds, the Persian Empire under this king.

In chapter 1, queen Vashti falls out of favor with the king, which leads him to look for another queen, one to replace the now-disfavored Vashti. It’s in this context that Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, first appear.

It seems that Mordecai, as a royal officer, was sitting at the gate of the palace and was residing in the city of Shushan with his adopted daughter, or cousin, Esther. Because of their position and living where they did, they were immersed in the Persian culture. This must be at least part of the reason Esther was chosen to be presented to the king: “Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem” (Esther 2:8, NIV).

Though the text does not say precisely why, it’s not hard to guess. As aliens in a foreign culture and religion that, we will see, could be hostile, they were wise in keeping silent about their family and people.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-12-in-a-foreign-court/