Esther 10:1-3--The Greatness of Mordecai

Esther 10
English Standard Version
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The Greatness of Mordecai
10 King Ahasuerus imposed tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea. 2 And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.

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It's possible this short section of text was written as an epitaph or a memorial to Mordecai after his death and included at the end of the story to remind everyone of all the great things that the LORD allowed Mordecai to do that blessed not only the Jews, but also the God-fearing Gentiles.

King Ahasuerus taxed all the land.  Why would this be important and something to be shared in Mordecai's accomplishments?  My guess is that somehow Mordecai served as an advisor to the king in this matter and that this was considered one of Mordecai's great accomplishments.

Mordecai was the second-highest ruler in the kingdom second only to the king himself (he reminds me a lot of Joseph in the book of Genesis).  God took Mordecai from a place of slavery and sitting outside the palace gates for years to wearing royal robes and a crown and having the signet ring of the king and acting with full power and authority to make and enforce law for the Medo-Persian Empire (which covered most of the known world at that time).  Because of God's blessings on Mordecai, all the people of the empire were blessed (again, much like Joseph).

Mordecai gained favor among the Jewish people, and it was great for them to say that someone like them represented them to the king.  Someone who understood them was there making policy to help them.  Also, if they ever forgot that the LORD was with them everywhere they went, and that He was powerful no matter if they were in Jerusalem or in Exile, they only needed to look to Mordecai in the palace and remember the story of Mordecai, Esther, and Purim to recall that the LORD saved them from Pharoah in Egypt and from Haman in Persia.  Just like Joesph, the Jews got special benefits under Mordecai's rule.  Genesis tells us that Joseph used his power to treat all his family like they were members of the royal family, and they were all tax-exempt.  Perhaps the same was true here and maybe that is why the tax was mentioned earlier.  Whatever the reason, the people flourished while Mordecai ruled in Susa, but no man other than Jesus can have an eternal kingdom, so there will come a time where there will be a new king, and the people will long to go home and live in the Promised Land and worship at the Temple once again, for the LORD has put the Land in the hearts of the people of Israel.

That's it for the book of Esther.  We've already covered the book of Job, so we'll return to the book of Psalms next and cover the last half of the Psalms (we paused after Psalm 72--the end of Book 2).  Those Psalms will be written over a long period of time--some of them even being written while the people were in Exile.  With these stories as a backdrop, perhaps you will better hear the sadness of the Psalmists when they see the way in which the LORD's people turned to idols and were acting wickedly and abandoned His covenant.  They knew the LORD would punish and exile them, and yet, they also knew the LORD would be with them and keep them and bring them back into the Land.  That's what we've seen through Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.  The LORD saves and restores His people for His Name's sake.