Mordecai's Loyalty To God - Esther 3:2
Esther 3:2 All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. (NIV)
Esther 3:2 And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. (KJV)
I. Mordecai Will Never Kneel Down
II. Mordecai Will Never Pay Honor
Mordecai is the cousin of Hadassah or Esther who came from Benjamin's tribe carried from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, he adopted his little cousin: Esther for she's already an orphan.
Esther 2:5 Now there was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai. Mordecai was the son of Jair, and Jair was the son of Shimei, and Shimei was the son of Kish. Mordecai was in the capital city, Susa.
Esther 2:6 Mordecai had been carried into captivity from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He was with the group that was taken into captivity with King Jehoiachin of Judah.
Esther 2:7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah. She didn't have a father or a mother, so Mordecai took care of her. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a very pretty face and a good figure.
Mordecai only did his kneeling and paying honor to God alone. He knows and respected the Ten Commandments of God.
Exodus 20:5 Don't worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the LORD, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren.
What is the implication of King Ahasuerus command? To kneel down and pay honor to Haman. In the King James version hebrew version for bowed and reverenced are kara (bowed) and shachah (reverenced) respectively. Kara means to bend the knee, to sink, to prostrate, cast down, fall, kneeling, sink while Shachah means to prostrate, make to stoop, worship, the very word used in
Exodus 20:5 - Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
So in this "little" situation, eventhough it's the command of the king to kneel and bow down to Haman for he is royalty and most probably higher in rank compared to Mordecai, Mordecai will not have bow, kneel or reverence Haman for it will mean idolatry for him.
I. Mordecai Will Never Kneel Down
Mordecai will never kneel down to anyone other than God. It's a fearful thing to disobey the king's command on those days, it will mean death, but still he hold on to God's command.
Exodus 20:5 Don't worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the LORD, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren.
Psalms 95:6 Come, let us bow down and worship him! Let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
Isn't this what the devil wanted from the Lord Jesus Christ?
Matthew 4:9 The devil said, "If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things." (ERV)
The very thing that Peter rebuked Cornelius about?
Acts 10:25 When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. He fell down at Peter's feet and worshiped him.
Acts 10:26 But Peter told him to get up. Peter said, "Stand up! I am only a man like you."
Of which, angels also don't receives worship from man.
Revelations 19:10 Then I bowed down before the angel's feet to worship him. But the angel said to me, "Don't worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers and sisters who have the truth of Jesus. So worship God! Because the truth of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Revelations 22:8 I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. After I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.
Yes, there are kings that will throw us into fire if we don't worship them.
Daniel 3:21 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tied up and thrown into the hot furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, cloth caps, and other clothes.
Daniel 3:22 The king was very angry when he gave the command, so the soldiers quickly made the furnace very hot. The fire was so hot that the flames killed the strong soldiers. They were killed when they went close to the fire to throw in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel 3:23 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the fire. They were tied up very tightly.
Daniel 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped to his feet. He was very surprised and he asked his advisors, "We tied only three men, and we threw only three men into the fire. Is that right?" His advisors said, "Yes, King."
Daniel 3:25 The king said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They are not tied up and they are not burned. The fourth man looks like an angel."
Daniel 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the hot furnace. He shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, come out! Servants of the Most High God, come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
Daniel 3:27 When they came out, the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisors crowded around them. They could see that the fire had not burned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their bodies were not burned at all. Their hair was not burned, and their robes were not burned. They didn't even smell as if they had been near fire.
Daniel 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die instead of serving or worshiping any other god.
The same thing can be said of Mordecai:
Daniel 3:28 ...These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die instead of serving or worshiping any other god.
Mordecai:
1. Mordecai trusted God and refused to obey the king's command.
2. Mordecai is willing to die instead of serving or worshiping any other god.
II. Mordecai Will Never Pay Honor
There are times when our faith to God will be tested, it will mean our death. To Haman, the enemy of the Jews, Mordecai has a good reputation.
Esther 3:8 Then Haman came to King Xerxes and said, "King Xerxes, there is a certain group of people scattered among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom. They keep themselves separate from other people. Their customs are different from those of all other people. And they don't obey the king's laws. It is not right for the king to allow them to continue to live in your kingdom.
Haman described Mordecai as:
1. One of the group of people scattered among the people
2. He keeps himself separate from other people (1 Corinthians 15:33)
3. Mordecai's custom is different from those other people.
4. Mordecai don't obey the king's laws (in regards to idolatry) only 1 King: God Almighty
1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." (NIV)
The only problem here is Persian kings during those days require divine honor different from human honor. Human honor is (1) obey their rules (2) obey their rules if it's under God's jurisdiction.
Romans 13:1 All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God.
There will come a time that religious freedom will be stopped by the ruling authorities of the land, they will not like to worship God, then again, let us stand up like Mordecai who will not obey these rules for the sake of God, but we continue to obey God even if it means our life taken away from us.
Results of Mordecai's integrity:
What happened to Haman?
Esther 7:8 He had just thrown himself down on Esther's couch to beg for mercy, when the king came back into the room from the gardens. Seeing this, the king cried out, "Is this man going to rape the queen right here in front of me, in my own palace?" The king had no sooner said this than the eunuchs covered Haman's head.
Esther 7:9 Then one of them, who was named Harbonah, said, "Haman even went so far as to build a gallows at his house so that he could hang Mordecai, who saved Your Majesty's life. And it's seventy-five feet tall!" "Hang Haman on it!" the king commanded.
Hebrews 10:35 Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward.
James 1:12 Happy are those who remain faithful under trials, because when they succeed in passing such a test, they will receive as their reward the life which God has promised to those who love him.
2 John 1:8 Be on your guard, then, so that you will not lose what we have worked for, but will receive your reward in full.
