Character Study: Mordecai, Part 2

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Romans 8:28-29

Today, I want to expand a little on the last point I touched on yesterday - that Mordecai was of Jewish nobility. If Mordecai can trace his family line back to King Saul through Jonathan and Mephibosheth, we can see that as evidence of God's mercy even as God's wrath is being expressed. In past studies of the book of Esther, I've learned that Haman the Agagite who sought the destruction of the Jews was descended from Agag the Amelikite whom King Saul spared when he had been commanded to wipe out all of the Amalekites and their sheep and so on. Because of his disobedience, the kingdom is taken away from Saul. Saul's family line is almost completely wiped out. He dies. His sons die. Most of his grandchildren are wiped out too. Eventually a descendant of Agag wansts to wipe out the Jewish people. How fitting is it that Mordecai is descended from Saul's family line. Though Saul disobeyed and lost his kingdom and his actions led to the eventual near genocide of the Jewish people, God through His wisdom and mercy preserved a remnant of Saul's family line to save His people.

Character Study: Mordecai

Today, I'm going to start a bit of a character study of Mordecai whom I had the pleasure of reading about this week as I read through the book of Esther. I've read the book of Esther at least 20 times and always my attention seems to turn to Esther (I know, big surprise). However as I read through Esther this time (as part of my read the entire Bible in year that I've been doing each year for nearly 20 years), a few things about Mordecai jumped out and caught my attention. From the Biblical account, he was quite a man and there is much worth noting about him as well as much worth emulating. So, I'm going to take some time and pore over some of these things this week.

⁵ Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, ⁶ who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.

Esther 2:5-6 (ESV)

There's several things I want to note from just this introduction to Mordecai:

1. He was living in exile - Mordecai was a Jew living in exile in Persia. Though he was living in exile, he still maintained his Jewish identity and remained loyal to God. Much like several others whose lives may have overlapped his (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), he remained true to his God even in a foreign land.
2. He may have been a Persian official - He was living in the citadel and we find out later was found at the city gate. Like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he had probably been trained as a government official.
3. His name may have been Babylonian in origin - We remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by their Babylonian names given to them in exile. Though his name may have been a tribute to a Babylonian god named Marduk, we know where his loyalty lay.
4. He was probably of Jewish nobility - Though the genealogy presented in Esther may contain gaps, it is clear that Mordecai was a Benjaminite descended from the youngest (and second most beloved son) of Jacob. Some Rabbinic literature gives more detailed account of his ancestors showing that he is descended from Kish (mentioned here in Esther) through his son Saul (the first king of Israel) and Jonathan (Saul's son and BFF of David) and his son Mephibosheth. The fact that Mordecai's family was carried away with Jeconiah (King Jehoiachin) may also indicate that he was of the Judean nobility.

Just from his introduction in Esther, we can see that He was probably a notable important man at the time. We will start delving into his character tomorrow.