Mordecai; Life outside the perfect will of God.
I am sorry to say that this message is not for everybody. In fact, I wish I knew the specific person for whom the Lord is sending this message, I would have sent it directly and not bother my entire audience. I can only ask everyone to open up as we go through it and maybe at one point, the one for whom this message has come will jump out.
"Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Est 4:16NIV
From our main text, within the reply of Queen Esther to Mordecai are hidden some ugly history. We call it ugly history because they are things that even the inspired author of that bible book was ashamed to mention. The nation of Judah was taken into exile because their God handed them over to their enemies. They were sentenced to spend seventy years in exile. within this period God advised them to integrate themselves with the people of the land of their captivity.
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Jer 29:4-7NIV
Mordecai was among those that were born in the period of this exile and so was Esther who was his brother’s daughter. There were those who strived to retain their original spiritual and national identity even though they lived in Babylon. These were the heroes we use as models today; Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Some people like Ezra continued to teach the Jews the word of God even though they were in exile.
In answer to many intercessions, God sent Cyrus to work for the restoration of Jerusalem and the new nation of Israel.
"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you — may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:2-3NIV
Unfortunately, not many of God’s people were eager to return to their own country. At this time a good number of the surviving population were born in exile and their lifestyles were those of the gentile nations. Their ambitions and dreams were those of Babylon. So, preaching of the true gospel of the true kingdom of Jehovah sounded strange and for others, it was unrealistic. There were those who held to the old instructions to adopt to Babylon because it matched what they wanted to hear. This was the category that Mordecai belonged. Out of the entire nation of Israel, only very few were willing to return; 49,897 persons.
The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 200 men and women singers Ezra 2:64-65NIV
As it was those days, so it is today. The preaching of the message of revival of our sanctification is no longer valued. The message of eternity in heaven and hell is not the kind of thing people want to hear today. Death to self and living for the Spirit is not one of the topics one will hear in a conference today. Even those we considered as fathers in the Christian faith keep manifesting lifestyles that shames the true gospel for which we knew them.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God 1 Cor 1:18NIV
Mordecai happened to be in the number to whom the message of the Cross was foolishness. Has it occurred to you that it was an abomination for a true daughter of Zion to be in the number of virgins competing to be married to a gentile king? Has it occurred to you that Mordecai was encouraging his daughter to eat those delicacies that Daniel and his friends called defilement? Are you aware that King Ahasuerus was about the fourth king after Cyrus? What were Mordecai and Esther doing in that gentile nation after other believers had departed to Jerusalem?
Hmmm! My hands are shaking.
While believers were parking up and marching towards Jerusalem, Mordecai was adjusting himself for life in the world after the revival. While other heaven minded Christian leaders are now teaching their congregation that friendship with the world was enmity towards God, Mordecai was training his daughters on how to trap rich gentile men for the sake of material wealth. When other believers laboured at carrying rocks to restore the temple of true worship of Jehovah, Mordecai was standing as a security man at the gate of gentile nations with party placards in hand, seeking to prophesy to the uncircumcised that God will continue to bless them in their sin. While brethren contended for the restoration of a true worship, Mordecai was teaching his own congregation on how to live and be welcome by the world. The things that genuine believers mourned and lamented over, were the same things that Mordecai celebrated as success.
They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness." When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice Ezra 9:2-4NIV
The point is that Esther and the other members of the church of Mordecai did not even know that these things were sin, because Mordecai encouraged them to do it. Esther succeeded to get married to the unbeliever through the worldly method taught by her leader and there was celebration in the church of Prophet Mordecai. Esther was taught that telling lies was kingdom wisdom, so that even her own husband did not know her real name and nationality.
Yes, you read me right. The king did not know the real name and nationality of his new wife. The result of this was that all the maids and friends of our sister in the palace were total unbelievers. Furthermore, our sister was not able to share the gospel with them. Oh, how could she have shared the gospel with them when they did not even know that she was born again? If they did not know that she was born again, how could she now teach them kingdom lifestyles of fasting, prayers and meditating in the word of God?
The hypocrite that he was, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman on religious grounds but he had told Esther to hide her identity.
Then the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the king's command?" Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew Est 3:3-4NIV
Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. Est 2:10NIV
Did you get me? While Prophet Mordecai bragged about his commitment to God, Esther bowed down to all the heathen idols in the palace because she was told to hide her true identity, but the hypocrite of a leader still boasted that he was called by God.
What I want you to understand is that, all those crises and confusion among the exiles in Susa happened because some fellows chose a path for themselves that was contrary to God’s plan for them. When we choose our own paths, we encumber ourselves with the responsibility to sustain ourselves. Deceiving, telling lies, stealing and all kinds of manipulation soon become our new lifestyle.
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? James 4:4-5NIV
(To be continued)
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