Who Was Mordecai In The Bible? A Character Study

Last updated on: July 20, 2015 at 7:25 pm by Jack Wellman

Who Was Mordecai In The Bible? A Character Study 2015-07-20T19:25:08-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Who was the Mordecai in the Old Testament? Why is it important for us to know about him?

Mordecai the Jew

The first thing we learn of Mordecai was that he was a Jew which Esther 2:5-6 says “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, 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 became connected with Mordecai because “when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter” (Esther 2:7b) so this made Esther and Mordecai very close but something interesting came up; Mordecai didn’t want Esther to reveal to anyone that she was actually a Jew which is why “Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known” (Esther 2:10).

A Plot Discovered

God had sovereignly placed Mordecai in the right place at the exact right time where “Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus” (Esther 2:21) “And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai” (Esther 2:22) so Mordecai saved King Ahasuerus’ life. This matter would be very important later in the Book of Esther.

Haman’s Plot to Exterminate the Jews

Haman, the king’s aide, was one of the vainest men in the Bible “And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage” (Esther 3:2) “Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command” (Esther 3:3)? Mordecai had good reason “And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew” (Esther 3:4) “And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury” (Esther 3:5). Mordecai was forbidden by Jewish law to bow down to any man other than a Jewish king Haman “disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus” (Esther 3:6).

Mordecai’s Appeal to Queen Esther

“Hathach went out to Mordecai” (Esther 4:6a) “and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews” (Esther 4:7) “Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews” (Esther 4:13). Esther called all the Jews to fast for her and she would approach the king and try to intervene on behalf of the Jews. In the meantime, they built gallows for Mordecai to hang on but on a “night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king” and there it was discovered “how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus” (Esther 6:1-2). The king said “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him” (Esther 6:3).

Haman’s Plan Backfires

Just when the king had learned of Mordecai’s discovering the plot to take the kings life “Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him” (Esther 6:4) and told Haman to “take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate” (Esther 6:10) and in a strange twist of fate “the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high” (Esther 7:9) “And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated” (Esther 7:10),

Conclusion

The loyalty of a Jew named Mordecai who informed the king of a plot to take his life ended up saving his own life and those of the Jews, showing that honesty, even before a pagan king, is rewarded by the God Who is sovereign over all the kings of all the kingdoms of the earth.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.

Bible Answers

Bible Story

Mordecai

Previous Post

July 20, 2015

Who Was Jacob In The Bible? A Character Study

Next Post

July 20, 2015 Who Was Rehoboam In The Bible? A Character Study

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What book contains the "Suffering Servant" prophecy?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Isaiah Lamentations Jeremiah Zechariah