If you’re wondering which Esther, it’s the same one who was an Hebrew and an orphan that was made queen instead of Vashti, became the wife of a King, and saved the Jews from death with the help of her uncle. The next question now is, “Who is her cousin?”
Let’s go for a ride!
I’m pretty sure some lessons to be learnt from her life won’t be alien to you. In lieu of this, I won’t bore you with so many lessons to be learnt from her. As is the custom, we might be having just one or two lessons (y’all know it’s as the Spirit leads).
In Esther’s entire story, I’m after her uncle, Mordecai. Oh yeah, before I forget, we have a modern representation of Queen Esther, titled Hadassah (click here to read- Hadassah, the story. it’s actually the second novel I’d ever finish writing. I’ve written more than 2 dozens of stories, but Hadassah excels them all).
Uncle Mordecai! Now, we’ll be having lessons from both Mordecai and Queen Esther, and we’re going to have it simultaneously (relax, we’ll get to her cousin very soon). Therefore, it is of great importance that a great deal of attention is paid to this particular reading, because after the fire bender (I’d have asked you not to mind me for always brining him up, but the issue is ‘I’m not sorry.’ In case you’re here for the first time, click here to read about the fire bender- Lessons From The Fire Bender). Esther is one character I love. Her lifestyle is worthy of emulation. Her story is not new to a Bible student, and I choose to believe you’re a Bible student. Therefore, I won’t bore you with her story, rather we’ll delve straight into the lessons.
1. Esther was obedient: in Nigerian language, we’ll say, “she use to hear word.” Some believers, without the exception of you and I must have rebelled to authorities at some point. By authorities, I mean those who are spiritual heads over you, like your ‘pastors, instructors,’ and most especially, “mentors and spiritual fathers or mothers.” There are times instructions have come from the pulpit that you should do this and that as a member of a church, but the devil dinnor allow you follow those instructions (I’m blaming the devil because he always takes all the blame when in fact, nah we no hear word; intentionally, we didn’t follow the instructions). Well, because pastor will not know if you did it or not, you can escape the consequence that comes with not obeying that instruction. However, that’s disobedience. Esther was not like that. Now, the question is, to who and to what was she obedient to? We’ll take the reading from Esther 2:10-11.
“[10] Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.
[11] And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her."
She didn’t disclose her nationality to anyone. To her, keep your mouth shut was simply keep your mouth shut! Stay is stay! She didn’t question it. She just obeyed. She didn’t do it reluctantly. She did it in complete obedience (I once heard a minister say, “half obedience is still equal to disobedience”). As much as the guy liked her and gave her everything she did and didn’t demand for, she didn’t tell Hegai, the keeper of the women who she was or where she was from. An instruction is an instruction and it has to be obeyed; especially if it’s coming from a trusted source. Later in the book, we understood why she had to keep her identity a secret. Her life and that of a thousand others depended on it.
If you ask me, Mordecai was more of a mentor to her than he was an uncle (unlike the uncles Nollywood movies portray to us, Mordecai was a God-fearing man). It would have been easy to believe that Mordecai sent Esther to participate in the beauty pageant and become queen because he had selfish reasons. But no! He let her go because he saw something in her Esther herself probably did not see. He told her in Esther 4:13-14.
“[13] Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
[14] For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
He made her understand her purpose. Esther was graced, not lucky, to have been chosen to become queen amongst several others. First, she found favour before the keeper of the women, and nowhere was it recorded that the man put in word for her before the king or that Mordecai “sorted” it out (if you know what I mean) while she and the others were being prepared to be brought before the king. As a believer, do not have the thought that because you were picked over someone or that you have some ability more than others do, you’re lucky. The word is “Graced,” not lucky. “We don’t work with luck in this kingdom, we walk with Grace!” I say this to myself every day. You can run out of luck, but provided you’re in Christ, you can never run out of grace! (Note the word: “in Christ”).
Here’s where bro Mordecai comes in… He was a worthy mentor, a good father, and a loving mother. He’s everything Esther could ask for and more, and I could bet that if he didn’t take up her welfare after she lost her parents, she might have still ended up a queen, the only difference is she’d have been more of a disaster queen than a life-saver.
Like I always say, if you ask me, Esther didn’t start listening to her uncle when she got to the palace. She must have grown up with it. The Bible recorded it that she had neither father nor mother, so I want to guess she didn’t grow up knowing her parents. They must have died when she was so young or when they were being carried as captives. What’s more interesting is that Mordecai is not exactly her uncle (you read that right). Mordecai is a son to her uncle (wait, don’t be confused). The Bible said Mordecai was his uncle’s daughter.
Esther 2:7
“And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter."
Are you shocked too? Same here. Matter of fact, I also found out while I was writing this article. As in, just now. So what does that make Mordecai? Yeah, that’s right. HER COUSIN! He must have been much older than she was to have taken her as his daughter.
Now that we’ve established that Mordecai isn’t Esther’s uncle, it is safe to say that he is God-sent to her because the Bible said he took her to be his own daughter. He didn’t treat her like a worthless orphan. Esther was simply graced! I’m pretty sure it’s not only Jeremiah, but for us all that “before we were formed in the womb, God already knew us, and appointed us for a particular purpose” (Jer. 1:5). If you don’t believe me, ask Jesus. His birth had been prophesied a long time before He came. Starting from the book of Genesis (we’re not doing Bible exegesis, I’d have led us through this. When we take the lessons from Jesus, we’ll touch it. Be expectant!). If you think because Jesus is the Son of God, that’s why God already knew He was going to be born, what about John the Baptist? Samson? Isaac? Etc. What am I driving at? God had ordained something for each and every one. He already knows what we’re meant to do, but He’s not going to bring it to you on a platter of gold. You’d have to pray to Him to reveal your purpose to you, what you’re on this earth to do, and how to fulfill it. Some complain as to why they’re born in certain countries (the people I’m referring to know themselves. No, don’t think of your friend. I’m talking about you. You’ve at one point or the other complained that you were born in the wrong country. Instead of complaining, ask God why you were born there, what He’d have you do, and how to do it). Discovering purpose is very necessary to a believer. I want to believe Mordecai didn’t have the exact note of Esther’s purpose, but he knew she was meant for something big and he pushed her to fulfilling it. Guess what?! That was Mordecai’s purpose! His purpose was to lead Esther into her purpose. What a discovery!
He could have chosen to make her his slave or treat her the way orphans are usually treated in Nollywood movies (apologies to Nollywood movie lovers). He could have chosen to be a bad cousin other than a God-sent purpose discoverer (if there’s a word like that). See ehn, it is necessary to have the right covering over you, and by right covering, I mean a mentor and or a spiritual parent (father or mother). I don’t know how people do life without a mentor. Spiritual father/mother is even far. Let’s stick with a mentor first. I can boldly tell that 70% of the right decisions I’ve taken in life is because I have mentors to direct me. I’d have taken a wrong step. Many a times, we think we’ve heard from God (I’m being careful in using this statement because in all truthfulness, there’s a truth in the fact that you heard from God. However, the issue there is that even after that, you need someone to relay the information you heard to who would direct you on that which the Lord has said to you). Let me cite myself as an instance…
If you recollect, in one of the articles, most probably the article posted on the 14th of August, my birthday. I said, the Lord had given the instruction to open a blog in 2020 but I didn’t start up until October, 2021 (Just so you’d know, we’re having the blogversary [blog anniversary] on the 19th of October. Exactly, one month from today! Expect something huge! Something is going to happen that day. Amen?). I got the instruction specifically in November 2022; that means it took me 11 months to put myself together to start a blog. Why did I take that long? I was hearing a lot of things, supposedly from God (hope you know your mind can also speak to you, and other voices that’s not God’s voice can also speak to you? That’s not our focus today. We’ll deal with this later). If you’re following the blog, I promised to touch on mentorship one day. Today’s the day!
Continuing my story, the issue with opening a blog was “what kind of content to post.” Dear RC (Real Christian- if you’re here, I believe you’re a real Christian so I’ll be addressing you as one hence forth). I prayed and a lot of ideas came to mind. One that I’d never forget was the one on relationship stuff. I wasn’t in a relationship, but frankly, I knew a lot. I got out of one years before. Though it wasn’t a godly one- by this I mean I hadn’t given my life to Christ then. Now, I was in Christ so I had quite the knowledge about relationship. In fact, I had written if not 24 points about relationships, and naughty me was writing happily. Now I look back at what I wrote and laugh at myself. They’re not wrong things though, but they’re not right at the same time. I mean they’re not as revelational as I’d like them to be. I spoke to my mentor and instructor then (an instructor is not your mentor, but as the name implies, he/she is someone you respect and they can give you instructions, but you do not necessarily submit to them. You submit to your mentor more). My mentor told me something I’d never forget.
He said…
To be continued.
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