Esther's Secret and Obedience Esther 2:20 - Equipped for Battle

King Ahasuerus was throwing yet another feast in his kingdom because he was celebrating his selection of a new queen – Esther. While the partying went on, Esther's cousin Mordecai sat outside of the king's gate and continued to wonder how she was managing. In chapter two and verse twenty, we gain a little more insight into Esther's selective nondisclosure and obedience to her older cousin Mordecai. We read:

Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.

An old sage once said, “Not everything is as it seems”, and such is the case in the first part of our verse - “Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her:”. Although Esther was now officially the queen of Persia, she did not use her power or position to reveal her cultural background or her family. She may have seen how easily it was for a queen to be put out of the kingdom like Vashti, but more than likely it was simply because she obeyed her older cousin Mordecai. Mordecai “charged” her not to tell anyone about her background, and since he raised her from the time of the death of her parents, he knew what was best for her.

Our verse continues “for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.” If we allow ourselves to imagine Esther with the loss of her parents and Mordecai adopting her, we will understand how Mordecai had repeatedly instructed Esther over the years. In order for instruction to be effective obedience is required by the one being instructed. If there is no obedience, instruction falls short. “Esther did the commandment of Mordecai”, and this made his guidance valuable in her life. It is one thing to be a hearer of the word and quite another to be a doer of it. Esther simply complied with Mordecai as she did while she was growing up, and the result was that no one knew her upbringing.

As we ponder this verse today, perhaps we have some areas of “selective nondisclosure” within our lives. Not everything is as it seems with us as it was with Esther. Perhaps there are those within our lives who have given us instructions about certain discretions and only God in heaven knows about them otherwise. We can remember that all the while the events are occurring within Esther and Mordecai's lives, God has a plan, and even the secret has it's purpose. We shall discover this purpose in our later readings, but for now, let us think about the “selective nondisclosures” that our Heavenly Father has kept within His own mind which will only be revealed as He fulfills His will in our lives.

Next time we will learn about a conspiracy against King Ahasuerus, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.