“In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.” Esther 2:21-23
Mordecai was a Jew who was living in captivity. Because they were strangers in a foreign land, the Jews were subject to the oppression of the Medes, Persians, and Chaldeans who had held them captive for many years. Mordecai had risen to a position of relative prominence for a person of his heritage. He sat in the king’s gate, which would have been a place where important business was transacted and matters of lesser importance were judged. It was because of his position there that Mordecai overheard two of the king’s chamberlains plotting against the king’s life. Mordecai reported what he had heard to Esther the queen (whom he had raised as his own daughter), and she sent a message of warning to the king in Mordecai’s name. God later used the record of Mordecai’s loyal and courageous act in part to spare Mordecai’s life, advance his career, and save the Jews from the ethnic cleansing that was set in motion by wicked Haman. God wants to use every one of our right actions to accomplish His purpose.
Morning: Esther 1-2
Evening: Acts 5:1-21