Mordecai’s Fame

BY Erin Davis

I once met a woman who told me the story of two Bibles. She had inherited them as heirlooms, one from each of her grandmothers. Her maternal grandmother was a woman of deep faith in Jesus. She loved and lived the Word of God. Her Bible was torn and tattered. Some of the pages had broken free from their binding. She left notes behind, and questions were scribbled throughout. 

The woman’s paternal grandmother did not know or follow Jesus. Upon her death, her family found a Bible pristine and dusty, sitting on the shelf. She had barely touched it. The difference, the woman told me, was remarkable. The grandmother who loved her Bible left a legacy of faith. Her life was a testament to the goodness of God and the transforming power of His Word. The grandmother whose Bible stayed closed, left a different, more painful kind of mark. Her granddaughter remembered her as angry, bitter, and difficult. 

Legacy is the punctuation mark at the end of the book of Esther. The book’s namesake played a starring role in the redemption of God’s people from the evil plot of Haman, yet it is Mordecai’s impact that brings this inspired story to a close. 

Though King Ahasuerus’s influence was felt “even to the farthest shores” of his kingdom (Esther 10:1), Mordecai’s fame spread past the borders of time and into the hearts of future generations—including ours. Though Mordecai lived and died more than two millennia ago, we are still strengthened by his story of courage. The pages of Esther record Mordecai’s commitment to securing his people’s future—to ensuring they survived in the face of tyranny, no matter what it cost him.

The curtains of Esther open with Mordecai as a resident in a foreign land, separated from his adopted daughter (Esther 2:7–9). They close with Mordecai as a famous hero, triumphant and highly esteemed. In plenty and in want, in power and powerless, whether he was calling the shots or he was oppressed alongside his people—Mordecai resolved to seek the best for his people. The book’s final words almost read as his epitaph: “He continued to pursue prosperity for his people and to speak for the well-being of all his descendants” (Esther 10:3). 

Legacy is the punctuation mark at the end of each of our stories. The book of Esther reminds me that I want mine to end with ellipses, continuing on in the life of the next follower of Christ. May those who come after us be strengthened because we sought the well-being of “all [our] descendants.”

Plan ahead to read Joshua and Mark with us starting February 15. Shop the collection now for Digital Study Books for Lent!