We look up to those in power over us, and usually for good reason. They have earned their elevated position by hard work and heavy responsibility. To retain their position, they often sacrifice personal freedoms, including family time and business opportunities.
Who would want to be on top in the power hierarchy?
King Ahasuerus ruled a land that extended from India to Ethiopia. His kingship gave him power over twelve provinces. Susa was his capital, and he had riches beyond compare.
Ahasuerus wanted people to look up to him. He brought together the armies of Persia and Media with the nobles and the governors of all the provinces, and for six months, he showed off the riches of his royal glory. He was at the top of his game, and there was no one who could compare to the power and majesty of the king.
Yet, Ahasuerus had a weak spot. His weakness was Haman the Agagite, whom he set up on a throne just lower than the king. In Esther 3:8, Haman says to the king, “There is a certain people. Let it be decreed that they be destroyed.”
Haman was speaking of the Jews.
What was the motivation of this vendetta for Ahasuerus? He had all the power in the land. The Jews were as nothing to him. What was the point?
With his agreement to Haman’s plan, the king slipped from his position of nobility into an ignoble and depraved callousness. Who would look up to Ahasuerus now?
Esther was a queen in the court of Ahasuerus. She was also a Jew. She risked her life to go before the king to beg his mercies. “Put the noble back in your position of nobility, my lord,” she pleads. “I wish to be allowed to live.”
The king comes to his senses, and with great wrath, he sends Haman to the hangman. What made the difference? Years before Mordecai had saved the life of the king. Who was Mordecai? A Jew and the uncle of Esther the queen.
Now who had all the power? Haman? He was pulled from his high position and hanged in the city streets. The king? It took a Jew to save his life. Esther? She was afraid to come before the king without coercion.
We need to look at Mordecai to see who sat at the pinnacle of power. He had saved a king’s life. He was uncle to the queen. Finally, he was the principal instrument in rescuing the Jewish race from complete extinction.
We look up to those in power. Mordecai deserves our respect. It is by his hand that Jesus’ family tree did not die at the hand of the king. Mordecai carries true nobility, for to risk your own life for the lives of others marks a man as something special.
That sounds a bit like Jesus, doesn’t it? We know for certain he has all the power. He gave his life for us, when he could have run away.
How much do we look up to him?
Those we look up to, we treat with respect. Jesus deserves all the respect we can give him.
Copyright © 2014 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.FGO.H.09.14.vp