Hidden Spiritual Gem #6 from the Bible: Esther 2:5; The King Saul/Mordecai Connection
Introduction
This is an excerpt from a longer exposition on the Book of Esther to present another hidden spiritual gem that might easily be missed when reading the Bible somewhat casually.
Mordecai (as well as Esther) was not only a Jew, but a Benjamite, just like King Saul
Esther 2:5, “[Now] in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name [was] Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.“ And we know that king Saul was also a Benjamite (from the tribe of Benjamin) as we read in 1 Samuel 9:21, “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? So we know that they are related, being both from the tribe of Benjamin. (Note: King Saul lived in about 1100 BC and Moredecai and Esther in about 500 BC.)
Although the meaning of “Mordecai” is not clear, but it is said to mean “little man”, which is interesting because Mordecai’s warning that saved the kingdom was not remembered. Doesn’t this sound somewhat similar to what we read in Ecclesiastes 9:13-17, “This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: [There was] a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.Then said I, Wisdom [is] better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise [men are] heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.“
Looking Closer at Mordecai
As indicated above, we do know that as a Benjaminite, Mordecai was of the tribe of Benjamin (the only full brother of Joseph), whose name means “son of my right hand.” When Moses gave a blessing to the sons of Jacob/Israel, this is how he blessed Benjamin in Deuteronomy 33:12, “[And] of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; [and the LORD] shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.” Jair means “He Enlightens“: “Shimei*” means “renowned” or “famous“: and “Kish” means “power” (also “bow” or “snare”…like the river Kishon). We know that a man named Kish was also the father of the first king of Israel, king Saul. 1 Samuel 9:1&2, “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” The only progeny of king Saul to have been recorded as not having been killed off was Mephibosheth (king Saul’s grandson through Jonathan). Please see this exposition of Mephibosheth.
Is there a King Saul/Jonathan/Mephibosheth Connection to Mordecai (and Esther)?
It should also be noted that the genealogy provides some additional information that could be pertinent to any study of Mordecai, so let us look a bit closer. The genealogy makes it clear that Mordecai was at least indirectly related (a kinsman) to king Saul. As mentioned above, a man named Kish was the father of king Saul, who was also a Benjamite (perhaps ironically, so too was the Saul in the New Testament who later became known as Paul). While king Saul was an outwardly handsome man, of great stature, and a king after the people’s heart, he was faithless and not a king after God’s own heart as was King David. Nonetheless, God did show compassion and grace toward a remnant of that line by the hand of King David. This was true for Mephibosheth (a grandson of Saul through Jonathan) who we read about in 2 Samuel 9:13, “So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.” We also know that Mephibosheth had a least one son in David’s day, because we read that he had a young son named Micha in 2 Samuel 9:12 “And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name [was] Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba [were] servants unto Mephibosheth.“
While it remains unclear if Mordecai (and hence also Esther) are descended from Kish apart from King Saul, or through King Saul via Jonathan and then Mephibosheth (NOTE: The detailed lineages/decendents down from Mephibosheth are also listed to the end of the 1 Chronicles, Chapters 8 & 9 and do not provide any evidence of a direct connection from king Saul down to Mordecai or Esther).
However, if descended from Kish through Saul/Jonathan/Mephibosheth/Micha, and perhaps a later unlisted descendent who was also named Kish (again meaning “power” (also “bow” or “snare”…like the river Kishon), then both Mordecai and Esther would also be viewed as having:
1) A “royal lineage” through the failed house of king Saul (and only due to the promised covenant between David (a type of Jesus Christ) and Jonathan (whom David loved and Jonathan loved David).
2) And, been beneficiaries of the eternal covenant established between the house of David and Jonathan, Saul’s son, that would ensure Jonathan’s seed continued “forever” as we read in 1 Samuel 20:42 “And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.”
This genealogical connection would then be particularly noteworthy, and yes, even amazingly ironic, when we consider that king Saul disobeyed God’s command to utterly destroy the Amalekites, as we read in 1Samuel 15:2&3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” King Saul disobeyed God by capturing, but not killing, Agag, “Agag the king of the Amalekites“1 Samuel 15:8.
The following is the discourse between king Saul and Samuel, who, as a prophet of God, condemned king Saul for that disobedience. In 1 Samuel 15:20-23, we read, “And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.” It is therefore most interesting that had king Saul been obedient to God’s command, the book of Esther might not have needed to be written, because the adversary, Haman, who sought to destroy Mordecai and all of his people (the Jews), was none other than a descendent of king Agag (who aged Samuel hewed in pieces in 1 Samuel 15:33)!
Haman’s Ancestry Goes Back to King Agag, and Amalek, and hence Esau
Esther 3:1, “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that [were] with him.
Haman’s Genealogy: Haman was a direct descendent of king Agag, hence Amalek, hence Esau. Let us see what God has to say about each of these individuals that make up the ancestry of Haman:
Esau: (Please see more about Esau in the Parable of the Prodigal Son)
Genesis 36:1, “Now these [are] the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.”
Malachi 1:2&3, “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.“
In Obadiah 1:8-10, “Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise [men] out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? And thy mighty [men], O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. For [thy] violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.“
Romans 9:13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.“
Amalek:
Genesis 36:12, “¶And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau‘s wife.“
We also can find that, in Exodus 17:8-13, Joshua fought against Amalek under the inspiration of Moses, who arms were supported by Aaron and Hur, and that Joshua (who’s very name is the same as Jesus) slew the Amalekites with the sword. The Amalekites were evidently not completely destroyed, however, and at the end of this war Moses was ordered to write in a document, as a reminder, that the Lord would one day blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven as we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.“
The reader should also note that another translation of the original Hebrew for the beginning word “Because” in Exodus 17:16 claims that it is “Because the hand of Amalek is against the throne of the LORD,” and therefore “the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.” If so, then this is another clear indicator that the Book of Esther is intended to provide us with insights on the spiritual battle ongoing until Judgment Day of the devil against God as it is typified by Haman against Mordecai (and hence also King Ahaseurus).
God reiterates His command in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, “¶ Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, [even] all [that were] feeble behind thee, when thou [wast] faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance to possess it, [that] thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget[it].“
In that context it should be remembered that it was the Edomites who would not let the Israelites pass and threatened to kill them if they even set foot inside of Edom. See
Numbers 20:14-21, “¶And remember that “Esau is Edom” as we read four times in Genesis 36 (verses 1, 8, 19, 43). Note that with regard to “Edom“, God has nothing good to say in the Bible, in fact, the last time that Edom is mentioned in the Bible, in Malachi 1:4, we read, “Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.”
Amalek was the first enemy that Israel encountered after the crossing of the Red Sea as we read in 1 Samuel 15:2&3, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember [that] which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid [wait] for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.“
1 Samuel 15:18, “And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.“
King Agag:
1 Samuel 15:32&33, “Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.“
It is also interesting to note that in the parable of Balaam versus Israel (where Balak, the king of Moab, sought to hire Balaam to curse Israel), God made Balaam prophesy that Israel (and its ultimate King, Jesus Christ) would be exalted above king Agag as we read Numbers 24:7, “He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed [shall be] in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” However, Balaam was forced by God to curse the line of Amalek as we read in Numbers 24:20, “ And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek [was] the first of the nations (the first of the nations to confront returning Israel); but his latter end [shall be] that he perish for ever.” (NOTE: There are several references to the slaying of the Amalekites, with some, at times, escaping. It is not clear how Haman’s family escaped, but obviously they did. In 1 Samuel 30:17 we find, “And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.” and in 1 Chronicles 4:43, “And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.“)
Mordecai and Esther, as Benjamites (the same as King Saul), Fulfilled God’s Command that King Saul Disobeyed
So is it not most interesting, yes, even Amazing, that in the book of Esther, the descendants, or at least relatives, of king Saul would thus have fulfilled the earlier command of God, which king Saul had failed to do, in putting out the name of Amalek forever, as typified by the hanging of Haman and his ten sons as we read in Exodus 17:14-16, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi: For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.” It was therefore clearly all foreordained by God to play out and be recorded exactly as it occurred in Esther!
(NOTE: There is some additional irony to be found in the Bible with regard to the Amalekites and King Saul, the son of Kish, according to 2 Samuel 1:13, it was was none other than “the son of a stranger, an Amalekite” who looted king Saul’s crown and who evidently falsely claimed to David that he had dealt the final lethal blow to king Saul, after king Saul had been wounded in battle by Philistine archers (even though the wounded king Saul is recorded in two places in the Bible as having taken his own life by falling on his sword, see both 1 Samuel 31:1-6 and 1Chronicles 10:4). The full account regarding that Amalekite begins in 2 Samuel 1:1 where we read that, “Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;” and ends with David putting that Amalekite to death 2 Samuel 1:16, “And David said unto him, Thy blood [be] upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.” The same account is also brought up later by King David in 2 Samuel 4:10, “When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who [thought] that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:”).
It is also clear that no matter how many times the Amalekites were “slaughtered” at various times in the Bible, that, nonetheless, somehow Haman survived (and Haman was a descendent of king Agag, who ruled the Amalekites in the time of king Saul and king Agag was killed by Samuel). It seems clear however, that even though the last reference to the slaughter of the Amalekites, which occurred during the reign of Judah’s King Hezekiah (where we are told that 500 men from the tribe of Simon “smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped)” that some Amalekites continued to live on until the time of Esther. Given that there are no further mentions of the Amalekites or Agagites beyond the Book of Esther, that therefore the death of Haman and his ten sons marked the final end of the line for the Amalekites.
Conclusion
Mordecai, and the people of Mordecai which includes Esther, not only saw Haman hanged, but also all of his progeny, his ten sons, who were killed on the predetermined day (predetermined via the casting of lots/pur) at the end of the year. Thus, whether or not Mordecai and Esther are direct descendants of king Saul, they were both nonetheless of the tribe of Benjamin, and used by God to fulfill God’s original command to king Saul, to wipe out the Amalekites, and their king, Agag…by bringing an end to Haman’s line, who descended from king Agag.
The Book of Esther is About Deliverance and Salvation Through Jesus Christ
It is indisputable that the Book of Esther is indeed about the miraculous physical deliverance of the Jews of national Israel (the physical descendants of the patriarchs from the first, Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and David). However, it is more importantly about the miraculous eternal deliverance of the true “Jews”, the body of believers, the church of Jesus Christ (those who are of the faith of Abraham, which include a remnant of both National Israel and the Gentile nations – – Romans 2:28–29; Romans 4:13–16; Galatians 3:26–29). Because the Book of Esther has both an earthly/historical meaning and a heavenly/eternal meaning, it is an “Historical Parable“, which involves significant use of “allegories” and “types“.
The Book of Esther Reveals God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan Through Jesus Christ…From Beginning to End and Forever
Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes for the Book of Esther was to convey (albeit in a concealed manner) most, if not all, of the key elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan in one short (ten chapter) account. The messages of the Book of Esther is the same Gospel message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible as it focuses on the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ. The only difference is that, each time Jesus is found in the Bible, we can learn more about Him and God’s Gospel plan through Him (which glorifies God in the process). However, to truly “see” Jesus (to believe with our hearts and not just our minds), we must have our “spiritual eyes” opened by God. Given that this can be the case, then another purpose for God having provided us with the Book of Esther is that it will edify and strengthen the faith of the saints (the elect of God, the believers).
Perhaps just as significantly, the Book of Esther is also a book of Prophesy, because it culminates with a picture of Judgment Day at the end of creation, and the eternity in Heaven that will follow for all who are counted among the people of Jesus (where Esther is a “Type” for the Church, and Mordecai is a “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ) … and the eternal death and destruction in Hell for all those who are not. The unbelievers will be destroyed for being in league with the devil, for which both Haman and his progenitor, King Agag, also serve as spiritual “Types”
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