Bereansearching Bible Studies

INTRODUCTION

For the curious reader, it should be understood that this study is one of six individually posted “Character Profiles”, which in addition to this one include 1) King Ahasuerus, 2) Vashti, 3) Esther, 3) Heggai/Hatach, and 4) Haman. These profiles are all excerpted from an in-depth, expositional commentary on The Book of Esther which shows, by many examples, how the Book of Esther was crafted by God, through the orchestration of time and space with the Holy Spirit inspired recording of it, to perfectly form an Historical Parable. More clearly stated, the Book of Esther has both an earthly/historical meaning and a heavenly/eternal spiritual meaning, which involves significant use of “allegories” and “types“. This study is one of many posted on this website to show that there are many such Hidden Treasures embedded within the various historical accounts that are recorded in the Bible. The Bible is a Spiritual Book, and the understanding of many of the key aspects of the Bible requires spiritual discernment. It should also be remembered that Jesus only spoke in parables to the multitude for the reasons explained here: “Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?“.

Mordecai, a Jew and an Elder Who Sat in the Gate: A Spiritual Portrait of The Lord Jesus Christ

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.“

Although the meaning of “Mordecai” (מָרְדְּכַי (mārdᵊḵay))^H4782 is not clear, but it is said to mean “little man“, which is interesting, because it was Mordecai’s warning to the king that saved the kingdom and yet he was not remembered.  Does not 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.“

We do know that as a Benjamite, 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 also know that a man, also 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 (see above), the son of Abiel (אֲבִיאֵל (‘ăḇî’ēl)^H22, meaning “El (God) is (my) father“), the son of Zeror (צְרוֹר (ṣᵊrôr)^H6872 meaning “Bundle“), the son of Bechorath (בְּכוֹרַת (bᵊḵôraṯ)^H1064 meaning “First Born“), the son of Aphiah (אֲפִיחַ (‘ăp̄îaḥ)^H647 meaning “I will make to Breathe“), 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 Esther and Mordecai?

It should also be noted that the genealogy provides some additional information that could be pertinent to any study of Mordecai, so let’s 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 (by the Shimei who cursed David?), 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 from king Saul down to Mordecai or Esther). 

However, if both Mordecai and Esther descended from Kish through Saul/Jonathan/Mephibosheth/Micha(h), 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 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 a most interesting irony that if King Saul been obedient to God’s command to kill the Amalekites, then the book of Esther would not have been 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 (Samuel hewed king Agag in pieces in 1 Samuel 15:33)!

However, it clearly served God’s Purpose for history to develop as it did, according to His Will, to ultimately bring Glory and Honor to God through the fulfillment of His Covenant Promise to Abraham (as well as all of the Old Testament prophesies) to bring about the immaculate birth, sinless life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ to save a people for Himself.

Mordecai and Esther, as Benjamites, Likely of King Saul’s House, Fulfilled God’s Command that King Saul Had Disobeyed

So is it not most interesting, yes, even amazing, that, in the book of Esther, those who are possibly the descendants, or at the least, relatives, of King Saul, being all Benjamites, descended from a man named Kish would thus have fulfilled the earlier command of God, which King Saul had failed to do, in putting out the name of Amalek forever. That command’s fulfillment would be 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 one additional irony to be found in the Bible with regard to the Amalekites and King Saul, the son of Kish, because 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 Biblical reference to the slaughter of the Amalekites, which occurred during the reign of Judah’s King Hezekiah (where we are told 1 Chronicles 4:41-43 that 500 men from the tribe of Simeon “smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped)” that some Amalekites must have continued to live until the time of Esther. Given that there are no further mentions of the Amalekites (or Agagites) beyond the Book of Esther, then it is safe to conclude that the death of Haman and his ten sons marked the final end of the line for the Amalekites.[And we should not miss the point that it is also entirely consistent that the Amalekites, who are typological representative of the devil’s host opposed to the eternal Church of Christ, are portrayed in the historical parable of the Book of Esther as being wiped out on Judgment Day.]

Who is Jair?

As noted above, Jair means “He Enlightens“: Jair’s father was “Shimei”, which means “renowned” or “famous“: and his grandfather was “Kish”. As for Jair, we read of a man named Jair in Judges 10:3-5, who was a judge in Israel; and in 1 Chronicles 20:5 of another son of a man named Jair (named Elhanan, which means “God is a gracious giver”) who slew the brother of the giant Goliath.  The genealogical namesakes remind us that Mordecai (like Saul who became Paul) was of a line that should have been cut-off by God, but nonetheless was instead a recipient of God’s grace.

Who is Shimei?

Shimei (or Shimhi or Shimi or Shimea) is also the name of a man descended from Saul who we read about in 2 Samuel 16:5, “And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name [was] Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.”  Later in 2 Samuel 19:16-20, Shimei repented of his sin against David and begged for mercy, and David granted it, as we read in 2 Samuel 19:23, “Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.”  However, in the case of that Shimei, we later read 1 Kings 2:36-46 that because he did not obey King Solomon’s commandment to not cross the Brook Kidron (he turned again to folly), King Solomon had that Shimei put to death. (For more background how this was pre-determined by David immediately before his own death in his last words of instruction to his son Solomon, please see also 1Kings 2:8&9).

It is not possible to definitively rule out that Mordecai (as well as Esther) is descended from this same Benjamite Shimei, because this Shimei could have had children after being spared by king David and his later being put to death by Solomon. If that were so, then this would be another irony in that had David not spared Shimei, then Mordecai and Esther would not have been born…much like the ironic twist wherein if Saul had destroyed Agag and all the Amalekites, then Haman would not have been born.

An Elder in the City

We know that Mordecai was an elder in the city because he sat in the king’s gate.  Further, despite having saved the life of the king, he and his good deed were soon forgotten.  This is similar to the account in Ecclesiastes 9:14&15, “[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.”  Isn’t this similar to the wisdom of Jesus Christ who became poor that the believer’s might become rich in Him.  Didn’t Jesus save His beloved Church, the “city” of the New Jerusalem?  Nonetheless, following the abasement Mordecai suffered by the putting on sackcloth and sitting in ashes, eventually he was exalted to the right hand of the king.  Isn’t this similar to what we read of Jesus?

Regarding the Virtuous Women we read in Proverbs 31:23, “Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.“

Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.“

2 Peter 1:17, “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.“

Also in Revelation 4:11, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.“

In Psalm 145 we read, “(David’s Psalm of praise.) I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.”

Revelation 5:11-13, “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.“

Revelation 7:12, “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.“

 Revelation 19:1, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:“

Mordecai’s Attributes:

Humility

Mordecai was a humble man who did not boast of his having saved the King.

Wisdom

Mordecai always took the wise and appropriate actions towards God and man.

Concern for Others

Mordecai showed compassion to Esther by raising her up as his own daughter and continuing to be concerned about her welfare and that of her (and his) people.

A Man to Whom Glory and Honor Was Ultimately Given

In reviewing the attributes of Mordecai and his portrayal relationship to Jesus in overturning the forces of darkness and receiving honor and glory in ultimate victory we can look to Psalm 21:1-13, “{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!  Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.  For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.  He asked life of thee, [and] thou gavest [it] him, [even] length of days for ever and ever.  His glory [is] great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.  For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.  For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.  Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.  Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath (אַף (‘ap̄))^H639, and the fire shall devour them.  Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.  For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, [which] they are not able [to perform].  Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, [when] thou shalt make ready [thine arrows] upon thy strings against the face of them.  Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: [so] will we sing and praise thy power.“

1 Timothy 6:14-16, “That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, [who is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

And it cannot be anymore clear than what we also find emphasized in Revelation 19:16, “And he (Jesus) hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.“

(Note that in both Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7 we can read of a man named Mordecai, clearly considered to have been a senior person at the time, who was taken into captivity by the King of Babylon and later returned after the captivity.  The dates of the various Medo-Persian kings is not entirely clear, but there is at least the possibility that this could be the very same Mordecai who, with Esther, had first been moved to Persia following the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon.)

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