Est 2:22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name.

The book of Esther is the only book in the Bible in which there is no mention of God. Yet, we can see that God was active in Esther, working behind the scenes. God was always ahead of Satan. God knew what Satan was up to. And so, He prepared things in advance to counter the devil’s attack. God prepared for a Jewish girl to become the queen of Persia. The idea was unthinkable. How could a Jewish girl become queen of Persia? Well, no one knew Esher was a Jew except Mordecai. King Ahasuerus, in his drunken stupor, put away her queen. So began the search for a new queen. So it was, a decree went out that every fair young virgins be brought into the palace. Esther was taken to the king’s palace. It seems that Esther didn’t really have a choice about this. A few things we see in this chapter that show forth God was working behind the scene. 1. Vashti was removed as queen and the search for a new queen (v.1-2). 2. A Jewish girl, Esther, became queen of Persia (v.17). 3. The identity of Esther was to be kept secret (v.10). The purpose was revealed later and which came in handy for good use (chapter 7). 4. Mordecai unfolded an assassination conspiracy against the king, saving the king’s life (v.21-22). 5. But Mordecai was not immediately rewarded for saving the king’s life. Nevertheless, his deed was recorded in the chronicles of the king (v.23). God sees to it that the reward should come when the time is ripe (chapter 6). God had everything planned ahead for the devil to strike. God knows the future; the devil doesn’t. Satan can never win when his opponent is God. Who was Mordecai? He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin (v.5). Esther was his uncle’s daughter (v.7). This means they were cousins. Obviously, Mordecai was much older than Esther, for the Scripture says when Esther’s parents died, Mordecai took care of her as his own daughter (v.7). Mordecai learned about an assassination attempt on the Persian king. He told Esther, and she informed the king in Mordecai’s name (v.21-23). Why would Mordecai want to save a pagan king’s life? But, as the story progresses, we are glad he did. Thankfully, Mordecai’s attitude wasn’t “I’m a Jewish man in exile under a pagan king, so I do not care if he is killed.” Like Daniel, he was loyal to the king. Peter wrote: “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king” (1 Peter 2:17). As Christians, we are commanded to “honour the king”. It means we are to submit to governments. Paul says governments are ordained by God and we are to obey them in all things lawful (Romans 13:1). He says one of the purposes of its existence is to restrain anarchy (Romans 13:3). If human governments do not exist, we would be in a state of total anarchy. Anarchy brings hardship and terror to the common people. Hence, a bad government is better than no government. Paul warns: “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God” (Romans 13:2). To resist government is to resist the ordinance of God. Therefore, if the government’s decisions are not a manifest violation of the laws of God, we are to submit to them. Let us pray for our government that they be wise in their governing so “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2b).