Esther had not made known her people nor her birth; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
Esther enters the king's house with one thing kept back. She says nothing about her family or her nation, because Mordecai has told her not to. Two questions follow. Was the silence right? And why does Scripture stop to record it?
Behind the silence stands Mordecai. Esther had grown up in his house, and his word still ruled her.
Mordecai brought up his cousin Esther in his home as though she were his own daughter, and between them there was a very close and loving relationship. Esther was marked above all else by her obedience to Mordecai's orders, whether or not she understood what they were for. He had forbidden her to declare her people or her birth, and Esther obeyed. She did what Mordecai told her, just as she had when she was brought up in his house (v. 20). The time had not yet come to declare her origin.
Commentators differ on whether the silence was right. Some call it plain providence. Others refuse to clear it, and question the marriage itself.
On Mordecai's advice, Esther had not revealed her nationality (v. 10). Some have thought this was deception. Without taking sides in the matter, we know that God used the whole situation to bring great blessing to the Jews, even though He would not let His name be tied to all that was done. In fact, we may well ask whether a Jewish woman should think of marrying a Persian, king or not, and whether Mordecai should encourage such a match.
The account itself passes no verdict, and the crisis is already near.
Whatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter, Scripture is silent here. It neither accuses nor excuses. And we do not wait long before the vital question is raised. The Jews must either perish or be delivered beyond all outward hope — yet with no sign, no wonder, no miracle.
One writer weighs the motive behind the order.
Mordecai was not content that the Jews should be despised in this foreign land. He had ambitions for his adopted daughter, who might be a means by which the Jews would receive more honor. We cannot say that God ordered Mordecai into this project, for Mordecai's object was not the honor of God, but the blessing of the Jews.
One writer sees God's hand in it, starting with a fact about Esther's parents.
This has been called deception, unusual cleverness, and cowardice. It was none of these. God's providence ordered it. Esther's parents were dead, so hiding her nationality was not hard. Had her parents lived, it would have been next to impossible. If people had known she belonged to a foreign race, plots to destroy her would soon have started. Haman's wicked plan may even then have been taking shape.
The secret covered Mordecai as much as Esther, and it paid off at the palace gate.
If Esther had revealed the connection, and it had become known that Mordecai at the gate was her uncle and she his adopted daughter, he would not have stayed in that unnoticed place at the gate. The plotters would then have been careful. They would not have spoken where someone so closely tied to the queen could hear. Mordecai learned of the planned attempt on the King's life because nobody knew who he was, and so nobody took any notice of him.
The hiding reaches further than one secret — into the queen's name, and into the book itself.
Esther's name means "I will be hidden." Her identity stayed hidden even after she became the wife of Ahasuerus. God too is hidden from view in the book of Esther.
One writer reads the hidden queen as a picture of what is still to come — a people not yet owned before the world, but already loved.
Although she is acknowledged as queen, what she really is has not yet been shown. Mordecai, who in fact had all authority over her, had commanded her not to make known her birth. It will be the same at the time of the end. Before the Lord openly acknowledges the origin of His Jewish wife, He will have His wife in the form of a despised and persecuted remnant. She will not yet be shown to the world, yet she will still find grace in the eyes of many. Her beauty will be known to her Husband before He can present her to the world.
- Hidden name. Esther means "I will be hidden." She stays hidden as queen, in a book where God's name never appears.
- Hidden obedience. She keeps silent because Mordecai told her to. Obedience marks her, whether or not she knew his reason.
- Hidden danger. Her parents were dead, so the secret was easy to keep. Had her nation been known, plots against her would have started at once.
- Hidden advantage. The same secret left Mordecai unnoticed at the gate. There he overheard the plot against the king.
- Hidden verdict. Scripture neither accuses nor excuses the silence. Writers differ over it, but agree that God used it all to bless His people.
And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
Esther has been taken into the king's harem, and she keeps her Jewish background quiet. Her guardian cannot follow her inside, so he walks outside the women's quarters every day for news of her.
Esther is inside the women's quarters, and Mordecai can only pace outside. That small, repeated action tells us what she meant to him.
Mordecai walking daily before the court of the women's house proves his great concern for his adopted daughter.
Another writer notices that Mordecai's care ran in two directions at once.
Mordecai himself secretly watches over Esther with touching care. This does not stop him from also watching over the person of the king, whom God had given him as master through the fault of the people. All this is very lovely, and shows that Mordecai had a great understanding of the mind of God and a rare submission to His will.
Esther's silence about her people has been judged harshly. One writer answers those charges.
This has been called deception, extraordinary cleverness, and cowardice. It was none of these. Divine Providence arranged it this way. Since Esther's parents were dead, hiding her nationality was not difficult. If her parents had been alive, it would have been next to impossible. If people had known that she belonged to the foreign race, plots to destroy her would soon have started.
Commentators differ here. Another writer is willing to question Mordecai's motives in the whole project, while still holding that God was at work in it.
Mordecai was not content to see the Jews despised in this foreign land. He had ambitions for his adopted daughter, who might become a way for the Jews to receive more honour. This is not to be the Christian attitude, and we cannot say that God ordered Mordecai to take on this project. Mordecai's object was not the honour of God, but the blessing of the Jews. On the other hand, God was concerned about the Jews too, though He could not associate His name with them at the time.
The verse tells us what Mordecai did, and passes no verdict on him.
Whatever we may think of Mordecai or of Esther in this matter, Scripture is silent here, neither accusing nor excusing. We do not have long to wait before the vital question is raised. Then the Jews must either perish, or be delivered beyond all outward hope — yet without sign, wonder, or miracle.
Mordecai acts in plain view. One writer points to two more actors the book never names.
God was acting for Israel behind the scenes, and Mordecai was acting for God before the scenes. Notice that neither Israel's best Friend nor their worst enemy is named even once in the book of Esther. Yet the whole book is full of the actions of both.
The missing name is not a sign that God had stopped caring.
God does not show Himself. But God holds the reins by His providence, behind the power and the mistakes of that throne to which the government of the world had fallen. He watches over the fulfilment of His purposes and over everything needed for it. And He cares for His people, whatever their condition may be or the power of their enemies.
One writer follows this background figure forward to what he will do next.
Meanwhile Mordecai is there, in the background but full of interest in Esther's well-being. At the right moment he carries out a deed of tremendous value to the king: he discovers and stops a plot. This deed will turn out to be the basis for Esther's salvation and for that of her people. It reminds us of the greatest deed ever carried out by the true Mordecai: the work of Christ on the cross.
- Hidden — Esther hides her people, and the book never names God. What is hidden in this verse runs through the whole story.
- Watching — his daily walk outside the women's court proves how much he cared for the girl he had raised.
- Behind — Mordecai acts for God in front of the scenes. God acts for His people behind them, holding the reins by His providence.
- Silent — Scripture neither accuses nor excuses Mordecai and Esther here. Commentators differ on whether his ambitions for her were right.
- Revealed — the man pacing in the background will later stop a plot against the king, and that deed becomes the basis of his people's rescue.