And all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
The book of Esther closes like a page from a state archive. It files two things side by side — the king's power, and the rise of Mordecai the Jew — so which greatness does the last page really want us to see?
What these chronicles were
The verse points to another set of books: the royal records of Media and Persia. One writer explains what such records were — and what they were not:
H. L. RossierThese chronicles were drawn up during the reigns of all the rulers of those times, whether Jewish or Gentile. They have nothing to do with the Word of God. What it has not pleased the Lord to record or explain is found written there. These chronicles have been lost; perhaps someone will one day find fragments of them. The believer has no need of any of them; he has God's Word. There, in God's account, he finds all that is necessary for him, along with the divine evaluation of people, events, and things.
Esther's last verse points to a record that no longer exists. What God meant to keep, He kept in His Word.
The book that had once passed him over
This is not the first time Persia's chronicles appear in the story. Earlier, a sleepless king called for them and found a record of Mordecai's loyalty that had never been rewarded:
C. H. MackintoshOn that sleepless night, nothing must be brought in to pass the king's weary hours except "the book of the records of the chronicles." Strange entertainment for a self-indulgent king! But God was behind all this. There was a certain record in that book about "a certain Jew" — and it had to come at once under the eye of the restless king. Mordecai had to come into notice.
The same archive that once held a forgotten act now holds the full account of his greatness.
Power that impresses, and passes
The verse joins two subjects: the king's might and Mordecai's advancement. Only one of them lasts.
Leslie M. GrantThis remarkable book closes with the announcement of the greatness of the Persian Empire as ruled by King Ahasuerus. As with every other kingdom of the nations, however, this magnificence was only fleeting. Alexander the Great rose very swiftly to the head of the Grecian Empire. He overcame and displaced the Persian Empire, just as the Lord had prophesied through His servant Daniel (Dan. 8:4-7; 8:20-21). But for a brief time Ahasuerus accomplished great things — above all because he had advanced Mordecai the Jew to a position of great prominence.
Greatness measured by character, not office
The verse names the king's "power and might." One writer sets a different kind of greatness beside it:
William KellyIt is a beautiful picture of a king great in his power and his might. Morally greater is the faithful administration of the prime minister, who never forgot that he was "Mordecai the Jew"... It was faith in the Unseen that sustained and guided him. So he sought not personal advancement but the good of his people.
The one who advances him
Mordecai did not seize his rank; the king advanced him. Commentators see in that a picture of a greater exaltation still to come:
Michael HardtAll of these points prefigure the coming exaltation of Christ among His people, the Jews. The time of the Gentiles, when the nations trample Jerusalem down, will have come to an end (Lk. 21:24)... Christ will reign supreme, not only in Israel, but to the ends of the earth (Ps. 72:8; Zech. 9:10). It will be God Himself who "advances" the Man of His counsel (Isa. 46:11) to such glory.
Another writer explains why Mordecai had to be lifted so high:
H. L. RossierOne man must become the liberator of the people. Here again we find in Mordecai such an interesting picture of Christ. For this, he first had to humble himself to the lowest degree, in sackcloth and ashes, and then be raised to the highest dignity.
Summary
- Recorded. The verse sends us to Persia's royal records. Rulers kept such books, Jewish and Gentile alike, and they are now lost. The believer needs none of them. He has God's Word, and God's own evaluation of people and events.
- Remembered. The same records once held a loyal deed that nobody had rewarded. God stood behind a king's sleepless night and brought Mordecai into notice.
- Raised. The king advanced him. Mordecai's greatness came as a gift, not a grab. Commentators see here God Himself advancing the Man of His counsel: the lowest humbling first, then the highest place.
- Rated. The king was great in power and might. His minister was morally greater. He still called himself "Mordecai the Jew," faith in the Unseen held him up, and he sought his people's good, not his own.
- Replaced. Persia's splendour was brief. Alexander took the empire, just as the Lord had prophesied through Daniel. What lasts on this page is the greatness of the man the king raised up.