For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with the multitude of his brothers, for he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people.
The book of Esther ends with a single verse about one man. It sums up the whole reversal: the Jew marked for death now stands nearest the throne of the great king. Commentators read it as a portrait of true greatness and as a picture of Christ.
An ending that reverses the whole story
The last chapter sets two great men side by side: the king and his minister. One writer sums up how far the reversal goes.
William KellyThe book closes with an account of the greatness of the realm of the king, and also of Mordecai his minister... This is a fitting close to this most remarkable book. The Jew is delivered from all his distresses and brought into the nearest place to the great king. He is no longer the victim of the hatred of the Gentile. Instead he has authority over all, to carry out vengeance on all who would kill the descendants of Abraham.
Greatness that never dropped the name "the Jew"
The verse does not simply say Mordecai was great; it says he was "Mordecai the Jew" while being second to the king. That detail carries the moral weight of the whole picture.
William KellyIt is a beautiful picture. The king was great in his power and his might. His chief minister was morally greater still, because he administered faithfully. He never forgot that he was "Mordecai the Jew." Though second to the king, he sought no favourite and no party, and yet he "was great among the Jews and accepted by the multitude of his brothers." It was faith in the Unseen that sustained and guided him. So he did not seek his own advancement. He sought the good of his people, and spoke peace to all his descendants.
The four phrases, and where they land
One writer takes the verse clause by clause. He links each phrase to an earlier figure in Israel's history, and hears in the last words the start of something new. (Older translations end the verse "speaking peace to all his seed"; the ESV has "spoke peace to all his people".)
H. L. RossierBut this verse gives special notice to Mordecai's character toward his people: "great among the Jews," prospering in his splendour (Ps. 45:4); "accepted of the multitude of his brothers," as David the son of Jesse had been before him (1 Sam. 18:5); "seeking the welfare of his people," as the true David, the Anointed, will seek the welfare of Jerusalem (Ps. 122:9), or as the Lord will plan to do good to the house of Judah (Zech. 8:15); "speaking peace to all his seed." So this book closes at the moment when the reign of peace begins. All this people, once oppressed, are recognised as the race of Mordecai. What an ending!
A shadow of Christ exalted
One writer sets Mordecai beside Joseph, and reads both as a picture of Christ's place now. Neither Haman nor Satan saw what God was doing.
An Outline of Sound WordsLike Joseph in Egypt, Mordecai rose to a position next to the king. Both point to the high place Christ the Son of God has entered as Man, at God's right hand in heaven. Haman had no idea, when plotting the death of Mordecai, that God had marked him out for such a place of glory in the kingdom of Persia. Satan had no idea either when he used men to crucify and kill the Son of God. In His counsels God had marked out the One whom men would kill as the "Man of His right hand."
Another writer applies the verse's last two phrases to the Lord Himself. Their full meaning is still ahead.
Michael HardtThe Lord has always been "seeking the welfare of his people," even during His lifetime on earth. But at that time the majority rejected Him. In the day to come, His people will recognise this and enjoy it. He will not only seek but will bestow the greatest welfare on them, and "speak peace to all his seed."
The hidden hand behind the ending
Nothing in the verse mentions God. That silence runs through the whole book, and one writer finds comfort in it.
William KellyAll this was given during the day of the cloud — of the darkness — of the dispersion — of the non-recognition of the Jew. The name of God is entirely absent from it. It is the secret power of God working through circumstances that might seem awkward. But what a comfort to us! We too have to do with the same providence of God — not working to the same end... but we have to do with the same God; only — thank God — He does not disown us.
Summary
- Hidden. God's name never appears in Esther. Yet this closing verse is His work — His secret power moving through circumstances that looked awkward.
- Faithful. Second in the empire, Mordecai never stopped being "Mordecai the Jew." Faith in the Unseen kept him from seeking a party, a favourite, or his own advancement.
- Exalted. The plot to kill Mordecai ended in his glory. As Joseph rose in Egypt, so Christ, the One men killed, is now the Man at God's right hand.
- Accepted. "Great among the Jews" and welcomed by his brothers, Mordecai stands where the once-rejected Christ will one day stand among His own people.
- Peace. The book ends on the word "peace" — the once-oppressed people are now counted as Mordecai's own, and the reign of peace begins.