And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai.
Mordecai sits at the palace gate and overhears two doorkeepers plotting to kill the king. The moment looks small, but commentators see God's hand in every link of it.
The warning and how it travelled
The gate was no quiet corner. People there discussed the business of the kingdom, and that is how the plot reached Mordecai.
Leslie M. GrantMordecai was sitting in the gate, a place where people discussed many matters, especially the business of the kingdom. There he learned that two of the king's servants who were doorkeepers were bitter against the king and plotted his overthrow. He was able to tell this to Esther, who informed the king in Mordecai's name. The king had the matter investigated. Mordecai's warning proved true, so the two conspirators were hanged, and the incident went into the book of the chronicles of the king of Persia.
Every link arranged
One writer traces every step of this to a single cause — who overheard the plot, whose ear received it, and what went into the royal records.
H. L. RossierIt was Providence that led those two doorkeepers to speak their plans out where Mordecai could hear. Providence had prepared Esther's ear to receive this communication. Providence had arranged that these matters be recorded in the book of the chronicles in the king's very presence. More and more, the hidden current follows its course to lead us to final deliverance under a reign of peace and righteousness.
God's name never appears anywhere in the book of Esther. One writer takes that silence as the point:
J. N. DarbyIt has often been remarked that the name of God is not found in the Book of Esther. This is characteristic. God does not show Himself. But behind the power and the mistakes of that throne to which the government of the world had fallen, God holds the reins by His providence.
Why Esther's silence made it possible
Esther had still not told anyone where she came from. One writer ties that silence to this verse:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinSuppose Esther had revealed her connection. Suppose it had become known that Mordecai at the gate was her uncle and she his adopted daughter. Then he would not have stayed in that obscure position before the gate. Then the conspirators would have been cautious and not spoken within the hearing of such a person so closely related to the queen. Mordecai learned of the plan against the king's life only because nobody knew who he was, and so nobody paid any attention to him.
Loyal to the throne, not to the enemy
Why would an exile guard the life of the ruler who held his people captive?
H. L. RossierMordecai quietly watched over Esther with touching care. That did not stop him from watching over the king himself, 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. The plot of the two doorkeepers came to his knowledge while he was in the king's gate. He did not hesitate for a moment. He turned to Esther, to expose this treacherous plan and so protect the life of Ahasuerus.
Mordecai's loyalty to the king had limits. One writer lists others who drew the same kind of line:
An Outline of Sound WordsThe faithful few in the day of captivity, itself a day of confusion, carried themselves beautifully. They saw the difference between things that differed, and did not hopelessly give everything up. Daniel would advise the king, but not eat his food. Mordecai would guard the king's life, but would not bow to the Amalekite… And all this has a voice for us. Our own day, in its character of confusion, is no better than those days of the captives.
Rewarded late, and on purpose
The traitors are dealt with at once. The man who saved the king gets nothing yet.
William KellyThe traitors were found guilty. But the benefactor was strangely forgotten until the time of real need arose. That delay only made his reward the surer, and it came at last to the confusion of the enemy. Secret providence ordered everything rightly, however trying appearances might be.
Nothing forgotten
Mordecai's words went into a book, and then nothing happened. One writer sees a wider rule at work:
J. G. BellettEvery secret thing must reach the day when it comes to light. Mordecai's word to the king about Teresh and Bigthana, the two doorkeepers, was forgotten or neglected until now. It must now be remembered… For there is nothing hidden that shall not come out. God lets nothing pass. Mordecai's act shall not always be forgotten. It shall be recognised, and that in the very face of his great adversary.
Summary
- Overheard — A gate was a place of public talk; an unknown exile heard what he was never meant to hear.
- Hidden — Nobody knew who Mordecai was, and that obscurity is what let him hear the plot.
- Passed on — Mordecai told Esther, Esther told the king, and she put his name on the warning.
- Written — The warning went into the royal records. The writers see God's hand, not luck, in every link.
- Remembered — The reward waited for the hour when it would most confound the enemy. Nothing done in loyalty is lost.