20141008 Wednesday, October 8 2014
Esther 10: What Did Joseph, Daniel and Mordecai Do?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt ... only in the throne will I be greater than thou"

The Israelites have had a unique history. They were and are a "normal" nation of people, born of the nations all around them (see The Origin Of Israelites And Jews), but given a purpose, very-often despite themselves, to facilitate the coming of the Messiah of all people. For that reason, Israel (i.e. specifically, Judah; see Jews - Three Tribes and Three Meanings), as a nation, has survived events and circumstances that have consumed many other nations into oblivion.

The example of the rise of three Israelites who became the second in authority to a foreign (a word that means far reign i.e. a ruler from outside of one's own borders) king that ruled or conquered people of Israel is a testimony that the purpose of the LORD (Who was and is Jesus Christ - see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God) cannot be overcome by anyone.

The Israelite patriarch Joseph rose from a dungeon prisoner in Egypt to the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh (see Joseph's Coat Of Many Colours, The Pharaoh's Dreams and Joseph's Revelation).

"37:23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 37:24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

37:25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

37:26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh.

And his brethren were content.

37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt." (Genesis 37:23-28 KJV)

The Pharaoh of that time (see How Long Were They Slaves?) recognized that "Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art."

"41:39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

41:44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On.

And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 41:39-45 KJV)

"Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon"

The prophet Daniel was one of the people of Judah who were taken into exile by the Babylonians (see The Prophet Daniel: A Child Of The Exile). Nevertheless, as happened with Joseph and the Pharaoh of Egypt, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon recognized (see The Prophet Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar's Image) that "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings." So it was that he made Daniel the Prime Minister of Babylon - second only to Nebuchadnezzar himself.

"2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Daniel 2:31-49 KJV)

Daniel lived to see the first part of the prophecy that made him the Prime Minister of Babylon - the fall of Babylon to Persia. Although Persian kings (Persia has been known as Iran since the 1920s; Daniel's tomb in Iran is shown in the photograph) then became Daniel's rulers, they too soon recognized that "the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end" (see also The Prophecies Of Cyrus of Persia and The Prophet Daniel: The Den Of Lions).

"6:25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth;

Peace be multiplied unto you.

6:26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

6:28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." (Daniel 6:25-28 KJV)

"Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus"

So too, in the time of Esther (who also became second to the king - see the Fact Finder question below), Mordecai "the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus."

"10:1 And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. 10:2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed." (Esther 10:1-3 KJV)

Fact Finder: How did Esther become queen of Persia? How did Mordecai become the Prime Minister of Persia?
See How Hadassah Of Benjamin Became The Queen Of Persia, Mordecai In The Persian History Books and What Does Purim Mean?