Evil counsel overruled.
When a king takes counsel of flatterers and favourites, it bodes no good either to himself or to his people. Such parasites think only how they may make their masters' vices the stepping-stones to their own preferment and power. And a king encompassed with adulation, and encouraged to gratify his own passions, is not likely to rule over his subjects with justice or with wisdom. The ministers of Ahasuerus, in advising him to have his provinces ransacked for beautiful girls, to be brought to him for his approval, that from among the multitude he might select a consort to succeed the disobedient Vashti, were animated by a desire to please the voluptuous monarch, and so to strengthen their own position and influence. Yet even counsel so nefarious was overruled by Divine providence for good.
I. THIS ADVICE WAS IN ITSELF BAD. Oriental despots were encouraged to lead a life of self-indulgence. Yet the counsel given to Ahasuerus passed all bounds of decency.
1. It was bad for the king, who was thereby led to think of his own sensual gratification, rather than of the cares of state which properly devolved upon him.
2. It was bad for the young women themselves, all whose thoughts were engrossed by their desire and plans to please the monarch, and who were encouraged to regard themselves in no higher light than as instruments of royal pleasure.
3. It was bad for the population generally; for the families from amongst whom the maidens were taken to supply the harem of the king, and for the young men who were deprived of wives whose beauty and amiability might assist them in living a virtuous and honourable life.
II. THIS ADVICE WAS NEVERTHELESS OVERRULED FOR GOOD. HOW apparent is this principle to every thorough student of history, to every careful observer of life! How confirmatory of our belief in a general and particular Providence l
1. The policy in question was directly overruled for the advancement of Esther. A virtuous, benevolent, and deserving girl was raised from an obscure position to one of eminence and influence.
2. And this policy was indirectly overruled for the deliverance of a nation. Vashti was deposed; Esther was raised to power; Mordecai was enabled to communicate with the throne; Haman was defeated and disgraced; Israel was delivered from the enemy. Such were the links in this chain of Providence.
Lessons:—
1. We have no right to give evil counsel in the hope that good may issue from it, to "do evil that good may come."
2. We must not be discouraged when tyrants and flatterers seem to have their own way. The Lord reigneth. He has a thousand ways of fulfilling his own purposes. He bringeth the counsel of men to nought.
3. We must at all times trust and hope in the Lord. He bringeth forth their righteousness as the light, and their judgment as the noon-day. Our extremity is his opportunity. They that trust in him shall never be moved.
4. For we cannot forget that the evil counsel of Caiaphas, the greed or ambition of Judas, the weakness of Pilate, the fury of the Jews, were all overruled for the salvation of mankind!
A captive Hebrew.
Among "the children of the captivity" were some remarkable instances of high character, beautiful patriotism, sincere and conspicuous piety. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel come before the mind of the student of the later books of the Old Testament as persons who would have been an honour to any nation, any age, any condition of life. Mordecai may claim to rank with, or only just below, these noble men. His career furnishes us with several striking illustrations of the wisdom and efficiency of the plans of Divine providence.
I. We see, in Mordecai's life, now PROVIDENCE PREPARES BEFOREHAND FOR THE EVENTS OF AFTER YEARS. Both in his rearing and nurturing his young cousin Esther, and in his preserving the king's life by discovering the plot of the eunuchs, Mordecai was unconsciously preparing himself for the great service which was his chief claim to be held in remembrance and honour. How often do we observe the same fact—the unconscious education of his people by the Lord for the future work to which he destines them!
II. We see, in Mordecai's life, now PROVIDENCE CAN RAISE THE LOWLIEST TO THE LOFTIEST POSITION. He was a Jew, a captive exile, a eunuch probably, a servant in some lowly capacity in the palace. Yet he came to be acknowledged as "the man whom the king delighted to honour." He came to be in the king's favour, "was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater," and became "next unto king Ahasuerus." God, in his wisdom, often "exalteth them of low degree."
III. We see, in Mordecai's life, HOW PROVIDENCE CAN USE THE UNLIKELIEST INSTRUMENT TO DO GREAT SERVICE. Everything we know about this man leads us to the belief, that in selecting him for the work God chose to do by human means, Divine wisdom evinced independence of and superiority to the standards and the expectations of men. Our confidence should be shaken in the plans of men, should be strengthened in the wisdom of God. And we should beware of scorning any child of God, and of counting the lowly as unworthy of confidence and esteem. "Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another."