Intermediate Level, Block 8, Week 80: Mordecai—Being a Noble and Honorable Man

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Intermediate Level, Block 8—Recovery

Week 80
Mordecai—Being a Noble and Honorable Man

Point to Emphasize: We can be those who are noble and honorable.

Reading Reference: Esther 2—5; 7—8

Memory Verse: For we exercise foresight for what is honorable not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men. (2 Corinthians 8:21)

Story Sample

Last week we talked about Esther and how she stood up for her people. How do you think she became such a person who would do such a thing? Well, I think it was because of who raised her. Do you remember that she was an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai? So today I would like to tell you something about Mordecai and what a noble and honorable person he was. The dictionary says that a noble person is one who shows fine personal qualities or high moral principles.

First, Mordecai raised Esther as if she were his child. Mordecai was willing to do all the things parents do, yet Esther was not even his real daughter. Was there a law saying that since he was a relative he must take care of her? NO! He could have let her as an orphan and have someone else take care of her, BUT he decided that he would become like a father to her. He raised her to be obedient, someone who would one day be worthy of being queen. This was a very honorable thing to do.

Second, he was noble in reporting the truth. After Esther became queen, Mordecai remained in the king’s gate so that he could continue to watch out for her. Each day as he was sitting in the king’s gate, there were two guards at the gate. These two were responsible for the gate of the king’s palace. But they were not happy with the king. They were so angry that they began to plot how they might lay their hands on the king and do him harm. Mordecai heard them plotting and reported it to Esther, who then reported it to the king. When the king found out, he punished the two men for what they were planning to do.

When I was in the third grade, one day my teacher left the room. While she was gone, a boy went up to the blackboard and wrote something disrespectful about the teacher on the board. When the teacher came back, she was upset when she saw it and asked who had done it. The boy raised his hand and told her that the girl sitting next to him had done it. No one in the classroom said anything. It was bothering me so much that I finally raised my hand. I told her that she had not done it but the boy had done it. This wasn’t easy to do. It would have been easier to have stayed quiet like everyone else in the class, but that would have been very wrong. The only right thing to do was to tell the truth.

Third, Mordecai refused to bow down to anyone but God, because he would not agree to worship a man. A man named Haman had been placed above all the princes in the kingdom and he wanted all the people to bow down to him. Haman was only a man. He was not God. Since Mordecai was a Jew he would only honor and worship God by bowing. We need to learn from Mordecai. No person should ever be lifted way above others. No person should be idolized. A person may be very good at this or that, maybe even the best, but they are still only people. We should only worship our God.

The book of Esther ends with Mordecai being well-regarded. The last verse of the book of Esther ends with a verse that speaks of him being well-regarded by his fellow Jews, not because of the high position he attained, but because he sought the good of his people. The last verse also says that he spoke for the people’s welfare. By caring for Esther as an orphan and guiding her to have a proper heart toward God and His people, Mordecai, through Esther, saved all the Jews from being destroyed. What a wonderful way to end the story of Esther!

We can all be noble and honorable like Mordecai. We may be too young to raise a child, but we are old enough to care for others. And we can all learn to tell the truth even when it is hard to do. It is so good that we are in families that love God and worship only Him. As we grow, we can also be those honorable and noble people who choose to love and worship God.

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