The Unseen Hinge of Providence Text: Esther 2:21-23
Introduction: God Behind the Scenes
The book of Esther is famous for what it does not contain. There is no mention of God, no mention of the Temple, no mention of the law of Moses, no mention of prayer. And yet, there is no book in the canon where the hand of God is more manifestly present. God is not named, but He is everywhere assumed. He is the author of the story, the one moving all the pieces on the board. The book of Esther is a master class in the doctrine of providence. It teaches us that God governs all things, from the grand decrees of pagan kings down to the resentful whispers of disgruntled palace guards. Nothing is accidental.
We live in an age that is tone deaf to providence. We are materialists by default. When things happen, we look for the political cause, the economic cause, the social cause. But the Scriptures teach us to look for the ultimate cause. Behind the strutting of kings, the conspiracies of courtiers, and the hatred of God's enemies, there is a sovereign God who works all things according to the counsel of His will. He does this not just in the big, flashy miracles, but in the mundane, everyday occurrences that seem trivial at the time.
The passage before us is a perfect example of this. On the surface, it is a simple palace intrigue, a footnote in the court records of a Persian despot. Mordecai, a Jewish exile, happens to be in the right place at the right time. He overhears a plot, does his civic duty, the traitors are caught, and that's that. It seems like a minor event, easily forgotten. But this small, almost incidental affair is the hinge upon which the entire history of the Jewish people in Persia will turn. God is placing a crucial piece of information into the king's records, a piece that will lie dormant, waiting for the precise moment when it is needed to save His people from annihilation. This is how God works. He loads the gun in chapter two so that He can fire it in chapter six.
We must learn to read our own lives this way. We are not the victims of blind chance. The little things, the "coincidences," the chance encounters, the things we do out of simple faithfulness without any thought of future reward, are all woven into the grand tapestry of God's purpose. God is always at work, setting the stage for deliverances we cannot yet see. This little story about two angry eunuchs is a profound encouragement to faithfulness in the small things, because we serve a great God who uses small things to accomplish His mighty purposes.
The Text
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. But the matter became known to Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther said it to the king in Mordecai’s name. Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence.
(Esther 2:21-23 LSB)
Faithfulness at the Gate (v. 21)
We begin with the setting and the conspiracy.
"In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus." (Esther 2:21)
Mordecai is "sitting at the king's gate." This was not a place for loitering. The gate of a city like Susa was the center of civic life. It was the courthouse, the city hall, and the public square all in one. To be "at the king's gate" indicates that Mordecai held some kind of official, albeit likely minor, position in the Persian administration. He is not a revolutionary. He is not a zealot trying to overthrow the government. He is a man working within the system of a pagan empire, a faithful servant of a pagan king. This is important. Some Christians have a romantic, but unbiblical, notion that faithfulness requires us to be in perpetual opposition to every secular institution. But here is Mordecai, whose name likely means "man of Marduk," serving the king of Persia. Like Daniel, Joseph, and Obadiah who served in Ahab's court, Mordecai understands that God can place His people in strategic positions for His own purposes.
While Mordecai is simply doing his job, a plot is hatched. Two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, became "furious." The text does not tell us the reason for their fury. Perhaps they were passed over for a promotion. Perhaps they had a personal grievance against Ahasuerus. In the economy of the story, the reason does not matter. What matters is that their fury is a manifestation of the chaos and instability that always simmers beneath the surface of godless power. Pagan empires project an image of absolute strength, but they are internally rotten with envy, ambition, and treachery. These men, entrusted with guarding the king's own door, are the very ones who seek to kill him. This is the world apart from God, a world of backstabbing and conspiracies.
A Chain of Righteous Communication (v. 22)
The plot is discovered, and the information moves through the proper channels.
"But the matter became known to Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther said it to the king in Mordecai’s name." (Esther 2:22 LSB)
How did the matter become known to Mordecai? The text doesn't say. Perhaps he overheard them speaking in their native tongue, which they assumed a Jewish official would not understand. Perhaps someone tipped him off. The storyteller is not interested in the mechanics of the eavesdropping; he is interested in the hand of God. Providence arranged for this deadly secret to fall into the ears of the one man in Susa who would know what to do with it. This was not luck; it was divine orchestration.
And what does Mordecai do? He doesn't try to leverage the information for personal gain. He doesn't try to blackmail the conspirators. He simply and faithfully reports what he heard. He acts as a loyal subject to the king. He tells Esther, who now has access to the king's presence. Notice the chain of command. Mordecai tells Esther, and Esther tells the king. But she is careful to do it "in Mordecai's name." This is not just about giving credit where it is due. It is another providential detail. Esther ensures that Mordecai's name, and his act of loyalty, are officially linked. She is a wise and faithful conduit. Both Mordecai and Esther are acting with integrity and wisdom, doing the right thing in their respective stations, with no thought of what it might mean for them down the road.
Justice Recorded and Forgotten (v. 23)
The verse concludes with the resolution of the plot and, most importantly, its documentation.
"Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence." (Esther 2:23 LSB)
The pagan king does what pagan kings do best when their authority is challenged. An investigation is launched, the plot is confirmed, and swift, brutal justice is executed. The traitors are hanged on a gallows, a foreshadowing of the fate that will await another, far greater enemy of God's people. The immediate threat is neutralized. The king is safe.
But the most important action in this entire episode is the last clause: "and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king's presence." The king's scribes dutifully record the event. Mordecai, the Jew, saved the king's life. The record is filed away. And then, nothing happens. Mordecai is not rewarded. He is not promoted. He goes back to his post at the king's gate. The king forgets. The court forgets. Everyone forgets. Everyone, that is, except God.
This is the quiet genius of divine providence. God has just deposited a check into Mordecai's account, but He does not allow him to cash it yet. The value of this good deed is going to accrue interest. It is being saved for the moment of maximum impact, the moment of desperate need. When Haman's genocidal plot is in full swing, when all seems lost, the king will have a sleepless night. And what will he do? He will call for the book of the chronicles to be read to him (Esther 6:1). And the book will just "happen" to be opened to this very page. The forgotten good deed will be remembered at the precise moment it is needed to turn the tables entirely.
Conclusion: The God of Small Things
This short narrative is a microcosm of the Christian life. We are called to be faithful in the here and now, in the mundane and the ordinary. We are called to do our jobs, to be good citizens, to speak the truth, to act with integrity. Most of the time, our faithfulness will go unnoticed and unrewarded by the world. We may do the right thing and be completely forgotten, or even punished for it.
But we must remember that nothing is ever forgotten by God. He is the great recorder. He sees every act of quiet faithfulness. He is weaving all of it, the good and the bad, the conspiracies of the wicked and the integrity of the righteous, into His perfect plan. The world runs on conspiracies and power plays. The kingdom of God advances through simple, humble faithfulness.
Mordecai saved the king, and it was written down. This act of loyalty to a pagan king became the instrument of salvation for God's covenant people. In the same way, the ultimate act of loyalty was performed by our Lord Jesus. He was faithful unto death, even death on a cross, a gallows. His enemies thought they had dealt with Him. But His story was also written down, not in the chronicles of a Persian king, but in the eternal book of life. And His faithfulness, once seemingly forgotten in a tomb, was brought to light on the third day, securing a deliverance for His people that is infinitely greater than the one Esther and Mordecai secured. Because of His faithfulness, we can be faithful in the small things, trusting that our God is the God of the chronicles, the one who remembers, and who will bring all things to their proper and glorious conclusion in His perfect time.