Immediately before the promotion of Haman, Mordecai had saved the king’s life (2:21-23). Chapter 3 begins significantly “Now after these events the king, the Great King, promoted Haman….” Say what? Surely Mordecai should have been promoted. This aged Jew had served on the Supreme Court faithfully and had risked his life by turning in the plotters. But instead of promoting him, the (seemingly) ungrateful king had promoted Haman. This is why Mordecai was angry, and why he refused to honor the king’s man and rebelled against the Great King.

This was a sin on Mordecai’s part, of course, and not his first. He had told Esther to conceal her identity. And Esther herself sinned by refusing to leave and cleave, instead continuing to obey Mordecai and effectively despising her husband (2:20). All of these sins would have to be dealt with, and are in the course of the book of Esther.

Jesus tells us that we have no right to any rewards. When we have done all, we are still unprofitable servants. Blessings are gifts, not things earned, for there is no “merit theology” in Biblical religion. Mordecai should have bowed to providence, to the king, and to Haman, trusting in the Lord. He did not.

How often we ourselves become angry with God, our Great King, when things don’t happen the way we think they should. We should have received that promotion, not that inferior other guy! We should have been picked! We must learn from Mordecai to be patient and to take the lowest seat, waiting to be promoted in God’s good time.

Read it all: Why Mordecai Was Angry « Biblical Horizons.