Quiet Time : Daily Dose of Spurgeon (2 in 1!)

Yay! I'm up to Esther; such a great illustration of God's providence.

Esther 2:10

Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.

In my Ryrie Study Bible (KJV), it states that Mordecai may have had two reasons for telling Esther to not share her Jewish heritage.

1. He feared for her life.
2. He wanted to protect his position in the king's court.

This is what struck me: would this be considered fear of man? Just throwing that out there.

Although one could argue that having Esther hide the truth about herself was beneficial; because maybe she reveals it at the right time.

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Okay, check it out, your Daily Dose of Spurgeon; which I read this morning, and made me think, 'this is the total opposite of fear of man!'

Just an excerpt:

"Few run too far in neglecting the creature's arm; but very many sin greatly in making too much of it. Learn, dear reader, to glorify the Lord by leaving means untried, if by using them thou wouldst dishonour the name of the Lord."

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Now I get that in reading the book of Ezra, it is apparent that he understood God:

Ezra 7:6

This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

And that we get no indication about the strength of Mordecai's faith (at least not yet, but maybe later in the book? It seems that what I've heard of this story; he is a faithful Jew, and wants to save his people). And yes, this is Old Testament, pre-Pentecost; a concept that I need to study up on more ...

Okay, I hope to have more on this later. Welcome to my brain! ;)