ESTHER CHAPTER 10.

The Extent of Mordecai’s Power.

V. 1. And the King Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, a special tax exacted from all parts of his great empire, and upon the isles of the sea, as far as his influence extended. V. 2. And all the acts of his power and of his might and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai whereunto the king advanced him, for the power of Mordecai grew with that of his sovereign, whose grand vizier, or prime minister, he was, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? Any one desiring further information could find it in the public records. V. 3. For Mordecai, the Jew, was next unto King Ahasuerus, a power next to the king in the empire, and great among the Jews, influential also among his own countrymen, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, occupying a representative position among them, seeking the wealth of his people and speaking peace to all his seed; for he always took care to have his position in the empire redound to the benefit of his people. It is the duty of all believers to seek the peace of the city, but, above all, that of their people, of the Church of Christ, whose welfare they should endeavor to promote also by means of their secular calling.