EXPOSITION:
In chapter 4, we read that when Mordecai heard all that Haman had plotted against the Jews, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. In those times, the Jews wore sackcloth in times of great calamities, penitence and trouble among others. The wearing of sackcloth was a sign of mourning.
However, Mordecai who was in sackcloth a few days earlier was favoured by God in the sight of the King. There was a complete turn-around in his life. Having obtained an order for the relief of all the Jews, he parted with his sackcloth (mourning cloth) and put on the royal apparel. His robes were rich, blue and white, of fine linen and purple. His crown was also made of gold.
There was a plot to kill Mordecai and even annihilate all the Jews but through the favour of God, “Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful” (9:4, NIV). As if that was not enough, we read from Esther 10:3 that, “Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews, and held in high esteem by his many fellow Jews, because he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews” (NIV).
Beloved, when things seem to have turned against you and it even appears that God has deserted you, do not faint or give up for the God we serve is alive and He will surely come to your aid at His own appointed time.