“. . . Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. . .” Esther 3:5
The dissent of Mordecai is a passive, non-violent form. It is a refusal to obey edicts or laws contrary to Scripture. He did not protest openly an edict, or law. In Iran, today, a pastor is in jail for openly protesting a law. According to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), (see article here) “Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old pastor from Rasht, about 750 miles northwest of Tehran, was arrested in October 2009 after he protested a government policy that required children, including his 8- and 9-year-old sons, to study the Quran in school.”
Recently, VOM contacts told VOM “the chief justice in Gilan province told Youcef’s lawyers last week (Jan. 16, 2012) that if Youcef repents, he will be released. Youcef told his attorneys repenting means leaving Christianity to return to Islam. He said it was impossible for him to “return” to Islam, since he was never Muslim.
“Our contacts write, “Because of your prayers and concerns, the regime is afraid to issue a negative verdict, and yet they do not want to release him…”
“Please continue to surround Youcef with your prayers. Pray that the chief justice will have a change of heart.”
Pastor Youcef objected to a law. He protested that law. That’s different from not obeying a law, right? Perhaps he could have just let things go along quietly. Perhaps. But what of Mordecai? All he did was to disobey, and that got him in trouble with Hamman. Had G-d not intervened, Mordecai and most of G-d’s people would have been executed. And G-d’s intervention included active work by Mordecai. More thoughts on that later.
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
JonahzSong 