“And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage.” Esther 3:2
Bowing to another is submission. It is placing the other above you in honor. When I served in China, I learned much about the art of bowing. The posture, the depth of the bow, and the placement of the head and eyes were all important in the proper delivery of a bow. But somewhere along the way we have lost touch with the heart behind the bow. Our culture in the west believes that a bow is somehow giving up who we are as it makes another better. The idea that bowing to another is saying that person is in charge, somehow the boss of us. Pride has gotten into the ideology of the bow. When God delivers His Words in Philippians 2:6 He clearly tells us that “we should consider others as more important than ourselves.” A sort of “heart bow” comes to mind. The question arises, who are you willing to bow down to today?
In Esther chapter 3 we see a lot of bowing, or at times, lack of bowing. King Xerxes appoints evil Haman as his new prime minister and the elite position requires that people bow as they encounter him. But as Haman meets Mordecai, queen Esther’s care-taking cousin, Mordecai refuses to bow. Now before you go rogue in westward Christian ideology, know that at this point Mordecai is not in God’s will. He has chosen not to return to Jerusalem with the other Jews but instead stay in Babylon in the comfort of his government job. As Esther was promoted to queen, he was also promoted to a much higher place within the cabinet of the king, nepotism that I’m sure paid well. And during all of this, he never mentioned he was an Israelite. In fact, He forbade Esther to divulge that she was a Jew as she competed for the place of queen. Mordecai was an Israelite that chose not to tell people about the mighty God of his fathers. So why then would Mordecai refuse to bow to Haman? It clearly wasn’t because of his spiritual beliefs. We see several scriptural instances of bowing to others out of respect and honor. (Genesis 18:2, 23:7, 43:26; Exodus 18:7; 2 Samuel 16:4.) Men refuse to bow for many reasons, one of the main being selfish pride and ego.
Regardless of whether you will bow to another human today, the question that persists is…will you bow to Almighty God? You see, the vain heart that refuses to bow usually rolls God into that mix. Maybe acknowledging Him but refusing to truly bow. Today, I pray that you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. And that as a result you bow down to Him daily, allowing His gracious and merciful hand to guide each of your steps. That you bow and defer to His wisdom and leadership in all you encounter. For you don’t lose anything in bowing to the King of Kings…but instead gain it all.
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
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