Queen Esther's chamberlain,
Hatach, obeyed her and went to discover why her older cousin was
sitting in sackcloth and ashes and mourning in the streets and at the
king's gate of the city of Shushan. Mordecai told him about the edict
that was given by the king and promoted by Haman that all the Jews be
destroyed, and we left our story with Mordecai sending Hatach back to
Esther to inform her about the situation with her people. In chapter
four and verse nine, we see another act of obedience from Hatach, and
we learn the importance of what our seemingly menial tasks can mean.
We read:
And Hatach came and
told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Two
things are discovered when we take a closer look at this verse.
First, “And Hatach came...”. We can ask, “what if he
didn't?” What if Hatach decided that there was no need to upset the
queen with such news as the destruction of her people, and who was
Mordecai to direct such a message anyway? He could have walked away
from this task and never said a word. The implications of his
disobedience may have been tragic for him, but nonetheless he could
have refused. Fortunately, Hatach obeyed the voice of Mordecai and
Esther, and we see the everlasting results of his obedience to this
small task.
Secondly,
Hatach, “...told Esther the words of Mordecai.” Once again
Hatach could have returned to the palace, went about his business,
and never said a word. He had the message, but without conveying it,
there would be no benefit to Esther, Mordecai or the Jewish people.
Hatach which we learned earlier means “verily” or “truly”
kept with his seemingly menial task, and his faithfulness to carry
and deliver the message had eternal ramifications.
Sometimes
we think that our smallest tasks mean nothing in the grander scheme
of things, however, let's use the example of Hatach carrying Esther
and Mordecai's messages to show the significance of even the tiny
places of obedience. Since Hatach obeyed, Mordecai learned of
Esther's concern, and Esther learned of the reasons why Mordecai was
mourning. Later in this book we will learn that because of this
information, the Jewish people were saved. Later in the Bible the
Messiah was born through the Jewish line, and Jesus was brought into
the world. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and when we believe
in His death and resurrection on our behalf, we are saved. In other
words, God used Hatach tiny obedience as a pinnacle point through
which the Messiah Jesus came and eventually we were saved because of
it. And to think that Hatach probably never knew just how important
his little act of obedience was. What about our “tiny acts” of
obedience? Do we have a message that needs to be carried and
delivered? Are there people who would benefit both now and later from
our simple act of obedience today? If we think about this long
enough, we may realize that our everyday actions may have eternal
implications of which we are totally unaware, and like Hatach, God
may use our seemingly small task to alter a whole stream of events.
Next
time we will see the beginning of Esther's response to Mordecai, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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