Mordecai's Report Esther 4:7 - Equipped for Battle

Hatach was the chamberlain assigned to care for Queen Esther. He was commissioned by her to go to Mordecai her older cousin to discover why he was mourning and weeping in the streets and at the king's gate. As Hatach obeyed Esther's command, we see in chapter four and verse seven the answer that Mordecai gave to him. We read:

And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

This verse begins, "And Mordecai told him of all that happened unto him,..." Let us note that Mordecai did not hold back on what occurred. He "told" Hatach exactly what happened, notice, to "him". This was personal, and although the edict was for all the Jews, Mordecai knew that this was directed at him.

The verse continues, "...and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews,..." Mordecai was informed about the complete story, and he named his perpetrator- "Haman". Haman was the financial backer of this operation, and the hatred that Haman had for not only Mordecai but also for all his people was so great that he was willing to pay for their extermination. Can we even imagine being in such a predicament as this?

Finally we read, "...to destroy them." Mordecai knew that this command meant that the reigning government had given permission to annihilate the Jews. It's almost hard to imagine that any government would decide such a thing, but here is a specific example of apartheid, and Mordecai gave the report of it all. Let us not forget that Hatach was sent by Queen Esther for this task, and we can be assured that Mordecai was going to inform her of all of this plot. No doubt he had it in mind that there was the possibility that she could stop this madness.

As we ponder our verse for today, let us imagine ourselves in Mordecai's place. What if an edict had been given to destroy our family, our heritage, and our group of people? How would we react? What if we had someone with connections to powerful influences within the government asking us about it? Would we tell them? Would we use our words to influence the outcome if possible? As we keep in mind that our Sovereign God continues to preside over all of these events, let us remember that he uses every circumstance along the way to eventually produce His will. Although it may seem insignificant at times, every action is important to the stream of final plan. Jesus must be born, and even the obedience of Hatach and the response of Mordecai will be used to assure that He will be.

Next time we will see Mordecai give Hatach a copy of the edict, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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