Blessings of a Middle Man

“Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and annihilate all Jews… in one day of the… month of Adar…

“When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried out with a loud and bitter cry. He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate…

“When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, [she] was deeply distressed… Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city.., and Mordecai told him all that had happened, and… that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. Hathach went and told Esther… Esther [said],.. ‘If any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter… But I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.’

“Mordecai [replied] to Esther, ‘Do not think that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ Then Esther [replied] to Mordecai, ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf for three days… I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’” Esther 3:13; 4:1-2,4a,5-11,13-16

Imagine being Hathach, servant to Queen Esther, suddenly drawn into a flurry of political tension and emotional drama, with much at stake. As the go-between for the intriguing exchange between Mordecai and his niece, heavy with realization of the horrific possibilities, he had to be struck with the passion, calm faith, and eternal view of his charge and her uncle. As middle man, he conveyed urgency, challenge, and boldness while watching the story of God’s amazing deliverance unfold.

For us, whose sin has earned us certain death, God has supplied our Middle Man in Jesus. In infinite love, He served as courier of our sin to the cross, carrying its angst and fear and shame, and returned to us a great deliverance. We can trust Him with every secret, knowing His redeeming work is perfect and complete. (Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Where has our obedience allowed glimpses of God’s providence and grace? What threat, fear, guilt, or impossibility, can we entrust to Him today?

Lord, let me never forget Your redeeming love, and so love in lavish measure.