“Who has despised the day of small beginnings?”
- Guy Cohen
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Harvest of Asher
Akko, Israel
This verse in Zechariah 4:10 teaches us a profound truth about the way people see others compared to the way God sees them. We tend to be impressed by status, power, wealth, and outward appearance, or we become so occupied with our own lives that we fail to notice the “least of these” around us. God, however, repeatedly chooses those who are rejected, overlooked, or considered insignificant.
He often accomplishes His purposes through those whom society ignores. This was true of King David. When Samuel came to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel, all of David’s older and more impressive brothers were present. David was not even invited. He remained in the field tending the sheep. In his father’s eyes, he was not a candidate for kingship. Only after Samuel asked whether there was another son, was David brought in. David wrote, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Psalm 27:10). He understood what it meant to feel overlooked.
Gideon also considered himself insignificant. But God saw him as a mighty warrior and a leader.
Isaiah 53 describes the Messiah who would be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief... we esteemed Him not.” Even Yeshua’s own brothers did not believe in Him at first. They did not understand His mission and viewed Him with skepticism. Yet after His resurrection, a remarkable transformation took place. James, the brother of Yeshua, became a leader in the congregation in Jerusalem.
The parable of the Good Samaritan also teaches us about the danger of failing to see others. The wounded man was invisible to the priest and the Levite, but precious and worthy of compassion in the eyes of the Samaritan.
You and I are surrounded by people who can become invisible in our eyes: children longing for attention, young people struggling with loneliness, elderly ones who need someone to listen, the poor, the sick, those facing emotional or mental challenges, ordinary workers whose contributions go unnoticed, and people living on the margins of society. It’s easy to pass them by while we are consumed with our own concerns, to fail to notice the person sitting right beside us, and the newcomer who comes into the congregation and leaves without anyone greeting them. There are people who smile on the outside while inwardly battling loneliness, fear, and despair.
Sometimes the person who needs us is not looking for a grand solution but merely a glance, a listening ear, a visit, a prayer, a phone call, or a single word of encouragement. Yeshua saw those whom others overlooked. He stopped for the blind man sitting by the roadside. He touched lepers whom no one else would approach. He welcomed children.
If we desire to walk in His footsteps, we must ask God for eyes that truly see and a heart that truly notices. The person who appears small in the eyes of the world is deeply precious in the eyes of God. Often it’s through such people that He teaches us love, compassion, and grace.
God frequently works through what appears small, weak, and insignificant in human eyes.
Don’t despise the day of small things. Don’t belittle the little people. Don’t ignore them. Whoever despises the small things may discover that he has despised something that God Himself is doing. But whoever learns to see the world through God’s eyes will discover that every person carries value, hope, and purpose, even when no one else notices.
