“Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king’s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.” Esther 9:1-5 NKJV
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is found in the book of Esther, which recounts the story of how God arranged for the Jewish people to be saved from annihilation. I say arranged, because in His infinite wisdom He arranges for Esther, a Jewish girl taken in captivity in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, to somehow become the Queen of Babylon. It is a wonderful story of palace intrigue, corruption, and ultimate justice which is worthy of a Hollywood movie. It has always been a staple in my years of teaching and was easily one of the most favorite in the Sunday School classes I taught.
The plot, in a nutshell, revolves around the attempt by Haman, an official in the king’s court, to completely destroy all of the Jews because of a personal dislike of Mordecai, a Jew who had adopted Queen Esther when her parents were killed. Of course, Haman had no idea Queen Esther was a Jew, nor her relationship with Mordecai, which placed Esther in a perfect position to foil the plot. After Haman had tricked the King into signing a decree which called for all of the Jews to be killed, Esther revealed to the King the fact that she herself was a Jew, and exposed the entire evil plot of Haman for what it really was.
The King was incensed, and ordered Haman to be hung on the very gallows he had built to hang Mordecai on, and because he could not rescind his own decree, wrote another which allowed the Jews to defend themselves from their enemies and anyone who intended harm to come their way. The annual festival of Purim is a celebration of this deliverance of the Jews from the plot by Haman to completely annihilate them.
“And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who [were] in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that [is], the lot), to consume them and destroy them; but when [Esther] came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which [Haman] had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them,” Esther 9:20-26 NKJV
If you have followed my blog for any
length of time, you probably understand that I find it increasingly hard to
believe in coincidence in a world created by an omnipotent God. I especially don’t believe it coincidence
when major events relating to the nation of Israel occur on the anniversaries
of their Holy Days and festivals, which, if you have studied at all, you know
have happened with great regularity throughout history. This brings us to the subject of Purim, which
occurs this coming week and is the reason for discussing it today.
This celebration in Israel is one of
the most joyous, lasting three days which include the giving of gifts, wearing
costumes, and singing, eating, drinking, and of course reading the Book of
Esther in the synagogue. The fourteenth of Adar usually occurs in our month of
February or March, and this year it lands on Thursday, March 21. Although the
events surrounding this festival happened thousands of years ago, it appears
that it might be a good idea to consider that God’s sense of timing, along with
His love and protection of the nation of Israel, could well result in this
being a day to watch considering Israel is still surrounded by nations which wish
it harm.
In late 2002, the United States began a building up of forces in the Middle
East with the apparent intent of deposing the ruler of Iraq, Sadaam Hussein,
who was pursuing the capability of weapons of mass destruction with the stated
intent of using them on the nation of Israel. I had been invited to lecture on
the situation in the Middle East in early 2003 and was in the process of
preparing when I noticed the Festival of Purim on my calendar was just a couple
of weeks away. Reminded of the story of Esther, the first thought that went
through my mind was what if history was about to repeat itself with God's sense
of timing thrown in for good measure? As the world was watching and waiting, I
contacted a few friends in the ministry and shared my thoughts about the
possibility that an attack on Iraq could occur on the very anniversary of the
deliverance of Israel some 2500 years earlier. No surprise, the festival of
Purim, the 14th of Adar, occurred on Wednesday March 19, 2003, the very day the
first bombs dropped on Baghdad.
Like many, the current situation in the Ukraine raises questions of what the future holds for our world and the possibility that this is just the beginning of so much of what the Bible has to say about the end times. Obviously those who choose to study prophecy are aware that Ezekiel tells us of a future attempted invasion of Israel perpetrated by none other than Russia. The reason given is that this aggression surrounds the taking of “spoil”. Just this past week news from the Middle East broke that Israel has been asked to provide natural gas to Europe via its pipeline to Egypt. A move such as that is certain to annoy the President of Russia and the resulting moves might well lead to the events Ezekiel wrote about.
Purim arrives this week and although I am not predicting anything, I would not be at all surprised to see something significant occur in the weeks ahead, and especially on this holiday. Something else I think we might want to consider in light of our relationship with God by virtue of the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. When Jesus was speaking as recounted in John chapter 6, four times (vs. 39, 40, 44, 54) He says that He will raise up His own on the "last day". In Hosea 6:2 we are also told we will be raised up on the third day, so my thought is this; if Purim is the only feast in Israel which lasts three days, and is also the last feast of the year, is it possible the last day of this three day celebration will prove to be significant for the Church? We can only hope and pray.
Of course, as the Word also commands, we all need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Keep watching.
