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Esther and the Feast of Purim
Esther and the Feast of Purim
In trying to decide which day to appoint as the day to annihilate the Jews from the Persian empire (which included everywhere from Turkey to India and south to Egypt, which also took in the land of Judea), Haman cast lots. “In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Pur, that is the lot, was cast before Haman from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth month, that is the month Adar” (Esther 3:7). Purim is simply the plural for Pur. This then got tagged as the name of the feast that the Jews celebrated.
Upon being allowed to save themselves by preparing and fighting back, they not only were not exterminated, but in fact prospered from this event. “Now in the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on the thirteenth day when the king's command and edict were about to be executed, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, it was turned to the contrary so that the Jews themselves gained the mastery over those who hated them” (Esther 9:1). Thus the Jews under Mordecai’s leadership, instituted this feast to be continued by all generations after them.
The ESV Study Bible commented: “Of all the Jewish festivals, Purim is the most secular in flavor, and one of the most joyful. These days it is normally celebrated on only one day, the fourteenth of Adar (in February/March), preceded by a day of fasting. Children are given gragers (rattles) so that, when the story of Esther is read, they can make a loud noise to drown out the name of the wicked Haman whenever it occurs. Other festivities include exchanging presents, giving food parcels to the poor, performing Purim plays, and wearing costumes. In Israel, a Purim carnival is held. It has become a celebration, not just of the deliverance experienced in the days of Esther and Mordecai, but of the amazing survival of the Jewish people for thousands of years in spite of persecution and hardship.”
This celebration is still kept by Jewish people. Did Jesus keep this feast? Interestingly, the NT is completely silent concerning that. Some understand the unnamed feast of John 5 as the feast of Purim, others take that feast to be another Passover. The debate continues but doesn’t change much in the lives of Christians.
What we see is how the Jews yet again were protected so that they continued as a separate people. This bridges the gap between the time of their Babylonian exile and the coming of Jesus in the NT. Since God is not mentioned in the book, it is a deduction that God was the orchestrator of this salvation. Also deducted is that Satan was behind the attempt to destroy the people of Israel. I think it is a fair deduction, but realize that it is a deduction.
As with most such providential activities in the OT, they deal with God fulfilling his greater promise of salvation through Abraham’s seed. To get to Jesus, God intervened time and again to protect the nation from destruction. God was faithful to His promises, and today all nations can be blessed in Abraham’s seed – Jesus. To reject Jesus is to reject the very theme of the Bible. From Genesis to Malachi, we are pointed to the one who would come. He is HERE. “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Are you following Jesus?
Hugh DeLong
