Purim – Lessons from the Book of Esther

Many are not aware of the importance of the little-known Biblical holiday called Purim. This holiday originated when the Jewish people, living in captivity under the Persian Empire, were threatened with annihilation. This event is recorded for us in the Book of Esther.

Purim is observed every year by Jewish people, and God-Fearers attached to Israel, to remember there were, and still are, people like the wicked man Haman who wanted to destroy the people of Israel. It is also a time of great joy and encouragement as we are reminded that God has delivered, and will deliver, His people from the hands of the wicked.

The Book of Esther, in chapter 9:23-28, describes this event and the establishment of this holiday:

• “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…So they called these days Purim…what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city...”

Although, not exhaustive, here are several lessons we can glean from the Book of Esther:

1) Lesson on how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob uses individuals to bring about His deliverance for His people. We see this with Esther (Hadassah), a beautiful, young Jewish woman from the tribe of Benjamin, who becomes Queen of Persia. She was raised by a righteous man named Mordechai, her older cousin, who took her into his household after the death of her parents. God also used Mordecai in his position within the Persian King’s palace.

2) Lesson about anti-Semitism. Because of the influence of one wicked man, Haman, the whole Persian Empire fell into the sin of hating and punishing the Jewish people. We must not fall into this same sin today and tolerate any leader who uses this ancient method of manipulation and hatred for their own political gain. This same description can be applied in our modern history where leaders, like Adolph Hitler, attempted to annihilate the Jewish people.

According to the Jewish organization Chabad, Purim is a day that: “…commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian empire from Haman’s plot ‘to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day,’ as recorded in the Megillah (book of Esther).”

3) About the power of prayer and fasting. Although God’s name is not mentioned in the Book of Esther; Mordechai, Esther, and all the people turned to God with three days of prayer and fasting, as we read in Esther 4:15-17:

• “Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” So, Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.”

4) How Esther showed great courage and willingness to lay down her life for her people, whom she loved. Mordechai reminded her that she was born for such a time as this. She was placed in this situation for a greater purpose; not to just look pretty and enjoy the finer things in life. According to Messiah Yeshua in John 15:12-13, she showed the highest form of love:

• “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

5) We are not to bow down to social or political pressures placed by mankind, but we are to fear our God. In Esther 3:4-5 we read:

• “Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.”

Haman was corrupt and wanted to be worshiped. This incident caused Haman to turn his wrath on all Jewish people; he lied to the king about the Jewish people and stereotyped them all.

6) Lesson that our actions today may have a great future significance that we are not able to understand at the present time. By the brave actions of Esther and Mordechai, they not only saved that generation of people, but paved the way for future generations to return to the Land of Israel and rebuild the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem.

Based on Jewish sources, it was Esther’s son, who was known as Darius II or Darius the Persian, who completed the decree first issued by Cyrus to allow the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. If Esther had died, this could not have occurred in this manner.

• Isaiah 45:1, “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have [a]held—To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut…”

7) Lesson on Haman being a type of Anti-Messiah, who will seek worship and turn on the Jewish people. The writings of the Prophet Daniel and Apostle Paul describe a time in the future when a man who is more powerful than those who proceeded him, greater than the wicked Haman, will again attempt to destroy God’s people. However, like Haman, he will be destroyed by God. We read in Daniel 11:36-37:

• “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.

Also, in Daniel 7:21-22, it tells us how God will once again intervene:

• “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.”

Paul describes this man in 2 Thess 2:1-4:

• “But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah (Law) has been revealed, the one destined for doom. He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.” (CJB)

FINALLY

We are to be cautious of hateful, anti-Semitic leaders. On the other hand, we need to show love and respect to our Jewish brethren who have upheld the truth of the Torah (Law) for centuries. Paul tells us in Romans 3:1-4:

• “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar…”

Now, let’s ALL go celebrate the Feast of Purim!!