פוּרִים֙

Introduction

I read an article about a broke 38 year-old cleaning lady. This lady was not too keen on her life. She would go to the movies, and rather than be entertained by what she saw on the screen she would say “If I only had her looks” She would listen to a singer and say “If I only had her voice”

One day a friend gave her a book titled “The Magic of Believing.” She studied it and absorbed the lessons in that book. In time, she stopped comparing herself to others. She stopped crying about what she didn’t have and instead concentrated on what she did have. She remembered she was the funniest girl in high school.

A few years ago, the cleaning lady – you know her as Phyllis Diller made over $1 million in one year. She wasn’t good looking, or a good singer, but boy can she make people laugh!

As Oswald Chambers said,

“Laughter and weeping are the two most intense forms of human emotion, and these profound wells of human emotion are to be consecrated to God.”

Psalms 126:2 speaks of what the life of a believer should be like.

Psalm 126:2–3 TLV

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a song of joy. Then they said among the nations, “Adonai has done great things for them.” Adonai has done great things for us —we are joyful!

The Feast of Purim

You and I serve a God of celebration and worship. The very essence or the Christian life is then a celebration of God’s goodness. The feast of Purim which begins tomorrow is a celebration filled with joy, laughter and hope. The children and even the adults dress as the characters in the book of Esther. They read the book at synagogue and they have all noise makers- or groggers that they use to make a raucous every time the name of Haman is mentioned. Usually one of the kids is chosen to dress as Haman and wear the three cornered hat, any time this Haman comes around, they all hiss and jeer at him. They eat goodies and treat and generally have a great time.

This feast is a great example of how God encourages Christians away from dry religion. Our dealings with God should be vibrant and relational. The message of Purim is exactly this.

The History of Purim

It was celebrated by Jews and amongst many Messianic or “Christian Jews” it is known as the feast of lots. The word pur is Hebrew for lot, and so “Purim” is the plural of lot, so lots. This feast is not found in Leviticus 23 where all other feasts are found. It is found only in book of Esther.

The details in Esther are entirely consistent with what we know from modern archeology and the record of antiquity.

The uniqueness of Esther.

Esther is the only book in the Bible whose central character and all the central themes focus on a woman. Other books have women as key characters, only in Esther is the woman the central character.

The story takes place a generation or two after the Diaspora – or scattering of the Jews. At this time, the Jews are in captivity and under the reign of Xerxes (around 538 B.C.)

Comfortable in captivity

Esther, along with Nehemiah and Ezra take place immediately after the return to the Holy Land. While many of the Jews remained loyal to God and very nationalistic, they never returned to Israel. I suppose it was too difficult to make the journey home. It would have been very hard to pick up the pieces and rebuild, and it was just easier to stay in the place where they were slaves.

Isn’t that often like us? Haven’t we sometimes become too comfortable in this sinful world. We feel like we’re enslaved by it and so we just get along by making ourselves comfortable amongst our captors. We are slaves to the world.

Don’t be a slave!

But scripture tells us not to be a slave to this sinful world and be led around by the master of this world. Instead it says in Romans:

Romans 6:12–23 TLV

Therefore do not let sin rule in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. And do not keep yielding your body parts to sin as tools of wickedness; but yield yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your body parts as tools of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that to whatever you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to what you obey—whether to sin resulting in death, or to obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching under which you were placed; and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you yielded your body parts as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now yield your body parts as slaves to righteousness, resulting in holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So then, what outcome did you have that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, having been set free from sin and having become enslaved to God, you have your fruit resulting in holiness. And the outcome is eternal life. For sin’s payment is death, but God’s gracious gift is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

How hard is it to stop being a slave?

Right after God had just supernaturally delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt- the very same day, the Israelites were already crying to go back.

Exodus 14:10–14 TLV

When Pharaoh drew near, Bnei-Yisrael lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them! So they were terrified, and Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai. They said to Moses, “Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt this way with us, to bring us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone, so that we may serve the Egyptians?’ It was better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!” But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still, and see the salvation of Adonai, which He will perform for you today. You have seen the Egyptians today, but you will never see them again, ever! Adonai will fight for you, while you hold your peace.”

We just got done talking about doing spiritual warfare. Well, here it is in a nutshell. In verse 14. Let’s read it again.

Exodus 14:14 TLV

Adonai will fight for you, while you hold your peace.”

How easily is the human heart made comfortable in the place of defeat? Sadly, it’s a common motif in the Old Testament that God’s people so easily become comfortable in the arms of her mistress. But we can’t judge them. The church knows our own Babylonian mistress, and we are just as happy in our captivity.

Many of the Jews were living lives of relative security and safety in the Persian lands, and why not? They enjoyed great economic and social freedom and a few had risen to prominence in the King’s court. And church let me suggest to you that the people of God are never safe when we get comfortable with the world.

Esther’s Story and the Feast of Purim or feast of lots.

I’m not going to read this story in its entirety –it is quite long. And I actually thought maybe we could just watch the movie, but it is likewise quite long. Instead I will paraphrase the, and quote key sections.

I encourage you all to read it on your own – it is one of the most readable books in the Bible.

Our story opens with King Xerxes (Achashevrosh in Hebrew) of Persia (Modern Iran) holding a feast to celebrate his latest military victory. As they were having their drunken feast that had lasted sometimes a week or more, he sent for his queen and commanded her to show herself (remove her veil) so that he could boast of her great beauty. It was considered a vulgar thing to show off his wife like that and according to the Hebrew sages, the king was not merely asking her to remove her veil, but to parade around to be ogled and lusted after by the men present, it was just another way for him to prove the extravagance of his lifestyle, so we would say that Vashti had every right to refuse. But this was the king after all, and her disobedience disgraced the king in front of his guests. The sages also tell us that the fact that Xerxes would shame her like a common concubine indicated that he already didn’t think very highly of her, other than for her beauty.

The king’s advisors, who most assuredly were drunk came up with a preposterous thought and told him to send her away. What if other women got wind of this and started disobeying their husbands too?

Esther 1:16–20 TLV

Then Memucan answered in the presence of the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but also all the princes and peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s conduct will go out to all the women making their husbands contemptible in their eyes, by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she would not come!’ This very day the noblewomen of Persia and Media who have heard of the matter concerning the queen will respond similarly to all the king’s princes and there will be no end to the contempt and anger. If it pleases the king, let a royal commandment go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal status to another who is more worthy than she. Then the king’s edict, which he will enact, will be proclaimed throughout all his vast kingdom, and all the wives will give their husbands honor from the greatest to the smallest.”

Hilarious! But this kind of human detail lends to its authenticity. Such details are not found in fabrications and myths, and Esther is full of them! Archeologists and historians use these details to determine a document’s historical accuracy and Esther passes the test!

Meet Hadassah and Mordecai.

Hadassah a beautiful young woman - a Jew! Young Hadassah lost both parents at birth and had been raised by her uncle Mordecai. But why the name change? Mordecai suggests it. Well, as Jews they could never really be safe. Remember the part I said about not being safe as a Christian when you identify with the world?

Hadassah is about to be thrust into the world – big time! Meanwhile, back at the Palace. King’s advisors say, “Beauty Pagent!”. With that, the king’s slaves form a Harem of beautiful young women to “audition” for the part.

They travel throughout Babylon looking for some of these girls to take back with them to Participate in the Persian Idol competition and Hadassah, she gets golden ticket to move on to the finals. While it’s true, getting “chosen” to be part of a Harem is no bed of roses, it does have its advantages. It was essentially a year-long spa day. A year of beauty treatments, fine perfumes, oils and wait for it ladies – MAKEUP! Fast forward – Esther wows the king. They fall in love and live happily ever after. Well... not quite. At this point, the Plot Thickens. There is a plot to assassinate the king… oh no! But uncle Mordecai finds out about it, he tells Esther, and Esther tells the king… Whew! The conspirators are then hanged by the king… Ouch! Uncle Mordecai given great honor in King’s Court… Yay!

God’s Chess Moves

So what is God up to? It looks to me like he’s just taken his pawn, made her into a queen and played his queen – Esther and his rook – Mordecai, and is about to play a great game of chess. Never underestimate what God can do with little ol’ you!

This is exactly how God rolls. Meet Haman… boooo! Now if we are going to do this right you have to know the rules. During Purim, anytime we mention the name Haman, everyone must boo so that we can blot his name out of existence. It’s great fun, and this is a feast about laughter remember.

Meet Haman

So, who is Haman? He’s a man of great power and influence in the kingdom. He is second in command. 2. Whenever anyone saw Haman they were to, as the text says, “Bow down and pay honor” to him – really, they were to worship him. This is a problem for anyone who serves God. Mordecai serves God and Mordecai won’t bow down. Haman…booo (don’t forget to boo)… Doesn’t like that. So he develops a plan.

The Plan – Eradicate the Jews.

Haman…boo….knows the king won’t just sign off on genocide, so he has to trick him if his plan is to succeed. He tells the king that he will get rid of the people who refuse to respect the king and the court. The king agrees, even though he doesn’t know his wife is one of them, nor that Haman… boo… plans to eradicate the Jews. Haman…boo... casts lots (purim) to determine when this plan is to take effect.

The dream.

One night king can’t sleep. He has his men read to him the stories of his victories and glories. They read the story of Mordecai saving the king’s life. The king realizes that he has not properly thanked Mordecai. What shall he do for this man? I know! Ask #2.

Haman’s advice

The king asks Haman…boo... what he should do for a man who has brought honor to the king.

Who do you think he thought he was talking about? “Well, king you should parade me, I mean him around town in your robe on one of your horses, and have someone you trust go around telling the people how awesome I am… err he is!”

Great idea! Go find Mordecai the Jew and you be the one to do all that for him!

Fast Forward…

Esther finds out about the plan. Tells the king that someone wants to kill her. He gets angry. Who? Hamen…boo...! Looks up and sees the very gallows that Hamen had prepared for the Jews. All because of Mordecai, whom he despised for his faithfulness to God.

The king then orders, in keeping with the royal custom of that day, that Haman’s 10 sons, all of his lineage and family, along with all of Haman’s men of war be killed.

The irony?

The ironic thing is that this happened the 14th of Adar (late February, early March). The very same day that Haman…boo... had selected to destroy the Jews by purim.

Conclusion

Haman…boo... had cruelly and out of his own deep-seated pride determined to destroy the Jews by purim, essentially rolling dice. Some people say the outcome is the will of God. He cast lots to decide the fate of Israel, but what he meant for evil, the Lord turned around for good. He got chewed up by his own evil plan.

what does it mean for us? For us this represents God’s faithfulness despite what things look like. Just when you think the end has come, look up! God has promised never to leave or forsake us. God is our hope and our strong tower, He is mighty to save.

Purim celebrates the foiling of the plot but so much more than that. It is the celebration of God’s protection. It is the celebration of God’s faithfulness to His promise to deliver the people of His covenant. Purim is celebrated with great laughter and joy because, God has turned our despair to hope. Upon realizing the enormity of what God had done for them, the Israelites burst out in great laughter and joy!

So I’d like to amend what I said earlier about the life of the believer.

Psalm 126:2–3 TLV

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a song of joy. Then they said among the nations, “Adonai has done great things for them.” Adonai has done great things for us —we are joyful!

The life of the believer is characterize by joy and peace, but also of laughter in celebration for what God has done in our lives! Good ol’ Phyllis Diller. She thought she was a disaster. But somehow she got a glimpse of God’s purpose for her.

Saints if, a person in the World who may or may not know Jesus can catch this and transform their lives, how much more a saint of God with the call of God on their lives?

Remember, it is He who is working out the details and ultimately the final outcome in our lives.