Purim part 1

Introduction

From the evening of Saturday, March 23 to Sunday evening, March 24 of 2024, many Jewish people will celebrate one of the Jewish holidays named Purim. But unlike most of the Jewish holidays, the majority of people have no idea what this holiday is all about.

The most important holidays on the Jewish calendar are:

Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year

Passover - celebrating the deliverance of the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt.

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - a day for fasting, praying, and seeking forgiveness from God.

Feast of Booths/Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - to remember God’s sheltering of the Jewish people during the Exodus experience.

Shavuot - marks the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai to Moses.

Observant Jews also celebrate: 15 Shevat, Second Passover, Lag B’Omer, The Three Weeks, 15 of Av, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, and the oddest one known as Purim.

Purim is supposed to be a celebration of the deliverance of the Jewish people from Haman during the days of Queen Esther.

However, today it is often celebrated as a day to dress up in silly costumes, eat various different treats, and, unfortunately, consume too much alcohol.

Thus, the meaning of Purim has been lost for many people today.

It’s not unlike Memorial Day for many Americans…

Over the next two weeks we will look at what lead to this celebration and what it all means, even for those of us who are Gentile Christians who won’t likely celebrate Purim, but should celebrate God’s deliverance because we know God’s deliverance in an even greater way than those who Esther rescued in her day.

Body

Verses 1-4

Esther 9:1–4 (ESV)

Now in the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s command and edict were about to be carried out, on the very day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred: the Jews gained mastery over those who hated them. The Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could stand against them, for the fear of them had fallen on all peoples. All the officials of the provinces and the satraps and the governors and the royal agents also helped the Jews, for the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces, for the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.

The 13th of Adar (February or March) comes and some of the people within the kingdom of Persia attack the Jewish people.

However, they Jews quickly gain the upper hand.

Partly because the Jews had time to prepare. With Mordecai’s edict stating that the Jews could defend themselves, it gave them time to plan what they would do if attacked.

And partly because Mordecai’s new authority caused many of those in leadership to join the side of the Jews.

As typical politicians, they did this because it was the choice that would most likely keep them in power, not because of any sense of righteousness or justice.

Verses 5-15

Esther 9:5–15 (ESV)

The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, and also killed Par-shan-da-tha and Dalphon and Ass-pa-tha and Poor-a-tha and A-dalia and Air-a-da-tha and Par-may-shta and Ari-sai and Ari-dai and Vai-sa-tha, the ten sons of Haman the son of Ham-med-a-tha, the enemy of the Jews, but they laid no hand on the plunder.

That very day the number of those killed in Susa the citadel was reported to the king. And the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed 500 men and also the ten sons of Haman. What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what further is your request? It shall be fulfilled.” And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the Jews who are in Susa be allowed tomorrow also to do according to this day’s edict. And let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on the gallows.” So the king commanded this to be done. A decree was issued in Susa, and the ten sons of Haman were hanged. The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed 300 men in Susa, but they laid no hands on the plunder.

While the majority of people in the empire heed Mordecai’s edict, clearly there are many who do not.

And therefore, many battles take place and many people are killed.

The focus of this part is the city of Susa.

One example is the example of Haman’s sons, who likely when seeking revenge on the Jews for the death of their father.

They are killed, then Esther requests that their bodies are publically put on display for all to see.

Unnecessarily brutal? From our modern, Christian standards, yes. More on that later.

But, within the context of Persia at the time, this was how insurrectionists were treated as a deterrent to anyone else would follow their example.

Why does Esther ask for an extra day of permission to kill those who attack them?

Because there were still embedded enemies within the city, and because of the large number of Jews in the city, if these enemies weren’t eliminated, then the danger to the Jews would continue into the future.

One of the key ideas here is that they Jews did not “lay their hands on the plunder.”

This shows they were fighting a defensive war.

It also shows that they didn’t not want to get rich by taking from others.

In Genesis 14, after rescuing Lot from Chedorlaomer and the other kings, Abram (later to be known as Abraham), gives a tenth of everything to the mysterious king of Salem, Melchizedek. Then the king of Sodom offers Abram the opportunity to take the goods of the kings they just defeated. Look at Abram’s response:

Genesis 14:22–23 ESV

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

I believe this same idea is at work here as well.

Verses 16-17

Esther 9:16–17 ESV

Now the rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies and killed 75,000 of those who hated them, but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness.

Now the writer talks about what happens throughout the rest of the empire.

The number 75,000 seems unusually high, but it would actually be about 600 people per province. Still a lot of people, but it shows that while the enemies of the Jews was widespread, it was still a small minority throughout the kingdom.

But, it is a bloody day for sure. Why the celebration? More on that next week.

So What?

This is certainly a challenging passage when it comes to seeing the relevance to modern Christians. We will likely never face anything like this. However, I believe two things are worth noting:

Passionately live out the Christian faith today, without judging those who came before us.

It’s popular today for people to cast judgment on people who came before us. We see perceived or real wrongs (or evils) commited by people in the past, and we often piously deride them for their foolishness, ignorance, wickedness, lack of understanding, etc.

This attitude is short-sighted for many reasons:

Hindsight is always 20/20...

Without the knowledge you now possess, can you really say you wouldn’t have reacted the same way?

Because you weren’t there, you are limited in understanding all the reasons for people’s actions...

It accomplishes nothing, it’s just virtue signaling...

Now, if we are to get the most out of history, we ought to learn lessons from the past (good and bad), be honest enough to recognize that all but one of our biblical heroes had personal faults and failures, and ask ourselves, “What is a timeless truth that can be learned here?”

In this case, I would go back to the concept that is mentioned three times in this passage: “they did not lay their hands on the plunder.”

If you go back to the original edict, Mordecai said they were allowed to plunder the goods of those who attacked them. So, while it was lawful for them to plunder the goods of their enemies, it wasn’t beneficial.

Imagine the resentment that would have been built up for the Jews in Persia if they would have killed a bunch of people and taken their stuff. They would have been seen by their neighbors as the aggressors, not those on the defense.

As it was, the Jews could have a clean conscience knowing that they had just defended themselves.

Thus, some timeless truths:

Just because something is lawful, doesn’t mean it’s beneficial...

The big picture matters more than my small part in it...

Defending one’s self and loved ones is a good thing, but we must not take it too far...

And that’s an example of how we can get something out of even a very challenging passage.

That being said, as NT believers, we live under a New Covenant, not the old.

This is important because we must look at history, all of history, through the lens of the New Covenant that Jesus inaugurated on the cross.

Hebrews 9:11–15 ESV

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

The New Covenant was established in the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross!

Therefore:

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Examples of living under the New Covenant:

In the OT, most lived by “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Under the New Covenant, we strive to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

The mission for Jewish people within the old covenant system was to be observant Jews; following the commands and making the appropriate sacrifices when possible. But, under the New Covenant, one sacrifice has been made for all sins; past, present and future. Observing God’s commands is a gracious response to the God who saved us from our sins, not a burdensome mandate.

So, where should we get our marching orders? From Christ Jesus, of course.

This isn’t a rejection of the OT, of course. Jesus didn’t reject the OT. But, what He did was to shine a light on the spirit of the OT, not simply the letter.

So, what’s the spirit of the book of Esther?

Like we saw last week, God specializes in reversals.

Esther 9:1 - “…the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain the mastery over them, the reverse occurred...”

Even in seemingly hopeless circumstances, God will call His people to act in great faith, as He did with Esther.

So a great question to ask ourselves today is: How is God calling me to act in great faith?

I submit that if you don’t know, you’re probably not really looking or asking.