Showing posts with label Haman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haman. Show all posts

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Purim, Jews and Netanyahu's Warning

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Purim and Netanyahu. This follows this post about Esther. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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Purim, Jews and Netanyahu's Warning


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech this week comes at the same time as the Jewish festival of Purim. Interesting.


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[Darris McNeely] The news that I’ve been watching is abuzz with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled speech before the United States Congress this week. You know, it’s interesting – I didn’t realize it until putting together some of the dates that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech just two days before the Jewish celebration of Purim, an ancient celebration that dates all the way back to an event in the book of Esther in the Bible during the ancient Persian Empire. The Jews were in captivity and Persia was the big kid on the block. Back at that time, there was an effort made that is told in the book of Esther to exterminate the Jews. It’s history’s first holocaust. Anti-Semitism is a very, very old evil. In Esther:3:13, it makes this one statement, and I think it captures the danger that was there for the Jews in the Persian Empire at the time, that “letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is in the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.” Again, history’s first effort to exterminate the Jews. The story in Esther shows that it didn’t happen due to the courage of the young Jewess named Esther, who along with her uncle Mordecai thwarted the effort that was being hatched at that time.
Well, the Jews celebrate Purim every year to mark this particular event. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming to talk to the American Congress about the Iranian effort to build and develop a nuclear weapon. This has been dominating the news for years, and it has finally come to a critical point in the negotiations. Many fear that a bargain will be struck that will allow Iran to develop that weapon. Israel, the State of Israel, has a very, very acute visionary understanding of what is taking place there. Iran for years has said that they will destroy the State of Israel, they will push the Jewish state into the Mediterranean. With one bomb, one nuclear weapon detonated over Israel, that could happen. Israel has said it will not happen. And so, the Prime Minister comes to the United States to make this plea, to make this call, this warning, and it promises to be a very interesting speech.
But to connect it all together, as this warning is given, with what we know from the story of history, the Bible as told in the book of Esther, and connected with this very interesting Jewish celebration of Purim, we recognize that we are at a very, very serious time right now.
There’s a map that I had recently seen in one of the newspapers that kind of showed exactly what is taking place with Iran, which is in the heart of the ancient Persian Empire, as they have extended their influence into Syria, into Lebanon, down into Yemen, and their efforts also in Iraq, to almost encircle the State of Israel with the danger they pose there. It’s a very critical, perilous period going on in the Middle East right now, and the negotiations toward Iran’s efforts for a weapon, the warnings that are being sounded, are ones that should be understood, listened to. We’re at a very critical period. There’s a great deal at stake.
That’s BT Daily . Join us next time.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Esther: A Woman of Faith and Courage

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Esther. This follows this post about the nation of Israel. This follows this post about Homeland Security. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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Esther: A Woman of Faith and Courage


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The Bible offers Christians many examples of faith from which we can learn and be encouraged. One of the most remarkable examples is that of Queen Esther.

Has fear ever paralyzed you, made you afraid to make a critical decision because of possible or probable serious consequences?
It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear; it is the mastery of it. The Bible, however, adds an important element to the definition of courage: trust and faith in God. Moses told the ancient Israelites not to fear the other nations when they crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land, because God was with them and would not forsake them (Deuteronomy:31:6).
How can you have this kind of faith? How can you step out and confidently make decisions that will affect the course of your physical-and maybe even your spiritual-life?

From an orphan to a queen

For the answer, consider the example of a Jewish girl from ancient Persia.
In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus, king of the Medes and Persians, searched for a new queen from among the beautiful virgins in his kingdom. She was to replace Queen Vashti. Vashti had humiliated her husband in front of many people including all his officials. She had refused to allow him to display her beauty before everyone at his special feast (Esther:1:10-22).
Esther, a young orphan, was among the women the king ordered brought to the palace for special pampering and preparation for the king's scrutiny as possible royal replacements. Her cousin, Mordecai, had reared her. Mordecai was a Jewish servant "in the king's gate" (Esther:2:19), which implied that he held a position in the king's court. Following her cousin's advice, Esther did not reveal her ethnic identity. After the king chose her as queen, she maintained her contact with her cousin (Esther 2).

Plot to wipe out a race

Sometime later Ahasuerus appointed Haman, a man prominent in the kingdom, to a special office over his princes. Ahasuerus commanded that each servant should bow down to Haman, paying him homage. Mordecai refused.
Haman was enraged by Mordecai's actions. But he wasn't satisfied just to seek revenge on one man; he devised a scheme to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom. He approached the king and informed him that the Jews did not keep the king's laws. He convinced Ahasuerus to issue a decree saying 10,000 talents of silver would go to anyone who would destroy the Jews (Esther 3).
In ancient Persia, when the king made a decree and sealed it with his signet ring, it was not to be revoked or amended. Ahasuerus's decree went out, resulting in great mourning and fasting among the Jews throughout the land. Clothed in sackcloth and ashes of mourning, Mordecai sat in the square near the king's gate. When Esther learned of Mordecai's circumstance, she told her maids to take garments to clothe him and to take away his sackcloth. But Mordecai would not accept them.
Esther then sent Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs who attended her, to find out what was wrong with Mordecai. Mordecai told him all that had happened and gave him a copy of the written decree to show to Esther. He also told him to tell her to go to the king and plead for her people.
Esther had not seen the king for 30 days. The king enforced a law that anyone who came into the inner court to approach him whom he had not specifically called was to die. However, the king could make an exception by holding out his golden scepter, thereby sparing the person. So Esther sent the eunuch back to Mordecai with the message that she could not enter the court to see the king.
Mordecai answered that, if she did nothing, she risked death along with all her countrymen in the kingdom. He also asked a piercing question: What if God had elevated Esther to her position as queen for the specific purpose of helping save her people at this critical time? (Esther:4:13-14).

Esther's dilemma

What a decision for such a young woman! Death seemed certain regardless of what she decided. Vashti had been only banished from her position as queen. Esther might actually be killed!
She had to answer Mordecai. What would she do? She must have prayed and agonized over her decision. Tension and anxiety must have consumed her. She was sickened with fear for herself and her people.
She must have asked herself a hundred times would God really let her die if she refused to help the Jews? She was so young. Surely God did not want her to die. On the other hand, could she stand silently by and watch heartless Haman annihilate her people? Why couldn't her dilemma just go away like a bad dream?
In the midst of her turmoil, Esther realized she could not allow fear to paralyze her into inaction; that in itself would be a decision. Instead, she left the outcome with God. It was clear she had only one real choice.
Even in giving Mordecai her answer, Esther knew she did not have the courage within herself to face Ahasuerus. But she did know where to go for the courage she lacked: to God in fasting and prayer. Placing her life in God's hands, she let Him decide the outcome for her and her people.
She sent word to Mordecai requesting that he ask their fellow Jews to fast for her for three days and nights. She and her maids would do likewise. Then she promised to go before the king, knowing full well she was risking her life (Esther:4:16).
You can read the remainder of the book of Esther to see what happened. The king did extend his golden scepter, and he spared Esther's life. After several special banquets for the king and Haman, Esther finally revealed Haman's plot and made known her request for her people. The king ordered Haman hanged on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai's execution.
The king issued a new decree: The Jews were free to defend themselves and destroy anyone who would assault them. He promoted Mordecai, and the Jews were saved. To this day, many Jews observe the Feast of Purim in honor of this event.

What can we learn?

Sometimes fear is our normal human reaction when we are faced with a seemingly impossible decision. Acknowledging our lack of courage is the first step to overcoming it. But we must not allow fear to paralyze us into taking no action at all.
You must realize that you need help and that you cannot go it alone. Recognize that God is all powerful, that He has promised never to leave you or forsake you (Hebrews:13:5). Go to Him in prayer and fasting to seek His will in making the right decision. Then confidently make your decision, with the courage and conviction that God is on your side.
Perhaps a fitting conclusion to this story of godly courage can come from the words on a memorial in Westminster Abbey. Inscribed on the monument to Lord Lawrence are these words: "He feared man so little because he feared God so much."
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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Osama Bin Laden and the Book of Esther - Some Parallels

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Osama bin Laden's death. This follows this previous post about it. For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Osama Bin Laden and the Book of Esther - Some Parallels




Submitted by Don Hooser




Regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden, I’m grateful for many reasons but not gleeful. When I watched on TV people gathering around the White House and in Times Square in New York to cheer, chant and dance, one part of me felt like joining in and another part of me felt disturbed as I remembered Proverbs:24:17-18[17]Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:[18]Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. which warns, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.”



It’s good to see an evil person brought to justice. But keep in mind the difference between a sense of justice and an attitude of revenge. Seeking vengeance is God’s job and He doesn’t approve someone is trying to do His job (Hebrews:10:30-31[30]For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.[31]It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.).



The celebrating made me think of the story in the book of Esther that ends up with all Jews and their friends celebrating. So I just re-read the book to compare the events in that story with the life and death of Bin Laden. There are important similarities and important differences.



The setting of the book is the powerful Medo-Persian empire that stretched from India to Ethiopia and, in particular, the capital of Shushan (aka Susa) in the area that is now Iran. King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, a proud and evil man, to be second in command and ordered everyone to bow and pay homage to Haman. Because a Jew named Mordecai would not bow before him, Haman became so infuriated that the thought of killing only Mordecai was a revenge not sufficiently satisfying. He became determined to kill all Jewish people in the entire empire.



The story is fascinating, better than any fiction. The first cousin of Mordecai, a beautiful young Jewish woman named Esther, becomes queen. She, working in cooperation with Mordecai, exposes Haman’s evil plot. Esther and Mordecai become the saviors of the Jewish people.



It’s a story of amazing poetic justice. Haman had gallows built upon which to hang Mordecai and Haman ends up getting hanged on those gallows. Mordecai is promoted to be second in command. The scheme of slaughtering all Jews is turned into a strategy for killing many of the enemies of the Jews. In the capital city 500 enemies were killed and throughout the empire 75,000 enemies were killed (Esther:9:16But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, but they laid not their hands on the prey,). From the story, it seems no Jews died, so obviously God was fighting on their side!



All the Jews immediately celebrated and Mordecai made it official that the Jews would from then on have an annual two-day celebration which became known as the feast of Purim.



That series of events is quite significant. If Haman’s plot to annihilate all Jews had been successful, there would be virtually no Jews after that. Christ the Savior could not have been born into the tribe of Judah to fulfill that prophecy because there would no longer be a tribe of Judah. There would not have been a Jewish nation and temple for Jesus to come to. The first Christians would not have been Jewish.



Satan the devil has tried many things to interfere with God’s plan for mankind. There have been many efforts to exterminate Jews and Israelites, including Hitler’s attempt. Think of Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus when He was a baby. Think of Satan’s “success” in influencing the Jewish and Roman leaders to kill Christ.



Now let’s think of some comparisons with Osama Bin Laden. Haman despised the Jews. Osama despised the Jews and all their allies and supporters.



Bin Laden and his followers had some successes. However, I believe that God has performed miracle after miracle to protect the U.S. and other western nations from terrorist attacks. With so many enemies just “dying to” kill us, it’s amazing and inspiring that there has not been a lot more death and destruction from terrorist attacks than what there has been.



Esther proclaimed a 3-day fast, obviously to seek the favor and help of God (Esther:4:16Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.). Many people have been sincerely praying for God’s mercy, help and protection from terrorists.



Haman was eventually killed, plus 10 of his sons. Osama was eventually killed, along with one son.



In Esther’s day, the Jews celebrated, but why? It was not because of the death of enemies nearly as much as it was about their own survival!



“The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor” (Esther:8:16The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.). Mordecai established “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” (9:21-22).



The focus of celebration was not the death of one arch-enemy. Haman “had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them” (9:23). They were celebrating the profound relief and joy at knowing they were not going to be annihilated after all!



Wouldn’t this day be ultra-joyous if we knew there were no more followers of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, or other terrorist organizations?! If there was no more plots or even desires to destroy Israel (that they call “the little Satan”) or the United States (that they call “the great Satan”)?!



The death of Osama Bin Laden is significant for concrete reasons and psychological reasons, but it’s only a small success when one thinks of all of today’s threats to peace and security.



May the King of kings soon return to earth to defeat all would-be murderers and establish real peace on earth!







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Friday, February 26, 2010

Victory and the Celebration of Purim

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/brp to read if you are interested in the biblical Purim story. This follows another holiday analysis here and subscribe to this blog for more stories like this here.


Victory and the Celebration of Purim (Esther 9–10)
The day decreed for the attack on the Jews, and subsequently for the Jews to strike out against their enemies in self-defense—even preemptively if deemed necessary—finally arrives (9:1). The 13th day of the 12th month, Adar, corresponds to March of 473 B.C. This day had been determined by Haman's superstitious casting of lots, but it seems likely that God had interfered in the process—causing the date to be sufficiently late enough for the Jews to both determine who their enemies were and to make preparations against them. On this fateful day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to prevail, the opposite happened.
Besides the general fear that had come on the people of the empire because of the Jews' apparent divine favor and help, we are told that the officials of the land helped the Jews on this occasion because of their particular fear of Mordecai's growing influence in the empire (verses 2-4). They may have been trying to garner political favor with the new prime minister, and at the very least were trying to secure themselves against any possible reprisal.
In verses 7-14 we see a return to the conflict with Haman in the killing of his 10 sons. "The patterns of reprisal and vengeance were so deeply ingrained in the cultures of the ancient Middle East that the survival of even one of these sons might mean trouble for the next generation of Jewish people. By listing each of the vanquished sons of their mortal enemy, the Jewish people celebrated the fact that the victory was complete" (Nelson Study Bible, note on verses 7-10). It could also be that these sons had taken or threatened action against the Jews at some point. Moreover, we may perhaps see in this a continuation of the carrying out of the ancient divine edict of destroying the Amalekites. King Ahasuerus granted Esther's request that the bodies of Haman's sons be publicly displayed on the gallows (verses 11-14). This was to serve as a deterrent against anyone contemplating harm against the Jews.
Having overcome their enemies on Haman's determined day, the Jews set aside the next day, the 14th of Adar, as a holiday for celebration. The Jews at Shushan, however, were granted permission to continue fighting through the 14th. So they set aside the 15th as the day to celebrate (verses 13-19). Mordecai sent a letter directing the Jews to observe both days annually from then on and this became an accepted custom (verses 20-25, 27). The days were referred to as Purim, named after the word pur, meaning "lot" (verse 26; see verse 24; 3:7). Purim is the plural.
At some point Esther sent out a second letter with Mordecai confirming the tradition of observing Purim (9:29-32). Though God had not established this feast in the law, it was appropriate for the Jews to commemorate God's intervention on their behalf in this annual celebration. Purim is similar in this respect to Hanukkah, which was instituted three centuries later to commemorate God's help and deliverance in the days of the Maccabees. Jesus Christ apparently went to Jerusalem for the observance of Hanukkah (see John 10:22-23). And as a Jew it is likely that He also observed Purim, especially as its institution is recorded in Scripture. Yet as Purim and Hanukkah are national celebrations not commanded in the law, it is not required that Christians observe them. Indeed, non-Jewish Christians would not be expected to, just as non-Americans are not expected to observe the American holidays of Thanksgiving and Independence Day.
What about the "fasting" in verse 31? "No date is assigned for this fast. Jews traditionally observe the 13th of Adar, Haman's propitious day (see 3:7, 13), as a fast ("the fast of Esther") before the celebration of Purim. These three days of victory celebration on the 13th-15th days of Adar rhetorically balance the three days of Esther's fasting prior to interceding with the king (4:16)" (NIV Study Bible, note on verse 31).
In the three verses that make up the short chapter of Esther 10, we see a final mention of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) and Mordecai. Xerxes reigned eight years beyond the events of chapter 9—dying by assassination in 465 B.C. We know nothing of what became of Esther and Mordecai. But they left an amazing legacy, having cooperated with Almighty God in His grand design to save His people.

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