DIVINE BLUEPRINT. PURIM AND HANUKKAH: Not Divinely Appointed, but Divine Intervention

Transcription

1 DIVINE BLUEPRINT PURIM AND HANUKKAH: Not Divinely Appointed, but Divine Intervention PURIM So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the entire kingdom of Ahasuerus the people of Mordechai. In the first month, which is the month of Nissan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from every other people s and they do not observe the king s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them. Esther 3: 6b-8 TANACH In the book of Esther, the story speaks of a man by the name of Haman. He was very close to the king of Persia and wanted to have more power than he could mentally possess or handle. An example of his status was shown in his position on the cabinet of the king. At first he was the least in authority of the king s council, but gained influence as he came up with a brilliant idea of what to do with the king s first wife. When a person is least in authority he is only allowed to speak when all the others have had their say. Haman did not wait his turn; he blurted out the answer that he thought the king was looking for. The king had been humiliated in the eyes of the other kings and princes because of his wife s disobedience by not honoring his request to attend the party. The king, being distraught accepted Haman s advice and was then left without a queen. A search was sent out throughout the provinces to find a woman suitable to be 1

2 the next queen and this is where the LORD intervenes. A young woman by the name of Hadassah who was also called Esther (Persian name) was chosen due to her uncle s encouragement, knowing that she would be a great queen. The only thing was that she had to keep her Jewish heritage a secret. When she was chosen to be queen, her uncle also moved to the city of Shushan, was well respected in the Jewish community, and sat at the gates of the palace with the other great men of power in the king s cabinet. Because of his position, he overheard a plot to kill the king and alerted him to it through Esther. This saved the king s life! He did not reward Mordechai for it, but it was noted in the king s book of chronicles. Meanwhile, because of his status Haman thought that he had the power to manipulate the lives of people, even more so than the king. The king had seated Haman above all the other council members and that gave Haman the respect of the high official second only to the king, and when he passed by it was mandatory that all in his presence would bow to him. Everyone did except Mordechai. It was not against Jewish customs to bow before authority, in fact, they are encouraged to pay homage to those who had rule over them. Mordechai would not because Haman wore the symbols of the pagan religion around his neck and attached to his robe which probably made him think that he was a demigod. BUT, Mordechai would not bow to him. To do so would show honor to other gods and Mordechai was a man who held on to his faith while he was in exile. When Haman saw with his own eyes that Mordechai would not bow, he was furious. Being a ruthless man, he realized that this was an opportunity to not only get rid of Mordechai, but all of the people of Mordechai the Jews. Most of the kings were afraid of the Jewish God and even when holding His people in captivity, they respected the Jews because of their God. Haman had to come up with a clever way of convincing the king to kill them. Trying to find the right time to reveal his plan to the king, for one year Haman used witchcraft by casting lots ( pur in the Persian language) to determine the exact time for the extermination of the Jews; an example of the final solution of Hitler s regime. Then he set his plan in motion describing the Jews as a rebellious people, but never calling them out as Jews. Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention the LORD, but His hand was in everything that happened to the Jews while they were in exile. They had been a disobedient people and while in exile the LORD continued to protect them from their own destructive ways. When Haman s plan was revealed, and the decree was sent to all the provinces naming the date of the execution of the Jews, Mordechai tore his clothes and mourned bringing attention to himself. It was told to Esther that her uncle was at the gates of the palace in mourning clothes and this was not allowed unless the 2

3 king demanded it. Her servant came back with word from Mordechai of the plot to kill all the Jews. At first, she did not want to act, because going to the king before you were summoned could mean death on the spot, but Mordechai reminded her that just because she sat inside the palace as the queen, there was no guarantee that she would be spared while her people were slaughtered. He also said to her that this may have been the reason for her being chosen as queen so that she could defend her people. Then Mordechai said to reply to Esther, Do not imagine in your soul that you will be able to escape in the king s palace any more than the rest of the Jews. For if you persist in keeping silent at a time like this, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, while you and your father s house will perish. And who knows whether it was just for such a time as this that you attained the royal position. Esther 4: TANACH Of course, the king did not know that she was a Jew or he would not have made her his queen; maybe a concubine or a lesser wife, but never the queen. Esther called for the Jews living in Shushan to go on a three-day fast; afterwards she would put her plan in motion. Then Esther said to reply to Mordechai: Go, assemble all the Jews that are to be found in Shushan, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day: And I, with my maids, will fast also. Thus I will come to the king though it is unlawful; and if I perish, I perish. Mordechai then left and did exactly as Esther had commanded him. Esther 4:15-17 TANACH Before we go on, it pays to follow the commandments of the LORD. Going back in Jewish history we see that King Saul, the first king of Israel was ordered to do something that we in today s society consider to be despicable acts and we pummel our military with unkind words and gestures when they do their job. When in war, fight as a warrior and destroy your enemy, if not they will come back to haunt you at a later time. When the Israelites went to war against the Amalekites, Saul was instructed to wipe them out; not to leave one person alive and do not take the spoils of victory. Saul allowed the people to talk him into disobedience; at least he claims it was the people s fault when in fact it was his call. When you are the leader you must do what is right even if the people do not agree. Samuel said to Saul: The LORD sent me to anoint you as king over the people, over Israel, so now hear the sound of the LORD s words. So said, the LORD, Master of Legions: I have remembered what Amalek did to Israel [the ambush] he emplaced against him on the way, as he went up from Egypt. Now go and strike down Amalek and destroy everything he has. Have no pity on him kill man and woman alike, infant and 3

4 suckling alike, ox and sheep alike, camel and donkey alike Saul struck down Amalek, from Havilah to the approach to Shur, which is alongside Egypt. He captured Agag, king of Amalek, alive, and the entire people he destroyed by the edge of the sword. Saul, as well as the people, took pity on Agag, on the best of sheep, the cattle, the fatted bulls, the fatted sheep, and on all that was good; and they were not willing to destroy them, but the inferior and wretched livestock, that they did destroy. 1 Samuel 15: 1-3, 7-9 TANACH Saul kept the prized animals and much more, but also allowed the king to live. It took quite a bit of time for Samuel to catch up with Saul because he had moved and he and his entourage were in another city. When the prophet Samuel came to him, Saul did not consider what he had done as being disobedient to the LORD. Sometimes, kings that are captured are allowed to live either in the palace of the king who is holding him captive or in special quarters suitable for a visiting king. It all depended upon the situation. If there was pity for the king and his loss, he more than likely stayed with the host king in his palace. It was enough time for Agag, the king to impregnate his wife and leave children behind to carry on his name and his ruthless ways. Agag was brought to Samuel in chains for show, but not for death, but Agag knew better as soon as he saw Samuel. This story in Esther probably would not have happened if Saul had been obedient. You see, Haman was a descendant of King Agag. This is why he is referred to in Scripture as Haman the Agagite. After the period of fasting Esther went to the king, he extended his scepter and listened to the invite for a banquet to which Haman was to attend. She had a wine feast for the two men and invited them for another night of feasting. Haman was very proud of the fact that he was the only one chosen among the king s cabinet to attend these 4

5 banquets and left the palace happy until he saw Mordechai who still refused to bow to him. He bragged to his family about his position, but he could not be completely happy until he did something about Mordechai. He listened as his friends, wise men, and family decided that Mordechai was to die on a gallows fifty feet high for all to see him as a reminder not to mess with Haman. Unfortunately, things started to turn for the worse for Haman; one day he was in and the next day he was on his way out. During the night the king was disturbed in his sleep; he awoke and called for his servant to bring the Chronicles. He realized after reading and speaking with his servant that the man who saved his life had not been honored. The next day Haman was in the courtyard early because he wanted permission from the king to hang Mordechai. He was summoned to come before the royal throne and the king asked him, What would he do to honor a man who had done something great in the king s eyes? Haman assumed the king was speaking about him and described to the king everything great that he thought was meant for him. He said that this man should be lead thru the streets on one of the king s horses; he should wear one of the king s robes, and loudly declare that the man was great and should be honored. To Haman s surprise the king told him to go and do this for Mordechai, the very man he wanted dead. Haman was devastated by this command because the king also insisted that he be the one to walk through the streets holding the horse that Mordechai was riding on, while Mordechai was wearing the king s robe, and he had to proclaim that the man on the horse was a man to be honored. He had to do this to a Jew, a man whom he had convinced the king to destroy with his whole nation. Not only this, when Queen Esther came forth at the second banquet and revealed her identity to the king and that Haman had now convinced him to kill his wife and all of her people, the king was furious. On top of this, the king leaves the room for a minute because of his anger and trying to decide what to do with Haman for the mess he had gotten the king in, he comes back to find Haman seemingly attacking the queen sealing his fate -- death. He was hung on the very gallows he had built for Mordechai and all of his sons (all ten) were also hung at a later time. His family was wiped out and his estate given to Mordechai. The king did something that was unprecedented: he rescinded a royal decree! This was not done under any circumstances. His order for the Jews to be killed was halted and he gave permission to the Jews to kill anyone who raised a hand against them. The decree went out to all 127 provinces to protect the Jews at all cost. Of course there were those who refused to adhere to the new decree. Thousands of Persians were killed and all Jewish properties that Haman had asked for were not taken as had been ordered. 5

6 Now, Purim is NOT an appointed time called by the LORD, but it is a celebrated holiday commemorating the day when the Jewish people were saved from annihilation. They wear costumes and act out the story of the death of Haman. They eat really tasty treats and have fun, sometimes too much fun. Participation in a Game To participate in the game of Haman, you are given a noisemaker known as a grogger. Each time Mordechai s name is read, you cheer as loud as possible; when the name of Haman is read, you boo and use the grogger to make noise and drown out any mention of him. 6

7 HANUKKAH Hanukkah is mentioned in the New Testament as the Feast of Dedication held to commemorate the reconstruction of the Temple during the Intertestamental period. It was a time of great turmoil for the Jewish nation being invaded by one group after another. This time it was the Syrians who were there. Alexander the Great, a young man of Greek origin who was a marvel at conquering territory with a fighting machine of an army that no rivals could hold a candle to, invaded the Middle East and Eastern Europe, taking all of the land for himself and establishing the Greek culture as the only culture worth observing. Most of the lands were devastated by him, but he left Israel to worship as it had for thousands of years to serve their own God. After the death of Alexander the Great, his kingdom was divided among four of his generals who were also his friends. But power went to their heads and they started invading each other s territory. Eventually one of them called, Antiochus, (He also called himself, Epiphanes because he considered himself to be god manifested) literally destroyed Jerusalem and forced many of the people to worship the idols that he had put in place. Antiochus seat of power was in Syria; each of the Greek generals having control in strategic cities in the known world. He desecrated the Temple and defiled the altar by sacrificing swine on it. He erected idols everywhere including the Temple and dared the Priests of God to worship the True God on fear of death. He sent his men from city to city to erect idols and to force the people to worship them, even on the Sabbath which, of course, was a sacrilege. Unfortunately, one of his men came to a city called Modin, where a family of righteous men lived. Mattathias, the priest was called out to come and offer sacrifice to the idol and knowing that if the priest and the most 7

8 respected man in the city offers sacrifice, the people will follow. Mattathias refused, but another man decided he would offer the sacrifice and Mattathias killed him. He also killed the one that the king had sent on his behalf. So he, his five sons, and other men of the city took refuge in secret places and they eventually built a great army. One of his sons whose name was Judas was a fighting machine and he was nicknamed, The Maccabee, meaning, the hammer. This young man fought for many years along side of his father and then taking over from his father after his death. The Maccabees retook much of Israel from the Syrians, especially Jerusalem. Judas terrified their enemies; they saw him as a lion roaring for his prey ( The Apocrypha 1 Maccabees 3:4). The Temple had been wrecked and the sacred vessels stolen or broken. Judas placed watchmen while the others cleaned the Temple; tearing down the old altar because sacrifices to idols had been done on it and they built a new one. They saved the stones from the old altar for the priests to determine their fate. They found the great menorah which was called the Light of God, representing the illumination of the Word of god, and restored it having one major problem. There was oil for only one day and it would take eight days to purify more oil for the menorah. They searched the Temple for more, but the oil had been destroyed. Judas decided that the Light of God would shine for at least one day to give the people hope. To their surprise, it miraculously lasted for eight days while they restored as much of the Temple as they could and considered these eight days as a Feast of Dedication. The date was set for this celebration on the 25 th of Kislev (in December) and it has been celebrated ever since. A different kind of menorah is used for this feast; it has eight bowls with one servant. The Temple menorah has 7 bowls. The Hanukkah menorah is part of the ceremony that involves the family and close friends who are invited over for the evening. Gifts are shared with each other and potato latkes are usually served; a real delicacy for potato lovers. Many of the gifts that are shared are not just for the children to receive something on this occasion, but special gift boxes are assembled and given to 8

9 the poor so that they can have a happy Hanukkah. When it is time to light the menorah, a blessing is pronounced over the lighting of the each candle; one for each day of the feast. The servant candle lights the rest, and a song is sung mainly for the children to teach them the story of Hanukkah. Moaz Tzur Traditional Melody Rock of Ages, let our song Praise Thy saving power, Thou, a midst the raging foes, Was our sheltering tower. Furious, they assailed us, but Thine arm prevailed for us. And Thy word Broke their sword when our own strength failed us. We know that this holiday was celebrated during the time of Christ because it is mentioned in John 10: It was at this Feast that His teaching was so strong and unrelenting that He stirred up greater controversy among the religious leaders and He left Jerusalem to go in Judea and Perea to continue His ministry. Although it is not listed in Leviticus 23 as one of the Appointed Times it is mentioned in the Old Testament as a prediction by Daniel; not the day itself, but the events leading up to it (See Daniel 8:21-25). 9

10 RESOURCES FOR DIVINE BLUEPRINT SERIES ArtScroll Siddur Sabbath and Festival. NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., ArtScroll Machzor Maariv Rosh Hashanah. NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Birnbaum, Philip. Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts. NY: Hebrew Publishing Co., Brenton, Sir Lancelot C.L. Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek & English. MA: Hendrickson, 1851, Kasdan, Barney. God s Appointed Times. MD: Lederer Books, Stallings, Joseph. Rediscovering Passover: A Complete Guide for Christians. CA: Resource Publishing, TANACH, ArtScroll Series, Stone Edition. NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, Fifth Improved Edition. IN: B.B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc