Nugget #280:
God moves in a mysterious way
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Ancient Persia is Modern Iran!
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Shalom
Haverim
,
Happy First Day of Spring! Purim begins tonite at sundown! The events of this holiday are detailed in the book of Esther. The book of Esther
is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it seems that my life is constantly full of "no way out" situations, and then the Lord will 'move in a mysterious way' and He opens the way for me. Just as He did for Esther and the Jewish people long ago and just as He does right now in the year 2019.
I love old hymns and have a little collection of old hymn books. Those hymn writers had good theology which modern Christian songs often lack. Way back in 1773, William Cowper from England wrote a poem titled, "Light Shining out of Darkness". From this poem came the hymn, "God Moves in Mysterious Ways". Cowper's poem is such a fitting summary of the events of the book of Esther. I have quoted a few stanzas below.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.
Happy Spring
Happy Purim - Chat Sameach!
Jacki Powell, Light for Israel
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A Scroll of the Book of Esther from the 13th-14th century from Morocco, held at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris.
It is Jewish tradition to read the entire book of Esther or the Scroll of Esther [Hebrew: Megillat Ester מגילת אסתר ] on Purim. The Hebrew word for scroll is Megillah ( מגילה)
For Hebrew students who would like to celebrate Purim tonite and read an abridged version of the story,
click here to download it.
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Queen Esther accuses Haman before King Ahasuerus
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Mystery! A constant theme of the book of Esther is that 'things are not always the way they appear'. The name "Esther" is from the word mistar ( מסתר) and means 'hiding place'. [Note: Esther's Hebrew name is Hadassah ( הדסה ) (Esther 2:7) and means "myrtle".] Esther hid her Jewish identity per Mordecai's instruction (see Esther 2:10) The book of Esther has an element of suspense and the characters in the Purim story are different from what they at first appear to be and thus it is longstanding Jewish tradition to celebrate Purim by dressing in costumes.
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Eternal Consequences of a Single Choice
On what was probably a hot day, Esau made what seemed like a small choice to him at the time. He had been out hunting and upon returning to camp hungry and tired, he asked his brother Jacob for a bowl of red pottage (lentils). Jacob wanted the birthright that belonged to Esau, as the firstborn, so he made a deal: the bowl of lentils for the birthright. Before we castigate Jacob too much, remember that Jacob did not FORCE Esau to say yes. He merely gave Esau options. Esau became the eternal king of "Instant gratification" that day when he placed the immediate over the eternal and said yes to his brother's deal. The birthright (and later the blessing) passed forever to Jacob and his descendants. This was truly a 'bad deal' if there ever was one, but it was one that Esau had consented to. A good lesson for us - be careful of our choices - esp. those concerning food. (Adam and Eve can also attest to this!)
Over 400 hundred years pass and Jacob's descendants, now called the children of Israel, have been delivered from Egypt by Moses and are making their way to Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments when they come upon the Amalekites, the descendants of Esau. Joshua was chosen to do battle with Amalek that day while Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses. (Exodus 17:8-16) On this day, God put a curse on the Amalekites: "
And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for
I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."
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Because of the Amalekites constant threat to the security of the children of Israel, God commanded king Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, to destroy them. 1 Samuel 15 records the story. However, Saul did not fully obey God, but spared King Agag (1 Sam. 15:8) and the best of the flocks. For this act of disobedience, God stripped the kingdom from Saul and gave it to David. Before you jump to the conclusion that Saul's punishment is harsh, fast forward about 600 years to the time of Esther. The Prime Minister of Persia is a very anti-semitic man named Haman who is a descendent of King Agag! (Esther 3:1) Yes! The same one that Saul failed to kill!
The High Cost of Disobedience
Haman pledged to King Ahasuerus the modern equivalent of $3.8 billion to the king's treasuries if the King would sign a decree guaranteeing the destruction of all the Jewish people in the entire kingdom of Persia (the entire known world). This would completely wipe out the Jewish people. It sounds like the newspaper headlines of today coming from Iran doesn't it? Yet another bad deal with Persia! Because of Saul's failure, Agag's descendant, Haman, is threatening to wipe out the Jewish people 600 years later. Haman is specifically called "the Jews enemy" (Esther 3:10) Saul's failure put his future descendants, the Jewish people, into great jeopardy! Another good lesson for us: we should always obey the Lord because only He can see the far consequences of our actions.
God Gives Second Chances
How would God save the Jews? Through a huge miracle? By raising up a giant army? No. Just one person will do when that one person is in God's hand! God has been working behind the scenes and has a lethal weapon in place - Queen Esther! Unknown to King Ahasuerus, his lovely wife is Jewish! Her cousin and legal guardian is Mordecai (Heb: מָרְדֳּכַ֥י) and wields a position of power in the Persian court. Esther 4:8 gives Mordecai's plan for the deliverance of the Jews:
"Also he [Mordecai] gave him [Hatach - Esther's servant] the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them [the Jews], to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king [Ahasuerus], to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people. [the Jewish people]"
Remember that this crisis exists because a Benjaminite, King Saul, had failed to obey God about 600 years prior to our story. I am so glad that God gives second chances because guess who God is going to use to defeat Haman? You guessed it! The tribe of Benjamin gets a second chance. You see Mordecai and Esther are from the tribe of Benjamin (Esther 2:5-7). God is going to let them right the wrong that Saul caused 600 years prior!
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Walking in Esther's Footsteps
Well, Esther DID go in before King Ahasuerus and eventually she did reveal that she was Jewish and she did plead for the lives of her people the Jewish people. Because of his great love for Esther, Ahasuerus did listen. Haman was hung on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. However, his evil decree could not be reversed according to Persian law. But Ahasuerus told Mordecai and Esther that he gave them freedom to write a new decree that would override the evil decree. Sometimes bad decisions simply cannot be 'undone'. However we can make new decisions that are greater than the bad ones. I think of the New Testament verse: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:21
Esther went before a foreign king to petition for the life of her people - the Jewish people. We can do the same thing today by writing or calling our government officials and speaking to them on behalf of the nation of Israel. Remember, Esther was just one person.
One person can make a big difference!
The book of Esther and the story of Purim should especially encourage us who love and support Israel. In our time, we again see anti-semitic Persian leaders (Iranian leaders) who want to "wipe the Jews from the map". They sound like Haman (Esther 3:6-10). We must be encouraged by the lesson of Purim because just like in Queen Esther's day, God is secretly working to affect the deliverance of those whom He considers the "apple of His eye" (Zechariah 2:8). Haman had engineered decrees to cause the total destruction of the Jewish people, but in one stroke, God turned certain annihilation into a day of deliverance and salvation and,
"The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour."
(Esther 8:16) The 13th and 14th of the month Adar, which Haman had chosen to be days of destruction for the Jewish nation, became instead days of "gladness and feasting" and became the holiday of Purim. (Esther 9:19) When God works His miracles, I sure do want to be there to see them! Mordecai told Esther,
"... who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" -Esther 4:14
The story of Esther should encourage us that God is always at work, in ALL situations in our life, often in secret or unseen, but He is there sometimes "hidden" in the circumstances. At the perfect time, He will reveal Himself and His plan for our lives and the lives of those we love.
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View the Super Worm Equinox Purim Full Moon Tonite!
Purim falls on Adar 13th and 14th. On the Hebrew calendar, the middle of the month, is the full moon. The full moon of Purim is exactly one month from the full moon of Passover. Be sure to go outside tonite to see the beautiful Purim full moon!
Today, March 20th, is the Sprin Equinox - the day when the sun crosses the celestial equator and officially is once again in the northern hemisphere. YEAH for Spring! Tonite is also the Full moon, since it is Purim and Purim is always on the Full moon. This full moon is also a "super moon" due to its closeness to the earth tonite. The Native Americans also called it the "worm moon" since with the warmth of spring, the earth worms now begin to emerge and planting can begin. So tonite's moon is called the "Super Worm Equinox Moon" and I also add to that and call it the
"Super Worm Equinox Purim Moon"!
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Ancient Persia - Modern Iran
The book of Esther does not occur in the land of Israel, but rather takes place in the Persian (Hebrew: פרס) royal city of Shushan ( שושן). (Esther 1:2) The palace in ancient Shushan was a place of great power because Persia, under the leadership of Cyrus the Great, had become the superpower of the ancient world. (see Daniel 6:28) King Ahasuerus (Xerxes was his Greek name) ruled 127 provinces which covered most of the known world. (Esther 1:1)
In 1935 the Iranian government requested those countries which it had diplomatic relations with, to call Persia "Iran," which is the name of the country in Persian. The suggestion for the change is said to have come from the Iranian ambassador to Germany, who came under the influence of the Nazis.
The modern country of Iran hates Israel and daily spews out anti-semitic threats. We cannot partner with such a nation and yet the European Union wants to main relations with Iran even though they desire to destroy Israel.
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A 9th Century Lot From Mesopotamia
The word 'pur' means 'lot' (see Esther 3:7; 9:24). The plural is Purim meaning 'lots'. This is a reproduction of a lot from 9th century Mesopotamia. Lots were used in many forms in the ancient world. Some were merely pebbles placed in a bag, some wooden pieces with names that were placed in a jar, and yet others were dice. This particular lot [pictured] is inscribed in cuneiform. Lots were used by many civilizations to invoke an answer from the gods, not as chance but as direction. The Hebrews used the casting of lots throughout history as a means of determining the will of God in matters that were otherwise doubtful.
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Hebrew Today - Subscribe to Bereshit
- An easy-Hebrew newspaper for Beginners. They also produce Yansuf, which is a Hebrew newspaper for the more advanced reader. The newspaper is printed bi-weekly. I love it!
www.hebrewtoday.com
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IBJM's daily 5 minute programs provide devotionals with a Jewish flavor, interviews with interesting people and much more.
Click here
to listen via Sermon Audio.
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The Land and the Book
- For a unique Biblical perspective on the Middle East from Dr. Charlie Dyer, conservative news from Israel, the latest archaeological discoveries, and insights into prophetic events - all this and more on the Land and the Book one hour radio program produced by Moody Radio. Visit
The Land and the Book Facebook page.
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Bibleli - Biblical Hebrew
with teacher Eli Dahan - live from Jerusalem every Thursday at 8pm Eastern. Currently we are studying the Laws of the Bible.
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Thank you for reading the Hebrew Nuggets!
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