Purim in Bible Times
 The
story starts with a beauty contest in which Esther
is chosen to be the new queen. And the king loved
Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace
and favor in his sight more than all the virgins;
so that he set the royal crown upon her head,
and made her queen (Esther 2:17). During that
time, the Jews lived peacefully in the Persian
(modern-day Iran) land. Mordecai was a descendent
of King Saul, and advisor to the King and Esther’s
cousin. Esther was raised by Mordecai. He advised
Esther not to tell the king she was of Hebrew
descent.
The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant,
treacherous, egotistical advisor to the king.
Haman demanded all the king’s servants bow
down to him. But Mordecai would not. Haman was
full of jealousy and bitterness. A descendant
of the Jew-hating tribe of Amalek, Haman devised
his scheme to solve the Jewish "problem"
once and for all by annihilating every Jew. Haman
told the king, "…There is a certain
people scattered abroad and dispersed among the
people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and
their laws are diverse from all people; neither
keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is
not for the king’s profit to suffer them"
(Esther 3:8) Haman convinced powerful Ahasuerus
(Xerxes) that the Jews did not keep his laws and
they should all be wiped out.
By lottery, the day was chosen for the Jews to
die. Haman suggested that anyone who killed a
Jew would be rewarded by keeping the victim’s
property. People responded well to this anti-Semitism.
It was decreed that all Jews, both young and old,
little children and women, in one day, were to
be annihilated on the thirteenth day of the twelfth
Hebrew month, Adar.
Mordecai "clothed himself in sackcloth and
ashes and went out into the midst of the City."
He turned to repentance, and urged the rest of
the Jews to do likewise. Then he sent Esther to
come to the King to beseech him and plead with
him for her people. The first thing she did was
to tell Mordecai to "Go and gather all the
Jews . . . and they should fast for me, and neither
eat nor drink for three days and nights."
In addition, Esther included herself: "I
also . . . will fast likewise." On the third
day Esther went uninvited to the king’s royal
throne (taking her life in her hands). Queen Esther
"found grace and favor in his sight."
The king asked Esther, "What wilt thou, queen
Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even
given thee to the half of the kingdom." Esther
answered, "If it seem good unto the king,
let the king and Haman come this day unto the
banquet that I have prepared for him." The
king agreed.
That day, Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s
gate. Again, Mordecai did not bow down to Haman.
Haman was enraged! He and his wife devised a plot
to have the king order Mordecai hanged. He gave
the instructions for special gallows to be constructed
for Mordecai’s death.
That evening the king could not sleep. He sent
for his court records and through them found out
that Mordecai had never been repaid for saving
his life. The king decided to honor Mordecai.
At the evening of the banquet the king again asked
Esther, "What is thy petition? and it shall
be granted thee: and what is thy request? even
to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."
Esther answered, "My petition and my request
is; If I have found favor in the sight of the
king, and if it please the king to grant my petition,
and to perform my request, let the king and Haman
come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them,
and I will do to morrow as the king hath said."
The king was aware that Esther was willing to
die in order to bring a request to him and he
was willing to grant her request. He would know
that it was a most serious request. This also
accounts for him repeating his question at the
two banquets. He knew that she would not have
risked death just to invite him to dinner.
The king and Haman came to the second banquet
with Esther the queen. And the king said again
"What is thy petition, queen Esther? and
it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request?
and it shall be performed, even to the half of
the kingdom." Esther then exposed Haman as
the king’s adversary and enemy and besought
the king to spare the Jewish people. The King
was full of rage. He commanded Haman to be hanged
on the gallows made for Mordecai.
Neither Esther nor the Jewish people sat around
waiting for God to send His angels, but, rather,
trusting in God to answer the prayer, they acted
boldly. In both cases we do see an expression
of the humility of men not being willing to trust
their own strength, but imploring God for help.
The community was also involved in the prayer:
The law decreeing the Jews to be killed could
not be canceled, so the king gave a new decree
that the Jews were now allowed to defend themselves
when attacked. Therefore, the day that was to
be destruction became a day of deliverance. Because
of Mordecai’s and Esther’s loyalty and
devotion, the entire Jewish nation was saved.
The Jews also showed their devotion, for, throughout
the duration of the year, not one single Jew chose
to convert, even to save his life! The Jewish
people had shown their character. They had earned
the right to leave Exile, to return to the Holy
Land, and to rebuild the Temple.
The king gave his ring, which he had taken from
Haman, to Mordecai. Mordecai became the king’s
chief minister. Mordecai declared this rescue
would be called Purim, to be celebrated each year
(Esther 9:20-32).
The above is just a tiny sampling from the giant
telephone size book, A
Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays. The
book includes graphics, games, puzzles, recipes,
and much more for the seven holidays in Leviticus,
Sabbath, Hanukkah, and Purim
More About Purim
| Purim
in Bible Times | Celebrating
Purim | Jewish
Customs |
| Messiah
in Purim | Purim
Links | Childrens
books |
| Audio
Purim Story | Purim
Recipes |
|
