Esther 9 and 10
The day set to destroy the Jewish people came; but their neighbors had heard the send command of the king in their favor, and only a few dared to fight against them; and those were soon defeated.
Then other letters came to the Jews everywhere, sent by Queen Esther and Mordecai, telling them to make feasts on the two days after that set day, to give thanks for the saving of their lives. They were told that those days should always be kept by them and their children, in whatever city or land they might be. This feast was called Purim, because Pur was their word for lot, and Haman had cast lots to decide the day for his evil plan to kill the Jews. We do not know how they chose the lot; the names of the months may have been written on stones, or on what was used for paper; all shaken together, and drawn out one by one, and the last one drawn, was the one taken. There is a verse which says,
“The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing is of the Lord.” Prov. 16:3333The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33). So God ruled this lot for good to the Jews and there was great joy in keeping the feast.
Although it was many hundreds of years ago that queen Esther and Mordecai sent the order, the feast of Purim is still kept each year by Jewish people in all parts of the world; and they read over the story of Queen Esther pleading for the lives of the nation.
We are not told more of Queen Esther, but Mordecai was given a place of power next to the king, who is thought to be the one called Xerses in ancient history; but it cannot be known for certain.
Since that time, and even lately, Jewish people have been threatened with death; they have lived among other nations, without a country of their own, because they neglected God’s words and refused the Messiah when He came to them; yet God’s promise that they should never be all destroyed has always proved true. He said, “When they be in a land of their enemies I will not cast them away, neither, ... . to destroy them utterly, ... .for I am the Lord their God.” Leviticus 26:4444And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God. (Leviticus 26:44).
There is an order of death for the whole world, for every person of every nation. This is the order,
“It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment,” Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27). Then another order shows all may be saved from that judgment, not by fighting, as the Jews did on the set day, but by the death of Another. The second order reads,
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31). The great king’s orders might change, but God’s promises never change.
Believers in Jesus do not keep the feast of Purim, but there is a simple feast He told them to keep to remember His death, which has been kept by faithful believers ever since (1 Cor. 11:23-2623For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. (1 Corinthians 11:23‑26)).
It may help you to better understand the Bible stories if we notice the Jewish months: they had twelve months in a year, of 29 or 30 days each, so 354 days. But certain years an extra month was added so their average year was about as ours. When God made Israel a free nation, He said Abib, the Passover month, should be their first month; but after they became servants to the kings of Babylon, they used the names of the months which the kings used, for government matters.
ML 03/31/1940