This Sunday, Feb. 28th is a special day. It iss a day of celebration known as “Purim,” a Jewish holiday that marks the historic and courageous actions of a young girl named Hadassa 2470 years ago- actions that saved a nation. Of course, you know her better by her other name: Esther. Her story is one of the most exciting in all of the Bible. It has everything a great story needs: A beautiful heroine who rises from obscurity to become queen, an evil villain who is out to destroy her and all her people, spies, intrigue, a desperate chance to thwart the wicked plot, unexpected twists, and a great ending where good triumphs and evil is vanquished! If you have never read the book of Esther, read it this week - or better yet, read it to your kids for their bed-time story!
The hero of our story, Esther, was a Jew living in exile in Persia. The evil villain’s name was Haman who was filled with demonic hate for Israel bent on genocide. The Bible says Haman was an “Agagite” which means he was a descendant of Agag. (Es. 9:24) Remember him? Agag was the king of the Amalekites that Saul was supposed to utterly destroy about 600 years earlier. (1 Sam. 15) Because Saul failed to obey God and completely wipe out the Amalekites, Saul was rejected as king of Israel and some descendants of Agag survived to perpetuate his line which would eventually extend all the way to Haman. But why did God want Saul to wipe out the Amalekites? Because God knew what they intended for his people. The Almalekites were filled with hate for God’s people and were intent on wiping out Israel. Amalek was a grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:12) and you know the history between Jacob (Israel) and Esau, the father of all the surrounding nations. Four hundred years after Jacob and Esau, Moses would bring Israel out of Egypt on the exodus back to Israel. The descendants of Amalek who had now grown into a nation of their own, were one of their first adversaries. The Amalekites attacked Israel even before they reached Mt. Sinai. (Ex.17) There Joshua led the army against them while Moses interceded on the mountain and after the battle, Moses makes an interesting comment. He reveals a new name of God, “Jehovah Nissi,” meaning “God is my banner,” and proclaims that the LORD would be “at war with the Amalekites” – this people filled with hate for God and the Jews- “from generation to generation.” (Ex. 17:16) Fast forward 450 years to Saul: God commands the destruction of Amalek to prevent the slaughter of the Jews, but Saul fails, so the cycle continues. Now jump 600 more years to the time of Esther. The descendants of Agag the Amalekite have now been assimilated into Persia as revealed in the person of Haman. The same devilish plot to destroy the Jews is still afoot. What did Moses say? “From generation to generation!” Again God intervenes, this time through Esther, and God’s people are miraculously saved! The desire of Satan to kill the Jews has been evident from the beginning, since “Salvation is from the Jews.” The Devil wants to destroy the “mother” of Christ… Israel! (Rev.12:13-17)
King Solomon wrote “There is nothing new under the sun” and Cole Porter reminded us that “Everything old is new again!” ….the pattern continues! Two generations ago it was Hitler with his “final solution” to exterminate the Jews and right now a Persian leader, named Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is hatching a plot to, in his own words: “Wipe Israel off the map.” In the very near future the Amalakites will strike at Israel again. They will try to utterly destroy God’s people. But you can be assured that God will miraculously and supernaturally intervene. God has used military might in the past, Joshua’s army over 3000 years ago, the 82nd Airborne 65 years ago and the IDF in ’48, ’67, and ’72. There were kings and leaders who obeyed God and were used as instruments of deliverance for Israel, and others who, for political expediency like Saul, refused to obey, and failed. God even used a young girl named Esther to stop the evil plot. What will he use now? Who will he raise up today? That remains to be seen, but you can be sure that God will accomplish it! And next week, next month, next year, when you see it unfold on CNN and FOXnews remember all this history. Remember God told us what would happen before it took place. ..and now you know…. The rest of the story!
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