Purim Will Be Celebrated By Jews & Christians On March 20th, 2019
The
other day I came across a very disturbing article in the Christian
Post. The article written by a Christian Evangelist named Paul
De Vries and was basically encouraging Christians to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. I found this article disturbing for several
reasons, first because Purim celebrates a mass Persian genocide conducted by
duplicitous and treasonous Israelites, and the Bible says this genocide reached
India! Second, the De Vries politicized this Purim genocide by equating
the need for Christians to apply the "truths" of Purim today and to not
be dissuaded by political correctness. Since the celebrated genocide of
Purim took place in Persia, De Vries found it applicable to tie the need for
Purim "truths" into today's modern war against Middle East Islamism.
I did some research and found that several other prominent Christian writers
such as Nathan
Smith are also attempting to popularize the holiday of Purim
among Christians, but why are they doing this and what does this say about
Christian and Jewish culture in general?
"since
we Christians are fully "grafted into" God's special relationships,
it makes sense for us to celebrate Purim as well. And this year with the
shocking rise of vicious genocide against Christians, much of it fostered,
fueled and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the present day Persia,
Purim can have an even more heightened meaning for all of us." - Why
Should Christians Care About the Jewish Holiday Purim?, Christian Post
Applications of the Biblical truths of Esther are
huge, and in many directions. We can often let what is "proper" numb
us to the principles that should drive us. "Political correctness"
these days too often clouds even the most obvious eternal truths. As noted
African-American evangelist Tom Skinner (1942-1994), my friend for thirty
years, used to say, "Do not let your being beholden to others for your
opportunities blind or restrain you from your Gospel responsibilities." By
"Gospel," evangelist Skinner always included Saving Gospel and Social
Gospel. His Biblical insight is still true. -
The
growing Christian problem with Pagan holidays
First
let's discuss why Christians are evening talking about Purim, an Jewish holiday, in the first place. As I discussed in my post on Easter/Passover,
many Christians are finding themselves in a debacle over many of their
supposedly Christian holidays. Easter, like Christmas, has no basis in the
Bible and is actually stolen from European Pagan culture. The problem is
that during the time of Christianization is Europe, the churches needed to
break the Pagans of their old religions, but they found it hard to get the
populace to give up their Pagan festivities. To remedy this situation the
church leaders simply co-opted the Pagan festival but changed the meaning,
giving them some Christian significance. The Bible never says Jesus was
born on December 25th, but this was the time of Pagan winter solstice festival,
and so the Church simply changed the meaning to celebrating the birth of
Christ. Easter was a festival to the Germanic fertility goddess Ostra who
was accompanied by rabbits and eggs. Christians simply changed the
meaning of the festival to a remembrance of the resurrection of Christ.
Jesus
celebrated Israelite holidays, not Easter or Christmas
However
in this late age, Christians are beginning to see that these Pagan costumes are
no longer needed and are perhaps even becoming a burden. Why are
Christians engaging in Pagan celebrations? Jesus never told them to do
this, and why have they only incorporated European Paganism, why not the
Paganism of other continents? What is so wrong with the original Jewish Israelite culture that Christians need to rob from other religions in order to
make Christianity seem appealing? These questions have become hot topics
on Christianity as of late, however there is an ever bigger question cloud
looming over the church in regards to what Jesus told his followers to
celebrate and what he celebrated himself. We know from the Bible that Jesus
celebrated the Israelite holiday of Passover and instructed his followers to
perform rituals during this time (Luke 22), we
also know for a fact that Jesus celebrated the Israelite holiday of Hannukah.
This all makes sense since Jesus was an Israelite and the self-proclaimed
Messiah of the God of Israel.
Jesus
celebrated Purim
But
what about Purim? Did Jesus celebrate a holiday which commemorates
treason against the Persian people and a mass genocide which reached the
borders of India? Most Biblical scholars agree that their is evidence
that Jesus did celebrate Purim, and it would make sense since he did celebrate
the other Israelite holidays. In John 5 we learn of the famous story of
Jesus and the bread and fishes. This is where Jesus supposedly feeds an
entire crowd of people during an Israelite festival with only a handful of
bread and fish. Jesus is then admonished because he worked and performed
miracles on the Sabbath, a day which is supposed to be reserved for rest in
Israelite culture, regardless of the fact that this particular Sabbath also
happened to be a festival date. Bible researchers have compared the times
when Jesus was supposed to have lived and the Isrealite calendars, and they can
assert that the only Israelite
festival which fell on a Sabbath during this time was Purim. Of
course Jesus would celebrate Purim, why not, he celebrated all the other
Israelite holidays. Besides this, the Bible instructs its followers to
celebrate Purim, and if Jesus celebrated it, Christians should only logically
celebrate Purim as well.
Therefore they called these days Purim,
after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter,
and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, 27
the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined
them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was
written and at the time appointed every year, 28 that these days should
be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province,
and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the
Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.
– Esther 9:26-28 ESV
Purim
is a feast of treason and genocide of Hindus
So
what is Purim and why would Christians and Jews want to even be associated with this absolutely
horrific display? The Holiday of Purim celebrates the events of the Bible book
of Esther. Though Christians and Jews often try to paint this tale as simply one of
“Israel's survival” against “persecution”, they tend to become disgruntled when
the events laid out in this story are analyzed from the Pagan’s perspective.
When viewed through Pagan eyes, we find that the heroine from the story,
Esther, was nothing more than a deceptive crypto-Israelite who was pimped to
the king by her duplicitous and power hungry cousin Mordechai. Later, the
treacherous cousin duo needlessly slaughter 75,000 Persians and Indians, the
very people who had liberated the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and had
provided them with funds for several generations to rebuild their temple in
Jerusalem.
The Back Story To Purim
I'd
like to point out that there is debate whether or not the events of Purim ever
even happened, but that is not the point of this post, I want you to think
about the thinking and intentions behind this story and what they may represent
to Christians and Jews today. It is important to note the background of this story since
it shows the ungrateful and untrustable nature of the Jewish/Christian religion and
its followers. The Persian king Cyrus the Great had liberated the Israelites
from their captivity in Babylon in 539 BCE, he let them return to Jerusalem to
rebuild their temple, gave them back the possessions the Babylonians had taken
from them, and provided them with additional gold and silver for their
rebuilding effort. It was Persian blood that had been shed to free the
Israelites, and as their reward the Israelites will shed even more blood with
their own hands.
The
Babylonian Captivity (596 BCE)
More
than 100 years before the events that take place in the book of Esther, the
Isrealites had been weakened by internal civil war and were taken captive by
Babylon. All of the gold from the Israelite Temple was plundered and most of
the men and women were carried off as slaves. It will be the Persians who will
liberate the Israelites from their captivity and return their possession, and
for this the Israelites will stab the Persians in the back, literally!
“10 At that time the servants of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were
besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of
Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his
officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign.
13 He carried out from there all the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and
the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold,
which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple, as Yahweh had said.
14 He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the
mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the
smiths. No one remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 He
carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives,
his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity
from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and
the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and fit for
war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.”
- 2 Kings 24:
10-16, World English Bible
Cyrus
the Great liberates the Isrealites and returns them to Israel
In
539 BCE, Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empires conquers Babylon and allows the
Israelites to return to Israel.
“The first permanent change was
brought about by the Persian king Cyrus. As the Deutero-Isaiah already
desired and predicted after the first inroad of Cyrus into the Babylonian
kingdom (545), a conquest of the city of Babylon took place
(539 B.C.) after the decisive defeat of the army at Sippara.”
– CAPTIVITY, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
“Cyrus, however, permitted the
Jews to return to their own land. There was no reason to detain them longer in
Babylon; and if they returned to their homes, they would be in a position
to defend the border-land against Egypt and the desert.” – CYRUS, 1906 Jewish
Encyclopedia
The
Persians financially support the Israelites
Not
only does Cyrus liberate the Israelites, but he generously returns to them all
of the gold the Babylonians had stolen from them and even offers them money
from his own house and loans so that they can rebuild their temple, again.
“13 But in the first year
of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of
God. 14 The gold and silver vessels also of God’s house, which
Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into
the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon,
and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made
governor; 15 and he said to him, ‘Take these vessels, go, put
them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let God’s house be built in
its place.’ ” – Ezra 5: 13-15
3 In the first year of Cyrus the
king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning God’s house at Jerusalem, let
the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its
foundations be strongly laid; its height sixty cubits,[a] and its width sixty
cubits; 4 with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and
let the expenses be given out of the king’s house. – Ezra 6: 3-4
“They also gave money to the
masons, and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the
people of Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to
Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia.”
–Ezra 3:7
The
Persians support Israel against the Samaritans
It
was the Israelites who has been exported from the land of Israel (originally
called Canaan which the Israelites had stolen from the indigenous Canaanites
generations earlier), but it seems that the Babylonians had left behind the
Samaritans, an offshoot religion of Israel. We know that the Israelites did
indeed persecute the Samaritans just as they had persecuted the original
Canaanites, destroying their religious shrines.
“The next reference to the
people of Samaria, regarded as the remnant of Israel, is when Josiah suppressed
the high places among them (ib. xxiii. 15, 19 et
seq.) and collected money to repair the house of the Lord, from “Manasseh
and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel” (II Chron. xxxiv. 9).” - SAMARITANS, 1906 Jewish
Encyclopedia
We
learn from Ezra 4: 1-24 that with the return of the Israelites to Israel and
the building of their temple it would seem that the persecution of the
Samaritans resumed because they start a letter writing campaign to the Persians
asking them to stop the funding of the temple. This campaign begins with
Cyrus the Great, and the Samaritans continue the campaign to stop the building
of the Israelite temple for many generations. The Samaritans try to warn
the Persians that if they continue to fund the Israelites that they will
eventually turn on the Persians and it will fair badly for them, these warnings
from the Samaritans to the Persians were indeed prophetic. From the
passage we can see that despite the Samaritans pleas and warning, the Persians
continue to support the Israelites in their rebuilding efforts all the way up
until the time of king Artaxerxes.
3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and
the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel, said to them, “You have
nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together
will build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has
commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of
the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 5 and hired
counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king
of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 In the
reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation
against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 In the days of Artaxerxes
wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, to
Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian,
and delivered in the Syrian language. 8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai
the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this
sort: 9 then Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of
their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the
Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites,
the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar
brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country
beyond the River, and so forth, wrote. 11 This is the copy of the letter that
they sent to Artaxerxes the12 Be it known to the king, that the Jews
who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem; they are building the
rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the
foundations. 13 Be it known now to the king that if this city is
built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and
in the end it will be hurtful to the kings. 14 Now because we eat the salt
of the palace, and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor,
therefore have we sent and informed the king; 15 that search may be
made in the book of the records of your fathers: so you shall find in the book
of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to
kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old
time; for which cause was this city laid waste. 16 We inform the king that,
if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means you shall have no
portion beyond the River. 17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the
chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who
dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and
so forth. 18 The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me.
19 I decreed, and search has been made, and it is found that this city
of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and
sedition have been made therein. 20 There have been mighty kings also over
Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute,
custom, and toll, was paid to them. 21 Make a decree now to cause these men to
cease, and that this city not be built, until a decree shall be made by me.
22 Take heed that you not be slack herein: why should damage grow to
the hurt of the kings? 23 Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’
letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions,
they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force
and power. 24 Then ceased the work of God’s house which is at
Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of
Persia. - Ezra 4:
1-24
Persia
was supporting the Israelites during the time of Esther and ruled parts of
India
It
is important to note that Persia does not turn on the Israelites until after
the reign of king Ahasuerus (aka Xerxes). Ahasuerus is the king of
Persia during the events of Purim in the book of Esther, and under his rule the
Persians are still supporting Israel. This will only change after the
Israelites slaughter 75,000 Persians. It is Ahasuerus’ son Artaxerxes who
rules after this Israelite treachery who will turn on the Israelites, and for
obvious reasons! See the entries from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia on the kings
Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes below, and reference the scripture from Ezra 4: 1-24
from above which shows the Persians were supporting the Israelites during the
period of the book of Esther despite the complaints and warning from the
Samaritans. Also please notice that at least according to Biblical data,
the Persia at this time did indeed stretch into India. And so with this
background knowledge in place, the story of Esther and Purim begins.
AHASUERUS: “Persian king, identical with Xerxes
(486-465 B.C.). The Book of Esther deals only with one period
of his reign. It tells us that he ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven
provinces—”from India, even unto Ethiopia” (Esth. i. 1)” - AHASUERUS, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
XERXES: Son of Darius, King of Persia (485-465
B.C.). His name, which is Khshayarsha in Persian, Ikhshiyarshu (with
variants) in Babylonian, and Ξέρξης in Greek, frequently occurs, in the Old
Testament. It is often written with ו instead of י, as in the Masoretic text,
where it is spelled (Aḥashwerôsh) instead of (Ayḥashyarsh), with
the prothetic vowel indispensable in Semitic before initial double
consonants. Xerxes is mentioned in the Book of Ezra (iv. 6) in
connection with a complaint lodged against the Jews by the Samaritans (comp.
Meyer, “Entstehung des Judenthums,” pp. 16 et seq.). He is the “king”
of the Esther romance, and in the Book of Daniel (ix. 1) he is mentioned as
the father of Darius, “of the seed of the Medes.” - XERXES, 1906
Jewish Encyclopedia
ARTAXERXES: “Artaxerxes was the second son of
Xerxes, who was murdered in the summer of 465 by his all-powerful vizir
Artaban. The murderer accused the king’s eldest son Darius of the crime, with
the result that Darius was slain by his younger brother Artaxerxes, who then
mounted the throne.” - ARTAXERXES,
1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
The Story of Esther
World
English Bible
A
Great Feast
Though
the Israelites were free to return to Jerusalem after the Persians liberated
them from Babylon, many decided to remain in Persia. The story opens and
Ahasuerus (who is supporting the restoration of Israel) is the king of Persia.
In the third year of his reign, the king holds a large feast and all of the
nobility attend. His wife, the queen Vashti prepares a separate feast for the
women. Notice that the passage say that King Ahasuerus rules parts of India at
this time.
1 Now in the days of
Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one
hundred twenty-seven provinces), 2 in those days, when the King
Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the
palace, 3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all
his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and
princes of the provinces, being before him. 4 He displayed the
riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many
days, even one hundred eighty days. 5 When these days were fulfilled,
the king made a seven day feast for all the people who were present in Shushan
the palace, both great and small, in the court of the garden of the king’s
palace. 6 There were hangings of white, green, and blue material,
fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble
pillars. The couches were of gold and silver, on a pavement of red, white,
yellow, and black marble. 7 They gave them drinks in golden vessels
of various kinds, including royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of
the king. 8 In accordance with the law, the drinking was not
compulsory; for so the king had instructed all the officials of his house, that
they should do according to every man’s pleasure. 9 Also Vashti
the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King
Ahasuerus.
The
Strong Queen Vashti Dismissed
After
seven days of feasting, intoxicated with wine, king Ahasuerus calls for Vashti
to come before the men so that her beauty can be shown off to the guests. Queen
Vashti refuses to allow her self to be paraded about in such a manner. The
obviously flawed king Ahasuerus listens to the advice of is ignoble eunuchs who
tell him to dispose of Vashti and find himself a new Queen who will be more
suitable. As usual, disdain for noble strength coupled with weak and corrupt
leadership will open the door for the Israelites.
10 On the seventh day, when
the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha,
Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcass, the seven eunuchs who served
in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 11 to bring Vashti the
queen before the king with the royal crown, to show the people and the princes
her beauty; for she was beautiful. 12 But the queen Vashti refused to
come at the king’s commandment by the eunuchs. Therefore the king was very
angry, and his anger burned in him. 13 Then the king said to the wise
men, who knew the times, (for it was the king’s custom to consult those who
knew law and judgment; 14 and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar,
Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and
Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom), 15 “What
shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the
bidding of the King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?” 16 Memucan
answered before the king and the princes, “Vashti the queen has not
done wrong to just the king, but also to all the princes, and to all the people
who are in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus. 17 For this deed
of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to show contempt for
their husbands, when it is reported, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen
to be brought in before him, but she didn’t come.’ 18 Today, the
princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s deed will tell all
the king’s princes. This will cause much contempt and wrath. 19 “If
it please the king, let a royal commandment go from him, and let it be written
among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be altered,
that Vashti may never again come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give
her royal estate to another who is better than she. 20 When the
king’s decree which he shall make is published throughout all his kingdom (for
it is great), all the wives will give their husbands honor, both great and
small.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the
king did according to the word of Memucan: 22 for he sent letters
into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to its writing,
and to every people in their language, that every man should rule his own
house, speaking in the language of his own people.
World
English Bible
Mordechai
Pimps crypto-Israelite Esther To The King
Employed
within king Ahasuerus’ court is an Israelite named Mordechai. Obviously the Israelites
who have been liberated by the Persians, are being funded by them, and who have
high ranking positions in the king’s court cannot complain of much prejudice
against them in the Persian kingdom. Mordechai has an orphaned cousin
named Esther whom he has raised as his own daughter. It should be noted here
that according to the Bible, Israelites are not to marry non-Israelites (Deuteronomy
7: 3-4). Even so, Mordechai has no qualms about breaking Israelite law by
ushering his cousin Esther into the harem of foreign king Ahasuerus. Most
important of all, Mordechai instructs Esther not to reveal that she is related
to Mordechai, or that she is secretly a Israelite. Eventually, the
crypto-Israelite Esther wins the kings favor and becomes the new Queen of
Persia.
1 After these things, when the wrath of King
Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what
was decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s servants who served him
said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. 3 Let
the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may
gather together all the beautiful young virgins to the citadel of Susa, to the
women’s house, to the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women.
Let cosmetics be given them; 4 and let the maiden who pleases the
king be queen instead of Vashti.”The thing pleased the king, and he did
so. 5 There was a certain Jew in the citadel of Susa, whose name
was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a
Benjamite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the
captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He
brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter; for she had neither
father nor mother. The maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father
and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter. 8 So,
when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens
were gathered together to the citadel of Susa, to the custody of Hegai, Esther
was taken into the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 The
maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him. He quickly gave her
cosmetics and her portions of food, and the seven choice maidens who were to be
given her out of the king’s house. He moved her and her maidens to the best
place in the women’s house. 10 Esther had not made known her
people nor her relatives, because Mordecai had instructed her that she should
not make it known. 11 Mordecai walked every day in front of
the court of the women’s house, to find out how Esther was doing, and what
would become of her. 12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to
King Ahasuerus after her purification for twelve months (for so were the days
of their purification accomplished, six months with oil of myrrh, and six
months with sweet fragrances and with preparations for beautifying women). 13 The
young woman then came to the king like this: whatever she desired was given her
to go with her out of the women’s house to the king’s house. 14 In
the evening she went, and on the next day she returned into the second women’s
house, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who kept the concubines.
She came in to the king no more, unless the king delighted in her, and she was
called by name. 15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of
Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, came to go
in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the
keeper of the women, advised. Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those
who looked at her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus
into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the
seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than
all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all
the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen
instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast for all
his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he proclaimed a holiday
in the provinces, and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty. 19 When
the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting in the
king’s gate. 20 Esther had not yet made known her relatives
nor her people, as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai, like
she did when she was brought up by him.
Mordechai Wins The King’s Favor
Later,
Mordechai overhears a plot by two of the king’s eunuchs to assassinate the
king. Again corrupt officials are always a boon for the Israelites, the vector
for their entrance into power in Pagan society. Mordechai tells now queen Esther
who informs the king and the two eunuchs are hung. Mordechai’s good deeds are
recorded in the official record books for latter retrieval.
21 In those days, while
Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and
Teresh, who were doorkeepers, were angry, and sought to lay hands on the King
Ahasuerus.22 This thing became known to Mordecai, who informed
Esther the queen; and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 When
this matter was investigated, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged
on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s
presence.
World
English Bible
Mordechai
The Hypocrite
Soon
afterward, king Ahasuerus elevates a certain Persian named Haman to a powerful
position and there is a ceremony whereby all the subjects of the king’s court
are to bow to Haman. Mordechai refuses to bow to Haman and when questioned as
to why, he states that it is because he is an Israelite. Mordechai had no issue
with breaking Israelite law when he whored his cousin Esther to the foreign
king and then instructed her to keep her relation to Mordechai and her religion
a secret, yet all of a sudden Mordechai is unable to bow to Haman due to his
religion, even though Israelites bow to each other all the time:
Genesis 23:7 Abraham bows to the people of the land, even to the children of
Heth.
Genesis 33:3-7 Jacob and Leah bow to Esau
Genesis 42:6 Joseph’s brethren bow to Joseph
1 Samuel 24:8 David bows to King Saul
1 Samuel 20:41 David bows to Jonathan
1 Samuel 25:23 Abigail bows to King David
1 Samuel 25:41 Abigail bows to King David
2 Samuel 14:33 Absalom bows to King David
2 Samuel 24:20 Araunah bows to King David
1 King 1:23 The Prophet Nathan bows to King David
1 King 1:53 Adonijah bows to Solomon
Ruth 2:10 Ruth bows to Boaz
1 After these things King
Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him,
and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2All the
king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed down, and paid homage to
Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn’t bow
down or pay him homage. 3 Then the king’s servants, who were in the
king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s commandment?”
4 Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn’t
listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s reason would
stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.
Haman
Plots To Kill The Israelites
Upon
hearing Mordechai’s hypocrisy, Haman becomes overly angry and vows to kill the
Israelites of the empire. He approaches king Ahasuerus and complains of the
Israelites and their separate laws and customs and is able to convince the king
to send out proclamations to all his provinces to have the Israelites of Persia
killed on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor
pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath. 6 But he scorned the thought
of laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had made known to him Mordecai’s
people. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were
throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even Mordecai’s people. 7
In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King
Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and
from month to month, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
8 Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered
abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom,
and their laws are different than other people’s. They don’t keep the king’s
laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them to remain. 9 If
it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay
ten thousand talents[a] of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of
the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 The
king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha
the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. 11 The king said to Haman, “The silver is
given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12
Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth
day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to the king’s
satraps, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes
of every people, to every province according to its writing, and to every
people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and it
was sealed with the king’s ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers into
all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all
Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder
their possessions. 14 A copy of the letter, that the decree
should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that
they should be ready against that day. 15 The couriers went out in
haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of
Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was
perplexed.
Footnotes:
Esther 3:9 A talent is about 30
kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces
World
English Bible
Esther
Plans To Save The Israelites
Mordechai
hears of this plot to kill all the Israelitess of Persia and becomes
distraught, he tears his clothes, covers himself with ash and begins wailing
before the king’s gate. Esther (who is still hiding her relationship to
Mordechai and her religion) sends her servants to find out what is wrong. Mordechai
explains the situation and provides the documents proving the Israelites are to
be killed on the thirteenth day of Adar. Upon hearing this, Esther plans to use
her influence as queen to have king Ahasuerus reverse the decree.
1 Now when Mordecai found
out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with
ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and a
bitterly. 2 He came even before the king’s gate, for no one is allowed
inside the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 In every province,
wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning
among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in
sackcloth and ashes. 4 Esther’s maidens and her eunuchs came and
told her this, and the queen was exceedingly grieved. She sent clothing to
Mordecai, to replace his sackcloth; but he didn’t receive it. 5 Then
Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, whom he had appointed to
attend her, and commanded him to go to Mordecai, to find out what this was, and
why it was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai, to city square which was
before the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him of all that had happened to
him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the
king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave
him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in Shushan to
destroy them, to show it to Esther, and to declare it to her, and to urge her
to go in to the king, to make supplication to him, and to make request before
him, for her people.
9 Hathach came and told Esther the
words of Mordecai. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a message to
Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces,
know, that whoever, whether man or woman, comes to the king into the inner
court without being called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death,
except those to whom the king might hold out the golden scepter, that he may
live. I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”
12 They told to Mordecai Esther’s
words. 13 Then Mordecai asked them return answer to Esther, “Don’t think to
yourself that you will escape in the king’s house any more than all the Jews.
14 For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the
Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows
if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther asked them to answer
Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in
Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I
and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king,
which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17 So
Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.
World
English Bible
Esther
Requests Two Banquets
Esther
goes before King Ahasuerus who offers her anything she would like. Esther
requests a banquet and for the king and Haman to attend. At this banquet Esther
requests that the king and Haman attend another banquet the next evening which
she will prepare. Esther has still not revealed her relationship to Mordechai
or the fact that she is a Israelites.
1 Now on the third day, Esther put on her
royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, next to the
king’s house. The king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, next to
the entrance of the house. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the
court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the
golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near, and touched the top
of the scepter. 3 Then the king asked her, “What would you like, queen
Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you even to the half of the
kingdom.”4 Esther said, “If it seems good to the king, let the king
and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5
Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that it may be done as Esther has
said.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had
prepared. 6 The king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, “What is
your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half
of the kingdom it shall be performed.”7 Then Esther answered and said, “My
petition and my request is this. 8 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 will prepare for
them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.”
Haman
Plans To Have Mordecai Hung
Meanwhile, in between the first and second banquet,
Haman has a gallow prepared for Mordechai where he plans to have him hung.
9 Then Haman went out that
day joyful and glad of heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate,
that he didn’t stand up nor move for him, he was filled with wrath against
Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself, and went home. There,
he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife. 11 Haman recounted to
them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in
which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes
and servants of the king. 12 Haman also said, “Yes, Esther the queen let no man
come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and
tomorrow I am also invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this
avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s
gate.”14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let a
gallows be made fifty cubits[a] high, and in the morning speak to the king
about hanging Mordecai on it. Then go in merrily with the king to the banquet.”
This pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
Footnotes:
Esther 5:14 a cubit is the length
from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18
inches or 46 centimeters.
World
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The
King Saves Mordechai
That
evening, King Ahasuerus is unable to sleep and has his servant read to him from
the official record books. The king is reminded that Mordechai had once saved
his life by reporting a plot to have him murdered by two of his own eunuchs.
The king calls Haman to his chambers and before Haman the king declares that
Mordecai will not be hung but will be given a place of honor and returned to
his post. Haman himself is instructed to deliver this message to Mordechai
which he does. Mordechai is saved! Now all that’s left is for Esther to save
the rest of the Israelites of the empire.
1 On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He
commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were
read to the king. 2 It was found written that Mordecai had told of
Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who were doorkeepers, who had
tried to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus. 3 The king said, “What
honor and dignity has been given to Mordecai for this? ”Then the
king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4
The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come into the outer
court of the king’s house, to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the
gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king’s servants said to
him, “Behold,[a] Haman stands in the court.” The king said, “Let him come
in.” 6 So Haman came in. The king said to him, “What shall be done to the man
whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman said in his heart, “Who would
the king delight to honor more than myself?” 7 Haman said to the king, “For the
man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal clothing be brought which the
king uses to wear, and the horse that the king rides on, and on the head of
which a crown royal is set. 9 Let the clothing and the horse be delivered to
the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man
whom the king delights to honor with them, and have him ride on horseback
through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus shall it be done to the
man whom the king delights to honor!’” 10 Then the king said to
Haman, “Hurry and take the clothing and the horse, as you have said, and do
this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Let nothing fail of all
that you have spoken.” 11 Then Haman took the clothing and the horse,
and arrayed Mordecai, and had him ride through the city square, and proclaimed
before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to
honor!” 12 Mordecai came back to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his
house, mourning and having his head covered. 13 Haman recounted to Zeresh his
wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men
and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to
fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but you will
surely fall before him.” 14 While they were yet talking with him, the
king’s eunuchs came, and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had
prepared.
Footnotes:
Esther 6:5 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”,
means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an
interjection.
World
English Bible
Haman
Is Killed
The
next evening, the king and Haman attend Esther’s banquet as promised. At the
banquet Esther reveals she is an Israelite and begs the king to spare her
people from the slaughter that Haman has devised. That very night Haman is hung
from the very gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. The enemy of the
Israelites, the man who singularly tried to orchestrate their demise has been
killed and the rest of the Israelites are about to be saved as well, but Esther
and Mordechai will take this opportunity to kill 75,000 innocent Persians.
1 So the king and Haman came to banquet with
Esther the queen. 2 The king said again to Esther on the second day at the
banquet of wine, “What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you.
What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be
performed.” 3 Then Esther the queen answered, “If I have found favor in
your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my
petition, and my people at my request. 4For we are sold, I and my people, to
be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for male
and female slaves, I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not
have compensated for the king’s loss.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said
to Esther the queen, “Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart
to do so?” 6 Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy, even
this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was afraid before the king and the
queen. 7 The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the
palace garden. Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen;
for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8 Then the
king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine;
and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will
he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?” As the word went out of
the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one
of the eunuchs who were with the king said, “Behold, the gallows fifty
cubits[a] high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king,
is standing at Haman’s house.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So
they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was
the king’s wrath pacified.
Footnotes:
Esther 7:9 a cubit is the length
from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18
inches or 46 centimeters.
World
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Israelite
Treachery Reaches India
What
happens next is an act of vile Israelite treachery. King Ahasuerus gives
Mordechai full reign to reverse the orders to kill the Israelites. With the
power to do as he pleases, Mordechai does not just cancel the orders to have
the Israelitess of the empire killed, but sends out orders that the Israelites
of every district in Persia are to be armed so that they can “take revenge on
their enemies”. Mordechai flaunts his new power by walking around in royal
robes wearing a crown, meanwhile many of the Persians of the empire fearing for
their lives confess to be Israelite in order to escape the coming slaughter.
Notice that Mordechai sends his orders to arm the Israelites to the borders of
the Persian Empire in India.
1 On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house
of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came
before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. 2The king took
off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai.Esther
set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3 Esther spoke yet again
before the king, and fell down at his feet, and begged him with tears to put
away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised
against the Jews. 4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So
Esther arose, and stood before the king. 5 She said, “If it pleases the
king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right to the
king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters
devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy
the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I endure to see
the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction
of my relatives?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to
Mordecai the Jew, “See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they
have hanged on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews. 8 Write
also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the
king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed
with the king’s ring, may not be reversed by any man.” 9 Then the
king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month Sivan, on the
twenty-third day of the month; and it was written according to all that
Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and
princes of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred
twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to
every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing, and in their
language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it
with the king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal
horses that were bred from swift steeds. 11 In those letters, the
king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and
to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the
power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and
women, and to plunder their possessions, 12 on one day in all the provinces
of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the
month Adar. 13 A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given
out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should
be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 So the
couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the
king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of
Susa. 15 Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal
clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of
fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad. 16 The
Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. 17 In every province, and in every
city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had
gladness, joy, a feast, and a good day. Many from among the peoples of
the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on them.
World
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75,000
Innocent Persians Murdered & The Feast Of Purim
On
the thirteenth day of Adar, the armed Israelites slaughter 75,000 Persian
people who are considered to be their “enemies” and those who “hate” the
Israelites, including the 10 sons of Haman. Don’t forget, it was these
Persian people who had liberated the Israelites from Babylon, restored them to
Israel, financially supported them for generations, allowed them to live among
them in Persia, and gave them positions of great power in the court of the
king… and for this they are massacred. Afterwords, Esther and Mordechai create
a feast and set up a holiday for the Israelites to remember the story of the
slaying of 75,000 people of the Persian empire, this festival today is known as
Purim.
1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar,
on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king’s commandment and his decree
came near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped
to conquer them, (but it was turned out the opposite happened, that the Jews
conquered those who hated them), 2 the Jews gathered themselves
together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, to
lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them,
because the fear of them had fallen on all the people. 3 All the
princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king’s
business helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them.
4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out
throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater.
5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and
with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated
them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five
hundred men. 7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10
the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew’s enemy, but they
didn’t lay their hand on the plunder. 11 On that day, the number of those who
were slain in the citadel of Susa was brought before the king. 12 The
king said to Esther the queen, “The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred
men in the citadel of Susa, including the ten sons of Haman; what then have
they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your
petition? It shall be granted you. What is your further request? It shall be
done.” 13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be
granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to today’s
decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” 14 The
king commanded this to be done. A decree was given out in Shushan; and they
hanged Haman’s ten sons. 15 The Jews who were in Shushan gathered
themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed
three hundred men in Shushan; but they didn’t lay their hand on the
plunder. 16 The other Jews who were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves
together, defended their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed
seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they didn’t lay their
hand on the plunder. 17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar;
and on the fourteenth day of that month they rested and made it a day of
feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews who were in Shushan assembled
together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth days of the month; and on the
fifteenth day of that month, they rested, and made it a day of feasting and
gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in
the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness
and feasting, a good day, and a day of sending presents of food to one another.
20 Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in
all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 to enjoin them
that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar
yearly, 22 as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the
month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into
a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness,
and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.
23 The Jews accepted the custom that they had begun, as Mordecai had
written to them; 24 because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the
enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and
had cast “Pur”, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; 25
but when this became known to the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked
device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head,
and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore
they called these days “Purim”,[a] from the word “Pur.” Therefore because
of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning
this matter, and that which had come to them, 27 the Jews established,
and imposed on themselves, and on their descendants, and on all those who
joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep
these two days according to what was written, and according to its appointed
time, every year; 28 and that these days should be remembered and
kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city;
and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their
memory perish from their offspring,[b] 29 Then Esther the queen, the
daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm
this second letter of Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the
hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace
and truth, 31 to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed
times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had decreed, and as they had
imposed upon themselves and their descendants, in the matter of the fastings
and their cry. 32 The commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of
Purim; and it was written in the book.
Footnotes:
Esther 9:26 Purim is the Hebrew
plural for pur, which means lot.
Esther 9:28 or, seed
World
English Bible
The
Israelites Rule Persia
After
the slaughter, Mordechai the Israelite becomes the most powerful man in all of
Persia next to the king. This is the ending of the story of Esther and the
Israelite holiday of Purim, a holiday which Jesus celebrated. The Persian
people who had liberated the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and had
furnished them with gold and silver to rebuild their temple, were slaughtered
by a social climbing hypocritical pimp and his deceptive crypto-Israelite pawn,
all because of the actions of one man, Haman, who had already been dealt with.
Though Esther and Mordechai cannot be blamed for dealing with Haman, their
actions afterward show the truly opportunistic, ungrateful and murderous
character of the Christian Religions and its people.
1 King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on
the land, and on the islands of the sea. 2 All the acts of his power
and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which
the king advanced him, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the
kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was next to King
Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his
brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his
descendants.
WHY
DID JESUS CELEBRATE PURIM?
and why do Jews celebrate Purim today?
Why
on earth would Jesus or any Christian or Jew want to celebrate the holiday of Purim?
The Persians had done nothing but liberate the Israelites from captivity,
returned their lands to them, gave them gold and silver and allowed them to
access high ranking positions in their royal courts. For this, the Israelites
sent in one of their women, Esther, who hid her true identity as an Israelite,
who hid her family connections, and through this deception married the king of
Persia. Later on Esther's uncle through his hypocritical behavior angers one
man in the kings court who then plans to kill all the Israelites in the Persian
empire. However, Esther is able to stop this genocide in time, but what does
she do with her power? Esther and her uncle then use this opportunity to
massacre 75,000 innocent Persians, and the Bible says this genocide reached
India. What would be the point of mass murdering innocent people for an offense
you've already disposed with? Why were the Persians converting to the religion
of Israel in order to avoid being killed? Was this an intimidation tactic? What
kind of people would find this to be an appropriate event to celebrate, and why
are Christians trying to emulate Jesus and Jews and revive this festival today? Why are
Christian leaders using current events in the Middle East as a spring board to
revive this holiday of treason, murder and intimidation, what are they planning?
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