The tradition of Purim is established

"And they did it."

What? Celebrated - in style. Huge parties of relief and exultation at having escaped certain death.

 What started then became a tradition, continuing the practice of what Mordecai had written to them.

Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the archenemy of all Jews, had schemed to destroy all Jews. He had cast the pur (the lot) to throw them into a panic and destroy them. But when Queen Esther intervened with the king, he gave written orders that the evil scheme that Haman had worked out should boomerang back on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. That’s why these days are called “Purim,” from the word pur or “lot.”

Therefore, because of everything written in this letter and because of all that they had been through, the Jews agreed to continue. It became a tradition for them, their children, and all future converts to remember these two days every year on the specified dates set down in the letter. These days are to be remembered and kept by every single generation, every last family, every province and city. These days of Purim must never be neglected among the Jews; the memory of them must never die out among their descendants.

Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, backed Mordecai the Jew, using her full queenly authority in this second Purim letter to endorse and ratify what he wrote. Calming and reassuring letters went out to all the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom to fix these days of Purim their assigned place on the calendar, dates set by Mordecai the Jew—what they had agreed to for themselves and their descendants regarding their fasting and mourning. Esther’s word confirmed the tradition of Purim and was written in the book.

And so the Jews, thousands of years later, still celebrate with joyous abandon: dressing up (disguising themselves, as Esther disguised her identity), feasting, even intentionally getting drunk! They remember, with tremendous gladness, how they were saved.

We Christians remember how WE were saved from eternal death every Sunday. But do we - do I - do it with tremendous gladness? To my shame, I often take Sundays for granted. I do not live in the immediacy of my imagination to feel that huge sense of relief and excitement.

In so doing, I diminish my life in my own eyes. My actions cannot diminish the sacrifice Jesus made, but they do not adequately praise and glorify Him for what He did.

Purim can be my example.

Psalm 71:17-24 (NIV) shows me how:

Since my youth, God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray,  do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.

You will increase my honour and comfort me once more.

I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you - I whom you have delivered.
My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion."

King Xerxes imposed taxes from one end of his empire to the other. For the rest of it, King Xerxes’ extensive accomplishments, along with a detailed account of the brilliance of Mordecai, whom the king had promoted, that’s all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia.

Mordecai the Jew ranked second in command to King Xerxes. He was popular among the Jews and greatly respected by them. He worked hard for the good of his people; he cared for the peace and prosperity of his race."

Esther 9:123 - 10:3

And so the story ends with happily ever after. The beautiful queen is safe; her uncle, under threat for his life, is spared and rises to a high position.

Once again, as with Joseph and his family, God has redeemed His people. The story of Esther is a glimpse of God's Ultimate Plan to save his people. The Jews' desperate situation is turned around by Esther's willingness to sacrifice her life. Our desperate situation of a life of sin is turned around by the sacrifice of Jesus.

Love has triumphed.

Celebration. ?

The numbers of the massacre are chilling:

"But they took no plunder. That day, when it was all over, the number of those killed in the palace complex was given to the king. The king told Queen Esther, “In the palace complex alone here in Susa the Jews have killed five hundred men, plus Haman’s ten sons. Think of the killing that must have been done in the rest of the provinces! What else do you want? Name it and it’s yours. Your wish is my command.”

The king is STILL asking Esther what she wants. Isn't that enough? Is he himself insatiable or does he realise that she is still not entirely happy/satisfied?

She asks for still more.
“If it please the king,” Queen Esther responded, “give the Jews of Susa permission to extend the terms of the order another day. And have the bodies of Haman’s ten sons hanged in public display on the gallows.”
So the carnage had almost certainly stopped in the provinces - there would have been no way of extending it one more day with no easy means of communication - but this would ensure that all sympathy for Haman in the capital would be squashed.
The king commanded it: The order was extended; the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were publicly hanged. The Jews in Susa went at it again. On the fourteenth day of Adar they killed another three hundred men in Susa. But again they took no plunder.

It made me wonder how I, as a Christ-follower, deal with those who have fallen out of favour with the authorities.  If it is someone who has hurt or offended me, perhaps I could identify with Esther and the Jews; but if I am more of a bystander - perhaps a colleague has been reprimanded for a work offence - do I make sure I am 'in' with management, or do I offer sympathy and support. Or is it possible to do both?

Jesus preached love and forgiveness. Perhaps I am missing the point. Perhaps this is simply a story of how God loves his people so much that he WILL protect and save them, and that those who are enemies should be warned. Or perhaps I can still grieve for an 'enemy's' misfortune while still maintaining an attitude of justice.

And perhaps, like the Jews, I should be ready to celebrate extravagantly when justice is done:

"I will talk to others all day long about your justice and your goodness. For all who tried to hurt me have been disgraced and dishonoured." Psalm 71:24

"Meanwhile in the rest of the king’s provinces, the Jews had organized and defended themselves, freeing themselves from oppression. On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them but did not take any plunder. The next day, the fourteenth, they took it easy and celebrated with much food and laughter. But in Susa, since the Jews had banded together on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days, they made the fifteenth their holiday for laughing and feasting. (This accounts for why Jews living out in the country in the rural villages remember the fourteenth day of Adar for celebration, their day for parties and the exchange of gifts.)

Mordecai wrote all this down and sent copies to all the Jews in all King Xerxes’ provinces, regardless of distance, calling for an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar as the occasion when Jews got relief from their enemies, the month in which their sorrow turned to joy, mourning somersaulted into a holiday for parties and fun and laughter, the sending and receiving of presents and of giving gifts to the poor."

Esther 9:10 - 22

When obedience becomes a God-sized dream...

Holley Gerth has been blogging about God-sized dreams this year.  Today, Cara Sexton is contributing. These words have opened my eyes:
"I can never see to the end of a God-sized dream. There are big, fat “how?” holes lining the path and unlike my Technicolor substitute, I cannot self-construct a roadmap or define the ultimate purpose. While I may envision a pit stop on the road, I will never know the whole impact, the complete story of the dream’s fulfillment, as it is a life’s work and gracefully, I am not the only the author of this story. God dreams move by Spirit, one shaky footstep at a time into landscapes we have never imagined.

The faithful journey of following a holy dream often requires actual miracles, but even more, the faith to ask for them, to expect them while you work hand-in-hand with intimate mystery.

God dreams are always outside of our own abilities, outside of our understanding and comprehension."

Somehow, I'd thought that God-sized dreams were my own dreams which would be impossible to achieve unless God worked a miracle. But perhaps God-sized dreams are also God-inspired dreams. God's dreams. Not mine.

This seems, on a human, selfish level, if I am to be honest, quite disappointing. 'What about MY dreams?' screams my heart. 'What about MY longings, needs, wants?' As I struggle with serving in a small, traditional, so-not-how-I-want-to-worship church, my sense of frustration mounts.

Perhaps I am looking at this the wrong way round?  Psalm 37:3-4 says "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."



Perhaps my 'dream' is not a personal, selfish one but 'God-inspired'. And, if so, I know the dream is the call he gave me to this desert place, where my heart and spirit seem to shrink, I see nothing before me but a grey fog and I serve out of obedience. I serve.

I need to remember this:
"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us."  – Ephesians 3:30 (MSG)

So, when I am feeling tired, and weary, and old at this game for nothing much seems to have changed for years... I remember: Psalm 71:
"In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.
For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me."
I remember. I put myself in the right place: a servant of God. I repent of my selfishness and I choose to praise.

As Brenton Brown sings:
I will remember you, always remember you,
I will remember you and all you've done for me (x 2)
I will not forget all your benefits

even when the storms surround my soul
how you comfort me, heal all my diseases
how you lift me up on eagles wings
I will remember you always remember you
I will remember you and all you've done for
me (x 2)
I will not forget all your benefits
how you've chosen and adopted me
Orphaned by my sin grace has let me in
and never once have you abandoned me
I will remember you always remember you
I will remember you and all you've done for me
I have tasted and I've seen how you Father faithfully,
how you shepherd those who fear Your name
When the shadows start to fall and my heart begins to fail
I will lift my eyes to you again (and)