HAVE WE EVER NEEDED PURIM MORE THAN NOW?
I truly believe that the meanings of Purim will stand out like a big hug from heaven this year.
The things that happened in the original Purim story, when the Jews were saved from Haman and kept from being wiped off the earth; are needed in this current time.
The phrase that is always attributed to the beautiful Queen Esther; “Perhaps you were born for such a time as this” has never seemed more relevant to God’s Church than today.
LET’S HOPE HISTORY REPEATS
We are always quick to make that little quip – “history always repeats itself.” It is my greatest hope and prayer that we can say that about the modern events of today’s world in relation to the fact that we need a miracle from God to reverse the mess that all of our world leaders have heaped upon the unsuspecting, suffering people of the whole civilized world.
To be more specific; a spooky silence is in the air, a war is brewing, a famine is starting, people everywhere are suffering, the economy is hurting, inflation is robbing every hard working citizen, Christians are not being allowed to have a voice, etc. I could go on forever; but you already know the facts.
A TIME OF IRONY
The irony associated with Purim has swept over every corner of the globe. Everything has turned backwards and upside down; and evil men have been having a hey-day with innocent, hard-working, family- loving citizens. I speak of almost every country on the globe; and it is a very global problem that must be addressed by every country that exists.
May God come swiftly to our aid.
WE WERE WARNED
Mordechai warned Esther that trouble was looming; trouble that could cause death and destruction to her people.
There seemed to be an impossible situation.
Answers were not apparent.
THE GOVERNMENT LISTENED TO THE ENEMY
The government had consorted and taken the advice of the enemies of the people.
They had given and had allowed themselves to be run over by cultures of hate, who were willing to kill, steal, and lie and scheme in order to control others and eventually own their possessions and rights.
For the most part; the only logic that you could pin to their actions was hate in its purest forms. Those who truly hated were pointing their fingers at others and calling them the haters.
FIGHTING FEAR AND SILENCING
Esther must have had to fight hard to destroy the fears that wanted to wheel up inside her heart.
This time she could not remain silent.
She had to keep a level head. No one else could come to the aid of her people.
Esther had to overcome her fears and risk her life in order to go to the King and change his mind.
The lovely Esther did not take this responsibility lightly. She began to prepare for the task at hand.
OBTAINING THE TRUTH
The Queen gathered together all the truest facts that she could find about the current situation. They were obtained from the people she knew she could trust.
Honesty and truth were crucial in her mission.
She had to know all of the things she was up against so that when she went to the King; she could present an honest and noble case for defense.
It was not a time to be slacking. She could not trust the scuttlebutt from the streets.
Only the word of Mordechai could be trusted.
PRAYER WITH WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE
Once she had all of the true facts together; she laid every facet of the multi-layered problems out to her dedicated maids so they could pray with wisdom and knowledge.
They began to fast.
The holy scriptures were brought forth and proclaimed over every situation and circumstance. The truth that Mordecai had revealed to the highest lady in the land and her maids became the subject of many, many prayers for days and days and days.
These were not little fifteen minute prayers before skipping off to the market or to play in the palace all day. The maids of Esther brought forth hours and hours of prayers. These precious ladies were humbly bowing their heads and bending their knees to God giving no attention to their own needs. They were constantly bringing the Jewish people before The Great and Only God of Heaven and Earth. This was the God whom Queen Esther worshipped with all of her heart.
They were never alone.
A GREAT QUEEN’S PRAYERS
The royal queen left her royal calendar.
She prayed with them; constantly kneeling before God and begging for relief for the People of Israel.
SYMBOLISM FOR TODAY
Now let’s stop here for a few moments. We typically think this story is only about saving the Jews. It is; but saving the Jews gave us Christianity. So; how should Christians of today be looking at this story? Of course we are most thankful that it brought us Christianity and Salvation. But lately; our thoughts can really travel much further.
Let all of the symbolism of this ancient story sink into our present day’s dilemmas.
Mordacai is symbolic of Jesus in this story.
Esther is symbolic of God’s Church.
The maids who pray and fast are symbolic of today’s sincere and knowledgeable prayer warriors who fight on their knees and inside their prayer closets.
WICKEDNESS OF HAMAN
In Esther’s day the Jews were the ones that the wicked Haman wanted destroyed.
Haman was his own god.
He hated that the Jews worshipped God. Haman wanted them to worship and bow down to him instead.
Haman clearly symbolizes Satan and/or the idolatry that Satan creates and uses against humanity.
Over the many years of time, Satan has used so many different cultures’ government officials to do his evil bidding.
What about today?
UNDERSTANDING MARXIST GOVERNMENTS
Marxist hate those who worship God.
God stands in the way of their logic which is used to control people by lies and deceit.
If people believe in God; they tend to not fear. Marxist governments thrive on the fears of the people. They control and manipulate the people through fearful situations they create within their cultures.
People who believe in and trust God are often brave enough to stand up for the weak and innocent if they are being destroyed and abused.
They are even bold enough to stand up for themselves because they believe they have a God-given right to freedom.
It is very hard to control God-worshiping people.
HEARTLESS AND HATEFUL
Satan would make a great Marxist.
It takes being totally selfish, heartless and hateful toward certain races other than your own to be a proper Marxist.
Also; it takes being as conniving and deceitful as Haman became to the King in the story of Esther. You might do such things as building your own gallows and having them waiting in order to destroy those who think differently than you do.
If you thought like Haman; you would, of course, want to wipe anyone off the map who did not think that you should be in control and have all of the power.
Who do we know like that today?
I would become completely exhausted if I began to name names.
You know those whom I’m thinking of; but there are so many.
Somehow, when we weren’t paying attention; these hateful, greedy, corrupt people crept into a loving, caring world and began to do all within their power to destroy anything that was good and useful to society.
Just like the times of Esther.
We are living right in the middle of one of God’s most detailed stories. It is full of prophetic answers.
Will the Esther that is truly known to her King stand up and defeat the enemies of God?
Will the Church rise up and meet her Esther moment?
REMEMBER THE END OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER
Our story today looks pretty bleak. We cannot peek around the corner and glimpse a happy ending.
It seemed that way in the story of Esther too; until God brought His Great Reversals.
God does that; you know?
He is a Great God of Great Reversals.
The people of Esther needed a miracle and God brought it!
So much had to fall into place though; in order for that to come about. The truth had to come forth from Mordecai. Esther had to put aside her fears. The maidens had to fast and pray. Esther had to move in faith. The King had to have his sleepless night and remember forgetting to reward Mordecai. Haman has to be humiliated into rewarding Mordecai. The King had to let down the scepter. Two banquets had to be held; then Esther had to express her desires to the King. The King had to decide to hang Haman in his own gallows.
THE GREATEST REVERSAL
THEN –
The King could declare the new decree – that the Jewish people could defend themselves, and others in the land could help them.
Finally, the people of Esther would have the opportunity to survive and thrive in the land along with everyone else.
There was a great party and a huge celebration is now held every year to celebrate the defeat of all hatred in every land.
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
Let’s pray for God to bring all the people on this earth to the place where all hatred can be wiped out forever.
That is the true miracle of Purim.
If we ever needed to know it; now is the time.