Today is Purim. It is the 14th day of Adar, the twelfth month on the Biblical calendar. Purim is a celebration of redemption. It is a remembrance of the day that Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. It is the day Esther came out of from the hidden place and revealed her true identity. Purim is a celebration of a divine turnaround.
As I read through the book the Esther this morning, I was struck by the many parallels between the Jewish people of the time and where we are as a nation in 2021. Over the past year, I believe the Lord has been taking the face of the remnant, the ekklesia, into His hands and turning our heads away from the daily ramblings of the noisemakers in our society. He has caused our attention to be turned toward what He wants us to see. Our literal Passover last year was only the beginning. Pentecost, the Red Sea and other historic Biblical encounters have taken on new meaning to us in recent months. And Purim is no different. Let’s take a closer look at the story of Esther.
In chapter 2, we are introduced to Mordecai, a Benjamite. His cousin Esther was orphaned and he took her in as his own daughter. After King Ahasuerus had banished Queen Vashti from his presence, he sought a new queen from among the young virgins in the land. Esther was among those brought into his palace to spend a year being prepared for her presentation to the king. Here is where the similarities between this story and our present situation begin to become clear.
The Hidden Ones
Esther did not reveal her identity as a Jew after Mordecai cautioned her not to. God was positioning her with favor and she was placed in the most favored rank in the harem. She was given the choicest preparations and seven attendants to see her every need. There are many hidden ones in this season who have been kept insulated by the hand of God because it is not yet their time to step into their kingdom destiny. They are hiding in plain view. When they do come forward as the true sons and daughters of the Most High, the favor of the Lord on them will be evident to everyone. If you are one of these hidden ones, take heart. You have not been overlooked. Your time is coming.
It was during this time that Mordecai became aware of a plot to attack the king from within his own trusted officials. He told Esther and she informed the king. The men were hanged for their treasonous intent.
Homage to Ungodly Dictates
After these events, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, promoting him to a position of authority over all his officials. Everyone in the land was to bow down and pay homage to Haman. Sound familiar? Today we are being told to basically bow and pay homage to the dictates of ungodly leaders. They want us to forfeit our ability to think for ourselves and allow them to do our thinking for us as they seek to lead us down a path of destruction.
Righteousness Fuels the Enemy’s Anger
Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman as he passed by. This infuriated Haman. What are we seeing in the behavior and rantings of those seeking to destroy this nation? Anyone who doesn’t consent to their dictates becomes the target of their rage and anger. They seek to silence the voice of anyone who would dare to disagree with them. By partnering with hellish agendas, Haman became an enemy of God. Chapter 3 verse 10 calls Haman “an enemy of the Jews.” There comes a time when the dividing line between those who are with God and those who are against Him becomes very clear.
The Enemy Revealed His Plan
Haman was so arrogant that he announced his plan to destroy the Jewish people months beforehand. During the month of Nisan, the first month, he sent word out to the entire kingdom that the Jews were to be destroyed on a single day, the thirteenth of Adar, the twelfth month. He got the king to issue the edict, then put the “dirty work” of actually killing the Jews into the hands of the rest of the citizens of the kingdom. By doing so, he tried to keep his own hands clean in the matter. We are aleady seeing the foundations being laid in America for citizens to report each other to the government for not “bowing to Haman.”
Haman thought that he was so indestructible and his plan was so foolproof that he did not need to hide his agenda. He publicly announced it to the entire kingdom. Are you getting this yet?
Funding from Ungodly Sources
Haman offered ten thousand talents of silver from his own pocket to fund the plan to anihilate the Jews. He was offering money to those who would kill the Jews and plunder them. Are a couple of names coming to mind yet? People of means who are using their own money to fund certain agendas?
Unrest in the Citadel
Susa was the capitol city of the kingdom. It was from here that the edict was issued and sent out to the rest of the kingdom. Chapter 3 closes by revealing that “while the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was agitated.” Looking to our own capitol city, do you see agitation? Unrest?
The Watchman on the Wall Discovers the Scheme
Mordecai sat at the king’s gate watching and listening. He had his ear to the ground, so to speak, and when he became aware of Haman’s plot, he got word to Esther. He told her messenger everything, including the exact amount of money Haman had pledged and he provided a copy of the edict – the hard evidence. The enemy’s plan was now exposed. The same is happening today.
The Call to Fast
Esther’s initial reaction to Mordecai’s instruction that she now use her influence with the King to save her people was one of fear and uncertainty. Understandably so. No one was allowed to enter the king’s presence without being summoned, and the punishment for doing so was death. But when Mordecai encouraged her with the fact that she had attained royalty “for such a time as this,” her heart was emboldened and her resolve became solidified. She instructed Mordecai to gather all the Jews in the city to join her and her attendants in a three-day fast in preparation for her to approach to the throne room uninvited. She determined to do whatever was in her power to save her people, “and if I perish, I perish,” she said.
The Trap is Set
On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes (an outward symbol of her royal position) and stood in the inner court outside the throne room. From his throne, her husband the King saw her standing out there and he extended to her the golden sceptre, inviting her into his presence. He saw she was troubled and offered anything she wanted, up to half his kingdom. She now had his attention. But she did not blurt out what she wanted in that moment. Rather she requested that he and Haman come to a banquet she had prepared for them. At the banguet, the king was in a festive mood and asked her again what she desired. Rather than spill out the troubled contents of her heart, she requested a second banquet the following day and promised to share her request with the king then.
Now Haman is feeling pretty pleased with himself, thinking that the queen is honoring him by having him present for a private banquet with the king. But he is still bothered by Mordecai’s refusal to bow down to him. His wife (clearly under the influence of a Jezebel spirit) instructs him to build a gallows and have Mordecai hanged on it the next day on his way to the second banquet with the royal couple. He has the gallows built before the day’s end.
Last Minute Redemption
The king could not sleep that night. He was restless. He got up and had the chronicles read to him and discovered the record that Mordecai had saved his life by exposing the assassination plot a year earlier, and that nothing had been done to thank or honor Mordecai for this good deed. He asked Haman what should be done for the man the king desires to honor. Thinking the king must obviously referring to him, Haman lays out a grand ceremony for this man. Then the king instructs him to do all these things for Mordecai. Not only did Haman have to watch Mordecai receive honor and favor from the king, but he personally had to be the one to parade Mordecai through the streets wearing the king’s robe and his signet ring, proclaiming to everyone the king’s honor for Mordecai.
The Turnaround Has Begun
Now Haman’s wife and his advisers changed their tune. They said to him that if this Mordecai was of Jewish origin, he would not prevail over Mordecai but would rather fall before him. While they were still telling him this, the king’s eunichs arrived to escort him to the banquet. The turnaround has already begun and the tide is turning in the favor of God’s people.The shift in the atmosphere is unmistakeable and the enemy of God’s people knows it.
The Masks Come Off
At the second banquet, the king again asks Esther what her request is. She replies requesting that her life and the lives of her people be spared from the annihilation edict that has been issued under his own name. When the king demands to know who would dare such a thing, Esther points to and names Haman as the culprit. In one moment, Esther reveals her true identity and exposes Haman for who he really was. Haman is hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai. Esther is now free to be who she is as a Jew. She no longer has to hide her true identity. She is no longer a hidden one. She is both a Jew and the Queen.
As a side note, the month of Adar (which we are currently in) is associated with the Hebrew letter KUF, which pictures removing the masquerade and entering joy.
The Transfer of Wealth from the Wicked to the Righteous
On that day, the king gave the household of Haman to Esther. She set Mordecai over the house of Haman. The king’s edict was still very close to being carried out throughout the land. So he issued a new edict stating that the Jews had the right to defend themselves. His order was that anyone who tried to destroy them would themselves be destroyed and plundered. So Israel defended themselves against their enemies and plundered them. The wealth of the wicked was transferred to the righteous. Chapter 8 verses 16-17 tell us this:
“For the Jews there was light, joy, jubilation and honor. In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree arrived, there was joy and jubilation for the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many among the peoples of the land became Jews, because the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.”
The Celebration of Purim Established
Mordecai declared the 14th and 15th of Adar as an annual celebration of joy and the Jews established it. It is a celebration of when their grief was turned to joy. Mordecai’s letters to the Jews about these events were “words of peace and truth.” (Esther 9:30)
This Brings Us to Today
As we examine the times and seasons, we see that God is always speaking to us through His timing and order. The story of Esther is closely paralleled in the season the body is in right now. If we are listening and looking, we will see where the Lord is taking us once again, out of grief into joy. The same spiritual forces that manifested through Haman and the enemies of the Jews are the same demonic influences that are manifesting now.
I believe Esther received her strategy during those three days of fasting and prayer. She carefully set the trap for Haman to arrogantly walk right into. And when the moment was right, she put a spotlight on Haman’s wicked plan that the king could not deny. The Lord will continue to expose the darkness and release the light as we remain close to Him, hearing His voice, remaining humble and ready before Him and allowing Him to position us for such a time as this.
