Day 1: What is Purim?

The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates when the Jewish people were saved from destruction in ancient Persia. The book of Esther records the account.

In the 5th century B.C.E., King Ahasuerus of Persia ruled the Jewish people. He banished his queen, and to select a new one, he conscripted young maidens from throughout his kingdom. He chose Esther, a young Jewish woman who kept her lineage secret.

Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and guardian, overheard a plot to kill the king. He told Esther, thus saving Ahasuerus’ life. The event was recorded, but Mordecai wasn’t acknowledged.

Haman, a wicked officer, convinced the king that the Jewish people were a threat. He persuaded Ahasuerus to issue an irrevocable decree urging the public to kill Jewish people on a selected day. When Mordecai learned it, he begged Esther to approach the king to save their people. “Who knows whether you have attained royal status for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 TLV), he said. The trouble was, going to the king uninvited was punishable by death if he didn’t welcome her.

Despite the danger, Esther chose to go, saying, “If I perish, I perish!” (v. 16). She fasted and went to the king three days later. He received her, and she invited him and Haman to a banquet where she would explain her request.

Before the banquet, Ahasuerus discovered that nothing had been done for Mordecai for saving his life. The king remedied that by ordering Haman to oversee a lavish and public display honoring Mordecai.

At a second banquet, Esther revealed her Jewish identity and exposed Haman as the man whose plan threatened her and her people’s lives. Haman was hanged, and his position was given to Mordecai. The Jewish people were allowed to defend themselves on the decreed day, and they were saved from annihilation.

Interestingly, God is not mentioned once in the book of Esther. But as we’ll see in the coming days, His hand is evident throughout the events, revealing faith-building lessons for us today.

Takeaway

It may not always look like God is working in your life, but He is.

Think About

Is there a time in your life when God seemed distant, but you later realized He was involved in your circumstances all along?

Esther 3:5–6 TLV

When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him honor, Haman was filled with rage. But it was repugnant in his eyes to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him the identity of Mordecai’s people. So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 4:14 TLV

“… Who knows whether you have attained royal status for such a time as this?”

Esther 4:15–16 TLV

Esther sent this to reply to Mordecai, “Go! Gather together all the Jews who are in Shushan and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast in the same way. Afterwards, I will go in to the king, even though it is not according to the law. So if I perish, I perish!”

Esther 9:1 TLV

Consequently, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is the month Adar), the king’s edict and his law drew near to be carried out. On that day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but contrary to expectations the Jews gained the upper hand over those that hated them.

Esther 9:20–22 TLV

Mordecai recorded these events and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, urging them to celebrate the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar every year as the days when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into celebration. These were to be days of feasting, celebration and sending presents of food to one another and giving gifts to the poor.

Esther 9:28 TLV

These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family and in every province and every city. These days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their remembrance perish from their descendants.