Month: March 2023

²¹ to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar ²² as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. Esther 9

We saw yesterday that the Feast of Purim began with the reading of the scroll of Esther and that it’s read a second time the following morning, today.

This great plot against the whole Jewish people began with the anger of one man, Haman, when Mordecai the Jew refused to bow to him. Haman opened himself to become a tool of the devil.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious; … ²⁰ idolatry and WITCHCRAFT; HATRED, discord, jealousy, FITS OF RAGE, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5 (Three highlighted in which Haman involved himself)

The following verses in Galatians 5, listing the nine fruit of the Spirit may be better known, but the Bible first details fifteen acts of the flesh/sinful nature.

A couple of further scriptures which demonstrate God’s assessment of man’s anger;

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, SLOW TO SPEAK AND SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY, ²⁰ BECAUSE HUMAN ANGER does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1

³² Better a patient person than a warrior,
    one with self-control than one who takes a city. Proverbs 16

I recently read a book by the late Peter Wagner, entitled Humility. He related how in his personal life he prayed for three things every day, deliverance from pride, deliverance from a sharp tongue and a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit (who convicts of pride and sin). We often need the help of God’s Spirit to shed habits which have become ingrained in our lives; we may not be able to shift them on our own. Prayer is a good place to begin.

²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do/in life flows from it. Proverbs 4

God rescued His people in the days of Esther and Mordecai and raised them up to the highest positions in the Babylonian empire. He is well able to do the same for us at the present time if we will walk humbly before Him.

God bless and keep you today.

²⁰ Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far,²¹ to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar ²² as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. Esther 9

The Festival of Purim begins at sunset tonight, the time when Jewish people celebrate their great deliverance by God whilst within the Persian Empire.

They usually observe four key duties during the Feast;

1. Give gifts to the poor.

2. Read the scroll of Esther, evening and morning in the synagogue.

3.Eat a festive meal together.

4. Give gifts to friends and family.

Purim is known as the jolliest day within the Jewish Calendar.

Haman, was promoted chief advisor to the king, but became enraged by Mordecai’s refusal to bow or acknowledge him. So he plotted, by drawing lots (occult scheming), to annihilate the whole Jewish race. God is never mentioned in the Book of Esther, but God had already placed Esther/Hadassah as Queen within the palace of King Xerxes. Mordecai had told Esther not to reveal her Jewish identity, God’s Timing is always perfect.

God allowed the enemy to proceed with his planned destruction of His people, but at the last minute He intervened through Esther who pleaded with King Xerxes, on her own behalf and her people.

³ Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have found favour with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life – this is my petition. And spare my people – this is my request. ⁴ For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. Esther 7

The King was outraged that his Queen was under threat of her life and so Haman was revealed as the culprit. (Neither will God  allow the enemy to destroy His people today)

⁹ Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, ‘A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.’

The king said, ‘Impale him on it!’ ¹⁰ So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided. Esther 7

Haman was ‘Hoisted on his own petard’, or destroyed by his own scheme/poetic justice. The enemy may have thought then and now that God wasn’t able to prevent their plans, but in His time He simply used their own plotting to destroy them.

I believe it will not be so long before the Church and all God’s people will celebrate His deliverance in our times.

God is often not acknowledged or known in the present time, but His Hand is at work behind the scenes in human history to save those who love Him and ‘save many’ as He did through Joseph in Egypt.

“Chag Purim Sameach!” Happy Purim to all our Jewish friends.

God bless and keep you today.

Some closing thoughts on the life of Jacob/Israel.

High Point (HP), Before Jacob was born, God Loved Him and said he would rule over his older brother, Esau. Low Point (LP), Jacob Struggled even in the womb.

²² THE BABIES JOSTLED EACH OTHER WITHIN HER, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to enquire of the Lord.

²³ The Lord said to her (Rebekah),

(HP) God met with Jacob in a dream at Luz/Bethel and promised him that, ‘all peoples on earth would be blessed through him and his offspring’. God told that He would be with him and bring him back to the land. (LP) Jacob wasn’t told that it would involve twenty years of Struggle and Strife.

⁴¹ It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands …’ Genesis 31

Jacob parted from Laban with his wives, his families and all his livestock intact, but he faced a further Struggle before he entered Canaan, the land promised to him.

(HP) Jacob received a name change because he had overcome.       (LP) Jacob wrestled with a man (the Lord) until daybreak, another sleepless night, and ended with a dislocated hip.

But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’

²⁷ The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’

‘Jacob,’ he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but ISRAEL, BECAUSE YOU HAVE STRUGGLED WITH GOD AND MEN AND HAVE OVERCOME.’ Genesis 32

Jacob’s life was marked by Struggles, but also with God’s Favour. Don’t despair, All of us will experience this to a greater or lesser degree during our own lives, but God has also called us to be over comers.

Immanuel, Stay Strong, God is with us.

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³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6

THE LORD IS NO ONE’S DEBTOR, HALLELUJAH.

²² ‘Joseph is a fruitful vine, (Fruitful, like Jacob)

Joseph received a powerful blessing, just like Judah, the ruler among his brothers.

²⁴ But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed supple,
because of the hand of the Mighty One OF JACOB,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
²⁵ because of YOUR FATHER’S GOD, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,

It’s interesting that Joseph’s Blessing was closely tied to his father Jacob; he had been Jacob’s favourite son.

²³ YET I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU;
    YOU HOLD ME BY MY RIGHT HAND. (NOT DISTANT, NEAR US)
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory. Psalm 73

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE.’ Matthew 28

Jesus last words, ‘I am with you always, to the very end’, Amen. Trust Him and don’t be overcome by your circumstances.

Immanuel, Stay Strong, God is with us.

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: ‘Gather round so that I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come (Prophetic Blessing).

²² ‘Joseph is a fruitful vine (Fruitful, same blessing as Jacob),
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.

²⁶ Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

It’s interesting that the last recorded words of Jacob and Moses, two fathers of the tribes, WERE WORDS OF BLESSING, spoken before their deaths. (No need to wait until the end TO BLESS THOSE NEAR AND DEAR TO US.)

Immanuel, Stay Strong, God is with us.