A Holiday to Remember
Esther Part 2
Of all the holidays recognized in the Bible, the Festival of Purim stands out as particularly bizarre. It is still celebrated today by our Jewish brothers and sisters, but it is a combination of St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras and Halloween. Which is something all American Christians can relate to. But, the origination of Purim is to celebrate the death of a Persian official, along with his ten sons, and 75,000 Persians. At this point, most sane people would give pause and ask if this is really the kind of story we want to remember.
I argue that it is, but not for any of the reasons above. If we dig deeper into the story there are layers, which can be missed and are ultimately what makes this story of the Bible worth remembering.
Last we left our Queen Esther, she was stuck in a marriage to the king and her uncle was facing the wrath of Haman, due to insubordination. In response to this insubordination, Haman plans to impale Mordecai and manipulates the king into ordering an ancient version of the Nazi’s Kristallnacht. Through a series of twists and outmaneuvering, Esther ends up convincing the King to put Haman on the stick instead and issue a counter law for the Jews to kill the Persians. In fact, this first day of attacks successfully killed so many Persians, the King issues another law be continuing the assault the following day. The event becomes “a day which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and the month which was turned for them from sorrow into joy, from mourning into celebration.” (9:22)
Can you picture what is going on here? The Persian king issues a law to kill his Persian official and then for his second-class citizens to murder the first-class citizens in his empire. This kingdom has seemed to turn itself completely upside down and lost its mind. But despite this kingdom’s insanity, it somehow managed to build a Persian Empire stretching from Egypt and Turkey to India.
If we are to understand this story, we must look at it like our tall tales in American history. Think of Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Jonny Appleseed, and Betsy Ross. Each other these people are used to tell a tale communicating truths us as a culture in a beautifully colored history. The story of Esther is a Jewish version of a tall tale, but what is it telling us?
In 1 Corinthians 3:19, St. Paul writes, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” The Jewish faith is a faith of laws handed down by God for the sanctification of His people. There is nothing more sacred than these commandments. Esther is a story of law against law. Not people against people. It is a story which shows the insanity of human laws to a people guided by God’s law.
It can be hard to find ways to relate the Old Testament today. But here is a story many of us should relate to. We live in a country that murders over 800,000 unborn children each year, civil rights have become synonymous with political correctness, and legal marriage is being redefined. Purim should be celebrated and remembered, but not because of the deaths. It should be remembered because it celebrates the wisdom of the world for what it is…insanity.
For those interested in an expert opinion relating to Esther and law, take the time to read Craig A. Stern’s Megillath Esther and the Rule of Law: Disobedience and Obligation. As a professor, Regent University School of Law, he is eminently more qualified than I and the paper is very interesting.
Dad Devotional 