We have come a long way through the book of Esther.
• Against all odds, and through a set of amazing and miraculous twists, Esther and Mordecai achieved the mission – the mission of God, actually - to save their people from certain annihilation.
• It was successful because God has a hand in it. Nothing short of being miraculous because all that has taken place could not have been humanly possible or planned for.
There were many divine “coincidences”, so to speak.
• The phrase ‘divine coincidences’ is an oxymoron. They cannot be true at the same time.
• If these events were coincidences, then they could not be divinely orchestrated.
• If God has arranged them, then they could not be by chance.
• God preserved His people, purposefully. He protected the remnant and hence the seed for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.
Throughout the book of Esther, we did not see God visibly nor did we read of ‘God’ being mentioned. There wasn’t any signs and wonders to tell us He was there.
• We don’t need miracles to know that God is present in our lives. God is, whether we believe it or not. We live by faith in the promises of God, not by our sight.
• The resurrected Jesus said to His disciples, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
Therefore this day has to be celebrated and remembered.
• To celebrate is to give thanks. The remnant survived and lived on. It was a day when “sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration.” (9:22)
• To remember is to help us look to the future with confidence knowing that this same God is with us.
• If the past has been an act of God, by the grace of God, then we can trust Him today. Remembering the past strengthens our faith in God for tomorrow.
• God’s deliverance has to be retold (that’s remembering). We are to talk about it again and again, not just for those who have survived, but for generations to come.
So Mordecai sent out letters to all the Jews in the entire empire, giving instruction for Israel to celebrate these days and to remember them annually.
• Later a second letter detailing how to observe Purim was also issued out.
• Two days were designated because the villages in the provinces had just a one-day fight, while the city of Susa took another extended day, so they celebrated on the 15th day.
• So every year on the 14th and 15th day of the 12th month (Adar), the Jews will celebrate what is now called the Feast of Purim.
• Purim comes from the word pur (9:26), ‘the lot’ (in Hebrew) that Haman casted to pick the day to exterminate the Jews (3:7).
9:28 “These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.”
• And so at every feast, they would read the book of Esther.
• Traditions tell us the people will cheer whenever Mordecai’s name is mentioned and jeer when Haman’s name is read.
We are to remember WHAT God has done and know WHO God is.
• Not just for the generation that has experienced God’s grace and deliverance, but for the generations to come.
• This is how faith in God is passed on. Purim is important and necessary.
• Such commemorations are not new to Israel. Purim isn’t the first feast Israel was asked to observe.
Right from the start, when their ancestors were first delivered from their slavery in Egypt, they were taught to remember what God has done.
• They were told to observe the Feast of the Passover or Unleavened Bread (God’s deliverance), the Feast of First fruits (Pentecost, God’s provision, harvest time), the Feast of the Tabernacles (provision/protection in the wilderness)…
• The feasts point to God’s works among His people – protection, provision, salvation.
We see the importance of the feasts in the Jewish life. They are not just holidays.
• Particularly the first feast – the Feast of the Passover. God promised deliverance for His people, but when Pharaoh refused, He sent ten plagues on the land of Egypt.
• The 10th and worst of the plagues was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt. That would force Pharaoh to let His people go.
• On the night of the first Passover God told the Israelites to sacrifice a spotless lamb and mark their doorframes with its blood (Exodus 12:21–22).
• Exo 12:23 “When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”
• In a very real way, the blood of the lamb saved the Israelites from death.
Exo 12:25-27 “25When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26And when your children ask you, `What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27then tell them, `It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”
• Remembering what God has done in the past gives us the confidence to trust Him for the future. God is consistent. He is faithful and true. And He is involved.
God’s deliverance of the first generation of Israelites from Egypt was a foretaste of what God wants to do ultimately for the world.
• So is God’s deliverance of the remnant here in Esther. What happened here for the Jewish remnant in Persia points to the ultimate salvation God has planned for the world.
• The seed of David has to be preserved for the Son of David, the Messiah Jesus to come. He will bring deliverance from sin for all people.
• God will save His people (Israel) because God wants to save His people (world).
When Jesus ate His last supper with His disciples, it was “the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.” (Luke 22:7)
• The Feast of the Passover formed the background to what was about to take place in the Upper Room.
• Jesus said to them, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Mt 26:26) That’s what they did at the first Passover.
• And then He passed the cup. “Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin.” (Mt 26:27b-28)
The lamb that was sacrificed at the first Passover pointed ultimately to the one true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
• Paul expressed well: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Cor 5:7).
Be amazed at what God has done. Remember His goodness. Tell of His wonderful acts.
• The pur (the lot) that Haman casted to exterminate the Jews, the thing used to destroy them, was given this new symbolic meaning PURIM, to celebrate the deliverance of God.
• We have the cross, the curse, the thing that was used to kill Jesus, and now becomes a symbol of God’s great salvation for all of us.
• Whatever the world or Satan uses, God can turn it around and use it to accomplish His purpose. We saw that clearly in the book of Esther.
Are we still afraid and worries, when we have such a God who is sovereignly at work in our lives? Are we remembering what God has done?
• Do we talk about it again and again, year after year, from one generation to another?
• Do we remember God’s goodness? Have we given time to think about it?
OLD MAN AND A BUCKET OF SHRIMP A True Story
Every Friday evening as the sun sets, there is this common sight at a Florida beach.
An elderly man Eddie will be strolling towards his favourite pier, clutching in his hand a bucket of shrimp. He walks out to the end of the pier and stands to enjoy the sight.
Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky hundreds of white dots come screeching and squawking, flying their way toward this man standing on the end of the pier. Dozens of seagulls envelope him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly. Eddie stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, and if we are close enough to listen, we can hear him say, “Thank you. Thank you.”
In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. Eddie enjoys their presence for a moment and then walks back to the beach. He does that every week.
His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a soldier who fought in WW2. During the war, in a flying missions across the Pacific, he and his 7-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.
Captain Eddie and his crew floated for days on the rough waters. They fought the sun and sharks, hunger and thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were of miles from land and no one knew where they were.
They needed a miracle. They prayed for one.
They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was the slapping of the waves against the raft.
Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull!
Old Eddie would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal of it - a very small meal for eight men.
Then they used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait, and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure until they were found and rescued some 24 days later.
Eddie Rickenbacker never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull. Every Friday evening, he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket of shrimp. This was his way of saying THANK YOU.
Are we truly grateful for what God has done? Are we living like one who is? Are we always thankful? Do we take time to REMEMBER and CELEBRATE?
• As God commanded the Israelites to commemorate His deliverance through the Passover, the Lord has called us to remember His sacrifice at the Passover meal.
• This we do every month at the Lord’s Supper or the Communion. It is also called Eucharist, which comes from the Greek word TO GIVE THANKS.
As we take the bread and cup this morning, let us give thanks to God for all that He has done for us.
• We give thanks for our deliverance from sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus.
• When the take the bread, we remember Jesus’ body that was broken for us. When we take the cup we remember Jesus’ blood that was shed for our sin.
HOLY COMMUNION
1 Cor 11:23b-24 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
1 Cor 11:25-26 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
