Esther 4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
The Festival of Purim, which we celebrate on the 14th of Adar—the last month in the Biblical calendar—begins this Thursday evening and continues through Friday evening this year. Although Purim isn’t one of the moedim, or appointed feasts, named in the Torah, it arose in the 4th century BC and has been cherished ever since.
While the dramatic events leading to Purim are vividly detailed in the Book of Esther, the festival of Purim does not appear in the New Testament.
The Book of Esther is set in the ancient city of Susa (Shushan), now part of modern-day western Iran. The story unfolds sometime after the 70-year exile in Babylon, but likely before Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the governor returned to Israel.
In a remarkable series of divinely guided events, a young Jewish woman named Hadassah, better known as Esther, ascends to become queen of Persia. Despite her high status, Esther conceals her Jewish identity on the advice of Mordecai: “Esther had not made known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to make it known” (Esther 2:10, 20).
As the plot thickens, Haman, the king’s advisor, engineers a plan to annihilate all Jews. By casting lots (Esther 3:7; Esther 9:26), known in Hebrew as purim, the 13th of Adar is set for this horrific event (Esther 3:13). However, the narrative takes a turn when Esther, spurred by Mordecai, discloses her heritage to the king, leading to Haman’s death and the Jews’ miraculous deliverance.
While the Book of Esther does not explicitly mention God, His presence is intricately woven throughout the narrative, visible to all who immerse themselves in its pages.
One of the most profound lessons from Purim is that God’s rescue plan for the Jewish people would happen with or without Esther’s help. Mordecai even tells Esther that if she kept quiet, “relief and deliverance for the Jews would arise from another place.” This shows that God’s plans don’t rely on just one person, even though Esther was in the right place at the right time, “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)
Likewise, we are alive now “for such a time as this.” God’s prophetic plan to redeem the world, as well as the Jewish people, will happen with or without us, however, God has placed us here for “such a time as this” to see God’s prophetic plan unfold fully, that we may see the “fulness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25) and then “all of Israel be saved” (Romans 11:26) for this Gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come! (Matthew 24:14)
So, take hold of this moment, this special time in your life, and really get that God put you here “for such a time as this.” You’re meant to do incredible things and participate in His ultimate plan—bringing hope and redemption through His Son to the whole world. And guess what? You might just be the spark that ignites a revival right where you are!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Why is it that some believers seem to go much deeper in their walk with God than others? I believe it has to do with a desire to pursue God and not to stop until they feel His very presence in their lives. These believers decide not to settle for anything less than a growing, vibrant relationship with God, and God honors that desire for those who seek it.
This pivotal passage of scripture, Isaiah 52 and continuing into Isaiah 53, profiles a suffering servant whom the nation of Israel would not recognize. The spiritual leaders of Yeshua’s (Jesus) day were blinded to the messianic passages which pointed to the messiah’s role as a humble servant and bearer of sins.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.
For the past two weeks we’ve been building life lessons derived from the Exodus wanderings and from Paul’s exhortations to the church in Corinth. Notice carefully that Paul says, “these were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come”…
…that is, written for us today! – admonitions from Paul to learn lessons from the history of the children of Israel.