Rabbi Jonathan Bernis and Ezra Benjamin | Purim
Summary
Join Jonathan Bernis and co-host Ezra Benjamin as they uncover God’s redemptive plan seen in the story of a woman named Esther.
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Despite the economic damage caused by re-imposed US sanctions on its oil sector, Iran has made significant steps toward a threat made in January to switch strategies from defense to offense regarding its long-term goal of destroying Israel.
Three recent developments reveal this new strategy: a drone operation, a new missile plant in Syria and deploying an armed flotilla.
Last week, Iran’s Defense Ministry announced it had successfully completed a drone operation named “Beit al-Maqdis,” which means “way to Jerusalem.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) called it the strongest-ever exercise of its kind. Amir Ali Hajjizadeh, commander of the IRGC’s aerospace division, announced the drill and said Iran has the region’s largest and most advanced drone fleet.
Last November, Hajizadeh bragged of Iran’s unmatched collection of captured or downed American and Israeli drones. Last week’s operation consisted of 50 drones based on a US Sentinel drone that Iran captured in 2011, reverse engineered and modified to perform both bombing and reconnaissance missions. A captured Predator drone was also reverse engineered to be part of the mission.
The Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis (MECRA) issued a report saying the drill was part of a strategy to showcase Iran’s military prowess. MECRA also reported that Iran claims to have “hacked into US drones over Iraq and Syria.”
The Times of Israel reported on Sunday, “Satellite images give credence to reports that a new factory in Syria’s northwest is a facility for the production of surface-to-surface (SSM) missiles. Israeli officials believe it is a precision missile factory being constructed by Iran in cooperation with the Syrian government and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.”
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the factory was intended to “focus on producing precision missiles, dramatically upgrading the threat to Israel from the vast arsenal of rockets and missiles deployed against it in southern Lebanon by Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah.”
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the IRGC, said in an interview with Iranian media on Sunday that all of Israel is within reach of Hezbollah’s missiles.
Also on Sunday, Iran announced that it had deployed its 61st flotilla to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. “The naval group is on a mission to provide security for the routes used by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in the area of the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,” Iranian Navy's Southern Fleet Rear Admiral Afshin Tashk said.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the flotilla includes a destroyer and warships. “The deployment comes less than a month after a large-scale naval exercise in the Persian Gulf and strategic Strait of Hormuz,” the Postsaid. “Iran has been working to upgrade its navy, with new vessels and submarines introduced to bolster the country’s aging fleet and recently announced that it had commissioned its first domestically developed submarine capable of firing cruise missiles.”
While Iran claims the ships are meant only to protect its commercial vessels from pirates, some analysts suspect Iran is carrying weapons to the Iran-backed Houthis rebels in Yemen’s civil war.
The importance of these three developments was summed up by statements by Iran’s military leadership.
The chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Bagheri, announced in January that Iran would change its military strategy from defensive to offensive. The next day, IRGC Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami declared, “Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. The Israelis will not have even a cemetery in Palestine to bury their own corpses.”
Please pray with us for God’s protection for Israel as Iran and its proxies in the Middle East take offensive steps to eliminate her. Also pray for protection of the Jewish people, civilians and military personnel alike, targeted by Iran and its proxies with terrorist attacks and bold military operations.
Disguised as a non-partisan rebuke against bigotry, last week’s vote in the US House of Representatives for HR183 hoisted anti-Semitism to a new level.
Only 23 lawmakers – all Republicans – voted against a resolution originally intended to reprimand Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) for remarks she made at a town hall. She had insinuated that American Jewish people have allegiance to Israel rather than the US.
Jewish member Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who previously sparred with Omar over anti-Semitic statements, argued that the resolution should have identified Omar. He compared the move to a January resolution condemning Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for remarks considered white supremacist.
“In January, we condemned white supremacy,” Zeldin reminded the House members before the vote on HR183. “We kicked that member off his committees. This member will continue to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”
A Watershed Moment for Anti-Semitism
Seth J. Frantzman, Op-Ed Editor and Middle East affairs analyst at The Jerusalem Post, analyzed how the attempt to condemn Omar for her brazen anti-Semitic statements backfired. He concluded that between February 28 and March 6, Omar pulled off a brilliant tactic to forever shield herself.
“Omar and her colleague, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), were smart in how they framed their discussion leading to the foreign allegiance accusation,” Frantzman wrote.
At the townhall meeting in late February, Omar prefaced her offending remarks by claiming she and Tlaib are unfairly treated because of their faith.
“What I’m fearful of, because Rashida and I are Muslim, (is) that a lot of our Jewish colleagues, a lot of our constituents, a lot of our allies, go to thinking that everything we say about Israel to be antisemitic because we are Muslim,” she said.
Frantzman argued that anything Omar now says against Jewish people or Israel is already defended by the “we are Muslim” caveat.
Bringing a Whisper Campaign into the Open
In several Jerusalem Post articles, Frantzman has warned that an incremental “whisper campaign” against Jewish people is increasingly becoming more toxic in the US, and that Omar and Tlaib have brought it to a crescendo. He cites the three steps of this campaign:
This process, he says, “isn’t hidden away in some conspiracy chat room somewhere, but is being pushed by the rising stars of a new, young and vibrant activist community that has taken hold.”
This campaign is reflected in Omar’s past and present public statements.
In an interview with the online publication the Intercept, Omar claimed she was merely speaking the truth and is held to a different standard because she is a Muslim woman of color and not a white Jewish person.
According to Omar, she was the victim in a conversation that started with her own anti-Semitic statements, saying she was singled out because of her color and faith.
The Victory Lap
After the vote on HR183, Representatives Omar and Tlaib declared victory for turning a debate about anti-Semitism into a win for Islam.
“Today is historic on many fronts,” their statement read. “It's the first time we have voted on a resolution condemning Anti-Muslim bigotry in our nation's history.” The statement went on to say HR183 was about all forms of bigotry.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently handed out its yearly awards, or “Oscars” as they’ve come to be known. Above all, they are intended to celebrate compelling stories, intriguing characters and fabulous settings.
History is often more fascinating than fiction, and the Bible is no exception. The Purim (PURR-ihm) story, found in the book of Esther, sounds like it comes right out of Hollywood. In fact, the story of Esther has been told in movies on both big and small screens. A basic outline of the elements of a Purim screenplay might look something like this:
The story opens in the palace.
King Ahasuerus reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. He held a great banquet for the princes, nobles and military of the land. Everyone of importance in the kingdom was there, as were his servants. When he summoned his queen, Vashti, to join the feast, she refused. Ahasuerus’ advisors warned that he must not let her rebellion go unpunished or else women throughout the land would disrespect their husbands. The king agreed to banish Vashti and give her royal status to another.
Esther was an orphaned Jewish maiden living with her cousin and guardian, Mordecai. She was conscripted to enter a beauty pageant from which the next queen of Persia would be chosen. She kept her Jewish identity hidden during her year-long beautification process. She found favor with the king, and he selected her for his queen. At Mordecai’s advice, Esther maintained the secret of her Jewish heritage after her selection as queen.
Sometime afterward, Mordecai saved the king’s life by reporting an assassination plot he’d overheard. The culprits were executed, and the event was recorded in the king’s chronicles. But nothing was done to honor Mordecai.
Later, King Ahasuerus promoted an officer named Haman to such prominence that everyone in the kingdom was required to bow in his presence. But Mordecai bent his knee to God alone, and he refused. Haman was enraged and hatched a plan to kill not only Mordecai but all the Jewish people. He persuaded the king to sign an irrevocable decree to pay citizens to kill Jewish people on a particular day of the year. Haman cast lots to determine the day, which fell several months away.
Mordecai learned of the decree and begged Esther to approach the king on behalf of their people. Esther was afraid because going to the king without an invitation could mean her death. Mordecai persuaded her saying maybe she became queen “for such a time as this?”
Esther gathered her courage and agreed to go, saying, “If I perish, I perish.” But first, Esther sought the Lord. She fasted and prayed for three days. She had her handmaids fast as well and asked Mordecai to rally the Jewish people to do the same.
When Esther went to the king, he extended his golden scepter toward her indicating that he welcomed her. He knew her visit was bold and that she must have a request of him. When he asked about it, she invited him, along with Haman, to attend a banquet the next day. She would tell him her request then.
The night before the banquet, Ahasuerus couldn’t sleep. He summoned a servant to read to him the chronicles of his reign. He learned the account of how Mordecai saved his life and that nothing had been done to honor him. Before Esther’s banquet, the king ordered none other than Haman to parade Mordecai through the city with great fanfare and announcing to everyone the king’s favor toward Mordecai.
Esther followed her first banquet for the king and Haman with a second, at which she presented her request: her life and that of her people. The king was outraged that someone dared threaten the queen’s life. He demanded to know who it was. Esther revealed her Jewish identity, pointed her finger, and said, “That wicked Haman!”
The king took his signet ring – the stamp of his power and authority – from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had made especially for Mordecai. King Ahasuerus authorized Mordecai to enact whatever he saw fit to save his people from the irreversible proclamation. Mordecai issued a new decree permitting the Jewish people to defend themselves against the attack. On the 13th of the Hebrew month of Adar, the Jewish people fought back and overwhelmingly prevailed.
On the 14th day, the Jewish people rested, having survived the plan to wipe them out entirely. God had delivered His people from destruction. Mordecai commanded that the 14th and 15th of Adar be set aside to celebrate, for generations to come. He outlined four elements to observe the celebration day: feasting, celebration, giving gifts of food to one another and giving gifts to the poor.
Today, Jewish people celebrate Purim on one day, the 14th of Adar. They gather at synagogue to hear a reading from the scroll of Esther, called the Megillah (Meh-GEE-lah) Esther. They enjoy festive costume parties and lively plays reenacting the Purim story. Audiences cheer at every mention of the story’s heroes and boo whenever Haman’s name is read. Celebrants stomp their feet and rattle noisemakers called graggers (GRAH-gurs) to completely “blot out” the name of Haman.
The most popular food tradition at Purim is hamantashen (HAH-men-TAH-shen). These triangular cookies are filled with jams, chocolate or other tasty fillings and said to resemble Haman’s hat or his ears.
A joyous Purim to you!
Learn how to celebrate Purim as a follower of Jesus with this enlightening infographic!
Purim is one of the most festive Jewish holidays. It includes rejoicing, costume parties, reenactments, giving to charity, and sharing food gifts with friends. But other than the festivities, what does Purim hold for us today, removed as we are from the ancient times when the story took place? What kernels of spiritual nourishment can we glean from this holiday?
First, let’s refresh our memories with the story.
In the 5th century B.C.E., the Jewish people were under the rule of King Ahasuerus. After he banished his disobedient queen, he conscripted young maidens from throughout the kingdom to enter a beauty pageant from which he would select the next queen. When the process concluded after a full year, the king chose Esther, a young Jewish woman who had kept her lineage secret.
Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and guardian, overheard a plot to kill the king. He told Esther and thus saved Ahasuerus’ life. The event was recorded, but Mordecai received no thanks.
Haman, a wicked officer, convinced the king that the Jewish people were a threat. He persuaded Ahasuerus to issue an irrevocable decree offering payment to citizens who killed Jewish people on a selected day of the year.
When Mordecai heard of this, 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?” he said. Esther knew that going to the king without an invitation was strictly forbidden, punishable by death if she wasn’t welcomed by him.
Esther determined to go in spite of this dire threat, saying “if I perish, I perish.” She fasted and went to the king three days later. The king received her by extending his scepter to her, and Esther invited him and Haman to a banquet where she would explain her request.
Before the banquet, Ahasuerus discovered that nothing had been done for the man who had saved his life. The king remedied that by lavishly and publicly honoring Mordecai – and ordering Haman – much to his distaste – to oversee it all.
At a second banquet, Esther revealed her Jewish identity and exposed Haman as the man whose plan threatened her life and that of her people. The king was outraged. He ordered Haman hanged and that his position be given to Mordecai. The Jewish people were allowed to defend themselves on the decreed day, and we know that it was God who provided a resounding victory, saving the Jewish people from annihilation.
Interestingly, God is not mentioned once in the book of Esther. But His hand is seen throughout the Purim story and reveals faith-building lessons for us today.
Purim reminds us that God intervenes on behalf of His people. Even though it is not spelled out, God is the main character in the book of Esther. When Esther fasted, she sought His favor, and it is God who delivered her and the Jewish people. The king received Esther when she dared to visit him unbidden. And in the end, the irrevocable decree that meant the Jewish people’s destruction was overpowered by a second order permitting them to defend themselves. Their deliverance was overwhelming. Once again, God had stepped in to save His people from annihilation.
God acts to rescue us as well. Most importantly, He intervened to save us eternally by sending Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). He also interjects His power into our various life situations to turn them around for good (Romans 8:28). In big and small ways, God cares and intervenes for us, sometimes by means we won’t know until the world to come. His help may not occur how we expect or hope, but we can trust His plans.
God promised to make Abraham a great nation and that his descendants would be as countless as the stars and sand (Genesis 22:17). He confirmed this word to Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 26:3‒5, 28:14‒15). And in Jeremiah 31, God promised that as long as the sun, moon and stars remained, so would Israel (Jeremiah 31: 35‒37, verses 34‒36 in TLV). At Purim, He saved Israel from utter destruction, according to His Word. The Purim story offers another confirmation that we can trust God to keep His promises.
Mordecai’s reward for saving the king’s life was overlooked until just the right time when it would fit best into God’s plan of deliverance. Receiving no praise or applause for his good act, Mordecai was slighted, and he let it go.
Later, the king saw a Jewish man who had saved his life and sought nothing in return. That provided Ahasuerus a good look at Mordecai’s character, and he immediately honored him in a grand way. Just a day later, when the king learned Esther’s request and stripped Haman of all authority, Mordecai’s trustworthiness was fresh in his mind. Not only did Mordecai receive the honor due to him previously, but the king then elevated him to Haman’s former position in the kingdom.
God’s timing to exalt Mordecai served a higher purpose and was likely sweeter for Mordecai too. The New Covenant Scripture exhorts, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may lift you up at the appropriate time” (1 Peter 5:6). Even if we never receive the esteem of men, God sees in secret and will reward us – someday, in some way (Matthew 6:3‒4, 6, 17‒18). God’s timing can be trusted.
God puts people in the right places at the right times to fulfill His plans, meet needs and arrange for good to come from even dire circumstances. God orchestrated Esther’s rise to the position of queen not long before Haman hatched his plot to exterminate the Jewish people. Also, it was Mordecai, not another, who overheard the assassination plot against the king, and not until after Esther was stationed in the royal house.
Esther hadn’t expected to become queen of Persia, and Mordecai didn’t set out to save the king’s life. But God ordained those events to bless and save lives. Life delivers unexpected turns. How many of those surprises or difficulties in our lives laid the groundwork for God’s better blessing? Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows His plans for us, and they are to give us a future and a hope. We can trust Him with our unknown futures.
When Esther faced the daunting fear of death – by either the decree against the Jewish people or going to the king uninvited – she didn’t trust her own judgment. She paused and sought the Lord. She diligently fasted for three days. And though the text doesn’t mention God, we can safely assume she prayed to Him for wisdom and direction. In the midst of trouble, that’s what we’re supposed to do too.
Proverbs 3:5‒6 tells us to “Trust in Adonai with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” James encourages us to ask God for wisdom, saying He will give it without hesitation or reproach (James 1:5). We can trust God to guide us through troubled times as we seek Him.
After the victory, Mordecai used his newly given authority to declare an annual holiday among the Jewish people to commemorate their deliverance. He urged them to celebrate “when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into celebration” (Esther 9:22). He instructed that “these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their remembrance perish from their descendants” (Esther 9:28).
Remembering what God has done in the past bolsters our faith today. Throughout Scripture, God encourages and commands remembrance. He told the Israelites to take courage and remember how He saved them out of Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:18). The Psalms tell us to remember what God accomplished in days of old (Psalm 143:5). Similarly, in the New Covenant, God’s instruction that we dwell on the true, pure and lovely keeps our spiritual eyes trained on the good things He has given (Philippians 4:8). As we remember His faithfulness and goodness in the past, we see that we can trust Him for whatever lies ahead.
Purim is for rejoicing. As we look closely at the historical account, we also see a faithful, intervening God whose ways we can trust through the challenges and surprises of our lives today.
It broke our hearts when we arrived in Masvingo, Zimbabwe, for the first time and found so many in line for treatment. They’d spent the night there, sleeping on the cold hard ground, waiting for us. We saw so much poverty and sickness at that Clinic that we can only imagine what we might encounter now given Zimbabwe’s current turmoil. May this next Medical Outreach bring hope, life, and health – both physically and spiritually – to each one the Lord brings our way.
At that time, we saw much poverty and sickness among the Lemba and their neighbors. We can only imagine what we might encounter now, given Zimbabwe’s current turmoil. We will offer all we can, and we deeply desire your partnership in prayer as we do. May this Medical Outreach bring hope, life, and health – both physically and spiritually – to each one the Lord brings our way.
Please help cover the Masvingo, Zimbabwe, Medical Outreach in prayer by signing up to pray from home for a half-hour or more. The full list of daily prayer requests is listed below. Through your prayers, the Lemba and their neighbors can be touched by the care and salvation only Yeshua (Jesus) can bring.
Please pray for:
Wednesday, March 20–Wednesday, March 27 • Psalm 37:23 TLV
Thursday, March 28 • Deuteronomy 28:6
Friday, March 29 • Psalm 4:8
Saturday, March 30 • Exodus 13:21
Sunday, March 31 • Colossians 2:2‒3
Monday, April 1 • Philippians 4:19
Tuesday, April 2 • Romans 15:19
Wednesday, April 3 • Mark 10:15
Thursday, April 4 • Acts 2:41
Friday, April 5 • Matthew 25:23
Saturday, April 6 • 2 Corinthians 2:15
Sunday, April 7–Monday, April 8 • Isaiah 58:11
We pray:
Lord, right now, our hearts and attention are drawn to the nation and people of Zimbabwe. Yet You see and care for them every day. Will You allow us to partner with You even more effectively during this Medical Outreach and going forward? Will You heal the sick, save the lost, deliver the oppressed and provide for the needy? And will You teach us how to watch and pray and love alongside You as you do? Thank You, Lord. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.
