URC Daily Devotion Thursday 15th August 2024

Esther 9: 18 – 10: 3

But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, a holiday on which they send gifts of food to one another.

Mordecai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year, as the days on which the Jews gained relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor. So the Jews adopted as a custom what they had begun to do, as Mordecai had written to them.

Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur—that is, ‘the lot’—to crush and destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the wicked plot that he had devised against the Jews should come upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Thus because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, the Jews established and accepted as a custom for themselves and their descendants and all who joined them, that without fail they would continue to observe these two days every year, as it was written and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every family, province, and city; and these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants.

Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with the Jew Mordecai, gave full written authority, confirming this second letter about Purim. Letters were sent wishing peace and security to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, and giving orders that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as the Jew Mordecai and Queen Esther enjoined on the Jews, just as they had laid down for themselves and for their descendants regulations concerning their fasts and their lamentations. The command of Queen Esther fixed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing.

King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. All the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honour of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the Jews and popular with his many kindred, for he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of all his descendants.

Reflection

So, what have we made of this intriguing story? I have not seen the reflections of other contributors but have been fascinated by commentaries from others. There is wide agreement that this book, which contains no reference to God, the Torah, or Jewish religious practices, should not be taken as a reliable source of history but as an encouragement to Jews and an explanation of the much-loved Festival of Purim.  I have read that there are more manuscripts of Esther than any other section of the Hebrew Scriptures, but it is the only part of those Scriptures not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls – perhaps the Essenes had no time for worldly celebrations like Purim, and Martin Luther considered this book to be of doubtful value…

Certainly, today’s passage, the conclusion of the story, gives an account for the origin of Purim and Esther continues to be read and enjoyed in synagogues every year. A small nation, so often at the mercy of far stronger powers, delights in a story about the way that Mordecai and his relative Esther confounded the scheming of their enemies and established security for Jews in alien territory. It is hard not to see how this is still appreciated by Jewish people and the State of Israel.

The fact that Purim is a secular festival, celebrated with the distribution of gifts but with no doctrinal basis, also united and can unite Jews of varying backgrounds and observances. It is also hard not to see a similarity with the way Christmas is celebrated and enjoyed by millions who have no faith link with the Christian Gospel. Parties and present-sharing can and do bring joy to people, often a relief from real problems facing so many. Yes, it can be right to remind people that “Jesus is the reason for the season” but let’s be happy to share the celebrations in our communities in a wonderful variety of ways.
 
Prayer
 
Loving God, thank you for celebrations and parties that bring people together in safe and honourable ways; lead us, we pray, to set an example of joyful living which enriches life in all its fullness – in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour: Amen.