The Day of the Lord, Joel Ch. 2, Pt. 4 "Esther"

In searching for the phrase “these things were written” in the Bible, using biblegateway.com, I found it amazing that only the following three verses came up.

Luke 24:44 [The Scriptures opened] Then He said to them [His disciples], “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 

John 12:16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

If I could summarize, the verses could read, "I told you once, I told you twice, I told you three times!" in the manner my own dad would have! 

Our generation is certainly not the only generation to ponder these things.  While the early disciples were blessed to have Jesus walk amongst them to explain “these things” and blessed to witness a resurrected Lord to validate them, we, as were they, are blessed to have the Holy Spirit of God himself indwell us as believers, indwell these earthly vessels, common and ordinary as we are.  

These things are identified in the first verse above:  all that is written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Jesus.  No wonder the Jewish people are blessed among men, that God would have chosen them out to depict the extraordinary and uncommon redemptive love of the Father for His Son, and toward us who believe.

I’ve expressed a few thoughts on the law already in previous posts, now I’m going to share over the next several some of what I’ve learned about the feasts, focusing on the seven appointed feasts of Leviticus 23.

The seven appointed feasts outlined in Leviticus 23 (Jewish name in parenthesis) include:  

FOUR SPRING FEASTS 
Passover (Pesach)
Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot)
Firstfruits (Reishit)
Pentecost or Weeks (Shavuot) 

THREE FALL FEASTS
Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah)
Atonement (Yom Kippur)
Tabernacles or Booths (Sukkot)

Only three appointed feasts required all Jewish males to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem: Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles.

Two other feasts are celebrated, though not appointed as sacred assemblies in the book of Leviticus.  They are: The Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) and of Lots (Purim).  

I think it is appropriate to first mention Purim briefly because it is coming up quickly - March 15th and 16th (Jewish day begins at sundown, therefore Purim begins at sundown March 15, ends at sundown March 16). Purim is an annual feast to commemorate the protection of God’s exiled people through the courage of a woman named Esther, who risked her own life to save her people’s.  

The wealthy, prominent Jews of Judah had been taken captive to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC.  Because Nebuchadnezzar allowed the Jews to settle in one community, keeping their religion and traditions, Judah's Jews kept their identities (converse to Israel's dispersion and disappearance into Assyria around 722 BC).  Babylon was eventually conquered by Persia (538 BC) and King Cyrus gave these Jewish exiles the right to return to Jerusalem.  Some of these exiles remained in Persia however, and thus sets the backdrop for Esther.  

An orphan, Jewish Hadassah (meaning myrtle) known in Persia as Esther (meaning star), was raised in Persia by her Jewish uncle Mordecai.  Through a series of circumstances, this beautiful young girl becomes queen of Persia, makes a life or death decision to share with King Xerxes the news brought to her by her Uncle Mordecai of a secret conspiracy framed by his wicked advisor, Haman, to kill the Jews living in Xerxes’ kingdom. Mordecai’s piercing words declare God’s sovereign choice to his niece and have echoed through the generations:  

'WHO KNOWS WHETHER YOU HAVE COME TO THE KINGDOM FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?"

I encourage you to read the book of Esther during the next ten days to uncover the story and remind yourself of God’s far-reaching mercy and grace.  

Queen Esther shows that, with God, there are no accidents and, with Purim coming up quickly, I find it no accident that we would begin at a feast that once again shows God’s incredible redemptive plan through the vehicle of a woman.  

As well, when researching the feast of Purim, I found this little obscure tidbit from about.com under "More Facts About Purim”:

“On the feast of Purim, Jews are required to give gifts to the poor.”

I think it’s kind of cool, and really quite forthright, that both Matthew and Luke find Jesus’ very first announcements (after Satan tempts Him in the same manner he tempted Eve) in the public square and in the synagogue directed toward the poor.

Matthew 5:3  Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount - the Beatitudes - with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 

Luke 4:17-19 Jesus proclaims in the synagogue of Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; because He hath sent Me….”

Surely this King Jesus, like Queen Esther before Him, was intended for “such a time as this.” 

_______________________________________________________________

Notes:

1  For reference, I highly recommend you obtain the pamphlet “Feasts of the Bible” published by Rose Publishing - it contains a short and beautifully designed summary of the feasts. 
or
2  For in-depth study on the book of Esther, I recommend Beth Moore’s “Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman”
3  You can also watch the movie "One Night with the King" on YouTube.