Purim: An Event that Changed History

You don’t hear much about the Jewish holiday of Purim (on March 4,5 this year), yet it’s based on an event so significant that it changed the trajectory of the history of the Jewish people. 

Occurring during the time of the Persian King Ahasuerus (486-465 B.C.), the king unwittingly left the fate of the Jewish people to Haman who wanted them exterminated. Enter Esther, a beautiful Jewess whom the king had chosen among a multitude of young maidens to be the Queen. Realizing Haman’s evil plan, she asked her people to fast and pray with her for three days before approaching the king to save her people. God answered their cry for deliverance and they were spared extermination.

Esther was in the right place at the right time with a tender heart of submission. While an earthly king had chosen her for her beauty to be queen, the King of kings had chosen her to bring deliverance to her people who were destined to destruction. 

It was no insignificant thing to approach the king, for if they did so without his invitation and he didn't extend his scepter to them, they were to be put to death. When Esther voiced this concern to Mordecai, he said, "...Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14c)  Her response, "Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16c). 

This young woman (probably a teenager) was beautiful and meek with a passion for justice that made her strong and bold. We need Esthers and Mordecais today: people whose hearts are anchored with God's purpose and vision, who can change the trajectory of history.

Evil and darkness are washing over this country like a tidal wave. If there's ever a time to fast and pray, it is now. "Who knows whether you have not come.....for such a time as this?"