Beetow
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Purim (a.k.a. Festival Of Lots) is a Jewish holiday commemorating events in the Old Testament book of Esther.
Although the holiday is biblical; it isn't God-given like all those listed in the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, viz: Purim is man-made. (Esther 9:27)
The primary focal point of the story is the political tension between two Persian empire officials: one named Haman and the other Mordecai.
Haman outranked Mordecai, but due to a rather unpleasant incident that took place involving Mordecai's ancestors and Haman's, Mordecai refused to acknowledge Haman as his superior and render him the proper respect, even though the King had required it so.
Haman's emotional reaction to Mordecai's insubordination escalated to the point where he devised a scheme wherein not only Mordecai be executed, but also everyone in the realm deemed Mordecai's people, i.e. all the Jews.
There's a dark side to this story that is seldom, if ever, afforded daylight, to wit: that frightful near-death genocide was instigated by the pride of just one stubborn individual situated in a key position.
The name of God never appears in even one single verse anywhere in the entire book of Esther; and I am of the opinion it's because Jehovah had nothing to do with any of it-- and wanted nothing to do with it --the whole incident was a painful embarrassment perpetrated by folks known the world over as God's chosen people.
The Jews survived that calamity, but 75,000 law-abiding Persians didn't. I now sometimes wonder whether the Holocaust wasn't a sort of payback for all those needless Persian deaths at the hands of the Jews so many years ago because God remembers things like that.
• Ex 34:6-7 . . He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
_
Although the holiday is biblical; it isn't God-given like all those listed in the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, viz: Purim is man-made. (Esther 9:27)
The primary focal point of the story is the political tension between two Persian empire officials: one named Haman and the other Mordecai.
Haman outranked Mordecai, but due to a rather unpleasant incident that took place involving Mordecai's ancestors and Haman's, Mordecai refused to acknowledge Haman as his superior and render him the proper respect, even though the King had required it so.
Haman's emotional reaction to Mordecai's insubordination escalated to the point where he devised a scheme wherein not only Mordecai be executed, but also everyone in the realm deemed Mordecai's people, i.e. all the Jews.
There's a dark side to this story that is seldom, if ever, afforded daylight, to wit: that frightful near-death genocide was instigated by the pride of just one stubborn individual situated in a key position.
The name of God never appears in even one single verse anywhere in the entire book of Esther; and I am of the opinion it's because Jehovah had nothing to do with any of it-- and wanted nothing to do with it --the whole incident was a painful embarrassment perpetrated by folks known the world over as God's chosen people.
The Jews survived that calamity, but 75,000 law-abiding Persians didn't. I now sometimes wonder whether the Holocaust wasn't a sort of payback for all those needless Persian deaths at the hands of the Jews so many years ago because God remembers things like that.
• Ex 34:6-7 . . He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
_
