Introduction
“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”(Ezra 4:14)
Every year in late winter, the Jews celebrate the Feast of Purim to commemorate their deliverance from those in a position to destroy them. This book is the story of how that feast came into being. The Jews living in exile in Persia are first threatened with extermination and then granted the sort of vindication the psalmist continually pleaded with God to pursue on their behalf.
This is also a story of irony, a dark comedy that reveals the posturing of the proud as foolishness. First, the ruler of the entire Middle East was thwarted by his wife, Vashti, when he tried to display her as a trophy at a feast. The king then replaced her with Esther and she becomes the favored one. Then the scheming Haman, jealous of another’s reward, ended up being hanged on his own gallows. Mordecai, the Jew who was supposed to be hanged on Haman’s gallows, became the recipient of the rewards as spelled out by Haman to the king.
How is this reversal accomplished? Is it by militia groups and palace coups? No… It was by an orphan girl isolated in the Persian harem. Counseled by her uncle, Mordecai, she first hid her identity as a Jew, revealing it only when her privileged position allowed her to intercede on behalf of her people. She risked her life, yet fulfilled her true destiny — one greater than she had ever dreamed.
Stuck in our everyday routine, we may find it difficult to remember our deepest identity as members of the body of Christ. To revive your awareness of that identity, consider carefully how much of your energy you expend on personal advancement. Compare that to your concern for the community of faith that sustains you. What risks do you take on behalf of that body? Consider your destiny. Ask yourself, “Who knows for what purpose I have been brought to this time and place?”
Be Bless.
David Quek
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