Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 155
IMMERSED IN ESTHER
A S T H E H E B R E W B I B L E W A S G R O W I N G , several
small books were grouped
together and named The Five Scrolls. These five b
ooks—Song of Songs,
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther—were each assigned to
be read at a different Jewish festival or special day of observance. The
last book, Esther, was read at the festival known as Purim.
After Israel’s exile in Babylon, the Jewish people made a concerted
effort to renew their commitment to God and to his instructions given
in the Law of Moses. Part of this commitment included faithfully observing the festivals and special days prescribed therein. However, in
this postexilic period the Jews began to celebrate a b
rand-new festival
called Purim. But what is Purim? And how could a new festival be added
to those already given in the Law? The book of Esther answers these
questions by telling the intriguing, f ast-paced story that lies behind the
celebration.
The account is set in the period of the Persian Empire (550–330 bc).
Some Jews have returned to the land of Israel and are trying to rebuild
a Jewish society there after the Exile. But others have remained abroad
and face the challenge of crafting a distinctive identity and way of life
as God’s people while living in a foreign land.
The book of Esther tells the story of two courageous exiles: a beautiful young woman named Esther and Mordecai, the devout uncle who
raised her after her parents’ deaths. At great personal risk and aided
by God’s providential intervention, Esther and Mordecai stop a plot to
destroy all the Jews in the Persian Empire. They turn the weapons of
their enemies against them and save the Jewish people.
The whole Jewish community agreed that this was a deliverance
to “be remembered and kept from generation to generation and
celebrated by every family throughout the provinces and cities of the
empire.” Purim became a particularly joyous festival of feasting and
gift-giving, highlighting the continuing gifts of life and protection. And
so, the book of Esther explains, another festival was established to be
kept “at the appointed time each year.”
This book also gives us important insight into how biblical storytelling
came to function in the community of God’s people. The story of Esther
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