A Feast of Joy and Gladness Around the Body of a Lamb

Oh, this morning, we come to the end of our Esther series. It's been ten weeks, I think, and we have worked through the entire book. Hopefully, not too detailed, but detailed enough. And we've seen all the wonderful themes, the plot twists, the miraculous power of God working through ordinary circumstances and ordinary lives. Well, we come to the end this morning.

We're going to read verses 20 through to the end. So from chapter nine verse 20 through to chapter ten verse three. And we read about the feast of Purim that is inaugurated. Esther 9:20: "And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness, and from mourning into a holiday, that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them."

"For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hamadatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast pur, that is, cast lots, to crush and to destroy them. But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that the plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. Therefore, they called these days Purim, after the term pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in his letter and of what they had faced in this matter and of what happened to them, the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail, they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. Then queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, gave full authority, full written authority confirming this second letter about Purim."

"Letters were sent to all the Jews to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus in words of peace and truth, that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons as Mordecai the Jew and queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring with regard to their fasts and their lamenting. The command of queen Esther confirmed these practices of Purim, and it was recorded in writing. King Ahasuerus imposed a tax on the land and on the coastlands of the sea, and all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honour of Mordecai to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to king Ahasuerus, and he was great among the Jews and popular with a multitude of his brothers. For he sought the welfare of his people and spoke peace to all his people."

This is the word of the Lord. Two points for us to think about this morning as we round off the series on Esther, a series that has looked at the providence of God. The first point for us to look at is the explanation of the festival of Purim explained to us in verses 20 through to 32. The festival of Purim: a feast of joy and gladness. We see the festival being inaugurated formally by Mordecai the Jew.

We saw last week that there was a great feast, a great time of celebration when the Jews, conquering their enemies, rested that following day and celebrated that great victory. Many scholars concerning the book of Esther will argue that the sole purpose of the book is actually this final part in this chapter to explain how Purim came into existence. Now, I think Esther is more multidimensional than simply a long preamble to explain why we have this festival, but I understand their point. Because in these final verses of the book, we see Mordecai writing letters to all the Jews across the entire empire obliging them, verse 21 says, to keep the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar as days, quote, on which the Jews got relief from their enemies and as a month that has been turned from sorrow into gladness, from mourning into a holy day. It's important to point out that the celebration is not so much a celebration of a military victory.

This is not a celebration of the conquering of foes, nor is the joy prescribed here a malicious glee over the slaughter of enemies. The festival initiated here, the one that Mordecai asked to commemorate, is one of relief from persecution. It's an experience of the joy of deliverance from those who faced a terrible threat. So the focus, therefore, is not so much on the neighbouring enemies who were conquered on the thirteenth of Adar, but rather on one enemy who was defeated: Haman himself. Haman, the persecutor, the enemy of the Jews who was overthrown.

This is indicated perhaps most clearly by the fact that the festival itself is called Purim, referring to the word pur, which is lots, the casting of the lots that Haman himself cast in determining this day of genocide. So we see in these verses, firstly, on the one hand, Mordecai writing to the Jews, obligating them. That word obligating in Hebrew is not a lawful command, but it's almost an obligation based on morality. This is something that should come from glad and joyful hearts of what God has done. You are obliged through the moral obligation of what God has done to celebrate this day.

And Mordecai obligates Jews everywhere to celebrate Purim as a time of gladness because of this deliverance. However, in those last three verses of chapter nine, we are told on the other hand that Esther writes a second letter to the Jewish community. She gives her royal assent to the festival itself. She puts her personal weight behind the creation of this holy day. But alongside Mordecai's encouragement to celebrate with joy and gladness, she adds that it should be remembered that before the joy and gladness, there was a time of fasting and lamenting.

There was a time of fasting and lamenting, verse 31. So the feasting is not just a permission of frivolity and merriment. It is something that is participated in thoughtfully as a reversal of grief. In other words, you can't understand the joy unless you understood the horror of what may have been. Bush, in his commentary, writes, "Their joy is to be tempered by what occasion did."

To this day, the festival of Purim is one of the most anticipated holidays in the Jewish calendar. I didn't know this, but the book of Esther itself is right up there with the five books of the law, the Pentateuch, as the most cherished books of the Hebrew Bible. In fact, the high degree of esteem that Esther evokes is seen by how eagerly Jewish people will quote the medieval rabbi, Rabbi Maimonides. I should say, he said famously, "When the prophets and the writings pass away, when the Messiah comes, only Esther and the Torah, the law, will remain." Today, modern day Jews reflect the extravagant gladness that Mordecai encouraged. When they celebrate Purim in Jewish circles, it is a boisterous celebration.

To understand the sense of the spirit of merrymaking enshrined in the festival, you have to listen to another often quoted phrase, this time quoted from the ancient rabbi, Rabbi Rava, who wrote that a man is obliged to drink as much wine on Purim so that he cannot distinguish between the words, "Blessed be Mordecai" and "Cursed be Haman." That's a lot of wine to drink. That is the extent of feasting encouraged in the Purim. During Purim, a grand meal is eaten on the evening of the fourteenth of Adar, often lasting into the night. Gifts of food are sent to friends.

Among the most popular treats are what are known as hamantashen in Yiddish. Literally, Haman's pockets. They are triangular fruit pies, also called Haman's ears. Generous gifts of money are handed out to the poor in accordance to Mordecai's obligations. Now during the festivities, the story of Esther is again retold, and children are given rattles and clappers to make noise every time the name of Haman is mentioned, usually accompanied by booing and hissing.

Then the four so-called verses of redemption in Esther 2:5, 8:15, 8:16, and 10:3, the four verses of redemption referring to Mordecai's arrival on the scene, his exaltation, and then finally his victorious reign. When these verses are read out, they are read out with great gusto and with applause. Today, in Tel Aviv, there is a grand carnival called Adlo Yada, which means "until one does not know," alluding to the statement of Rabbi Rava about drinking too much wine. This carnival is held in the city of Tel Aviv each year and is attended by thousands of people. So by all accounts, the Jewish people of today have even tried their level best to adhere to the words of Mordecai, to celebrate with gladness.

Why am I telling you all this? Why are we reflecting on the nature of Purim when we live as New Testament people today? How is this feast in any way meaningful to us as Christians? Well, Rabbi Maimonides spoke truer than he realised when he said that when the Messiah comes, all the prophets and the writings of the Old Testament would be fulfilled, and only the law and the celebrations of Esther would remain. Why?

Well, because the joy of Purim, the joy of the celebration from deliverance points us towards the coming of Jesus. And more specifically, the joy of the festival of Purim alongside the many other feasts celebrated in the Old Testament has now been swallowed up by the one great and glorious celebration of the Lord's Supper. Let me explain. We see three verses right at the end of Esther that gives us both an ending, but a desire for a better ending. Final words of the book found in chapter 10, which is hardly a chapter, it's more like a postscript, a little epilogue to round off the story.

While it is short, it is hardly insignificant. In these three verses, we're told that king Ahasuerus imposes a tax throughout the empire, verse one. Mordecai continues to serve nobly under the king, verse two. And the Jews live in relative peace in the empire, holding Mordecai in high esteem for protecting them, verse three.

Now at first, the story of Esther seems like it has a fairy tale ending. They all lived happily ever after in the Persian Empire. But if you look over those three verses again, your eye catches on that odd little detail. The king imposed a tax on all the coastlands of his empire. Why on earth is that there?

What does that have to do with the deliverance of the Jews? Well, for all the reversals in the story of Esther, Haman's unfortunate reversal, Mordecai's, and the Jewish people's reversal of fortune, here we find the final reversal in the story. But this time, it's not a good reversal. If you go back in the story, back to chapter two, you will see that when Esther was crowned as queen, the king in his joy gave a remission of taxes for his entire empire. But now, at the end of the story, the taxes are back. And an ominous note is struck again.

Where Esther's arrival was one of gladness and celebration, Esther's story ends with burden. The point is sobering. Even though queen Esther is now well and truly established as the Jewish queen of Persia, the rescuer of the Jews, the blessing of her reign is already beginning to be wound back even as the story ends. In a narrative about how the little guy can go up against the empire and its king, winning by God's grace, the sobering reality of this final detail in verse one leaves a bitter aftertaste. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

King Ahasuerus, the still emperor, he remains unconverted, and his empire will continue on the broken backs of both Jew and Gentile alike. There is no rest. And so even as we come to the end of our Esther series, we find a call to pause. Yes, the Jews have received rest from their enemies, but there is one disquieting truth still staring us in the face. One big enemy lingers: the king himself.

Never forget that it was his callous indifference that enabled Haman to sign into law a genocide. Haman got his just desserts, but the king himself remained untouched. The Jews have been delivered, but have they truly been set free? And sure, it was truly good news that Mordecai became second in command to the king. Verse three says that he could now speak peace to the people. But ominously, the ending shows that a burden still clings to the Jews.

True rest would only come for God's people when someone would arise who truly sought their good. Someone who could truly speak peace and that peace would last. Someone not simply second in charge, but the king himself. Like a masterpiece of film or literature, the ending of Esther leaves us on a cliffhanger, nervous and anxious with hope in our hearts for a greater, more permanent reversal. And we know, don't we, that it would be amongst this very people, the Jews, that a man from Nazareth in Galilee would stand up in one of their synagogues one Sabbath morning.

Taking the scroll of Isaiah, he would read out to them the words: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." We're told in Luke 4 that as Jesus sat down, all eyes were glued onto him. And he simply added the words, "Today, in your hearing, this scripture is fulfilled." In Jesus Christ, the year of Jubilee, the year of the Lord's favour arrived.

Remembering the Old Testament law that every fifty years would be a time when the people of God would restore both land and people back to freedom. And from what we know of Israel's history, this remarkable social and economic reset never happened. Here comes Jesus and said, the year of Jubilee has arrived. And over the ensuing three years of ministry, Jesus would go on indeed to preach the good news of God's kingdom to the poor, and he would actually go and physically heal the blind. But the epitome of the Jubilee year defined in God's law had little to do with preaching or medical repair.

The epitome of the year of Jubilee was the release of slaves. Of all the things Jesus did in His earthly ministry, He never set any captives free. Why? Because the epitome of the Jubilee and the epitome of Christ's ministry coincided with His final, most magnificent act of service, where His apostles would later explain we see the remission of debts, the release of slaves, the restoring of freedom. Of all the things that we can take away from the story of Esther, and there are plenty of lessons to take away.

How to be wise like Esther, tactful with our words, careful with our approach with how we deal with people, how to patiently influence and charm and manoeuvre. Lessons how to be like Mordecai, noble. How to be a good father even as he was to Esther who was not his true daughter. How to love God's people like Mordecai did. How to live a life of sacrifice and service in duty. How to stand up for God in oppressive circumstances. They are wonderful examples of godliness and honour in Esther and Mordecai.

And for all the good that we can learn about God Himself, about how God works miraculously, quietly in the ordinary everyday events of life. Of all the good lessons we can learn from the Esther story, the greatest lesson to learn is the one that is alluded to here finally in the book of Esther. God's people still needed permanent deliverance. The greatest lesson to learn is the knowledge of God's grace in the sending of Jesus Christ for the full forgiveness of sin. And that is what the Purim festival and the ending of Esther is pointing us to.

The series on Esther has been called the providence of God. And the story of Esther is definitely a story of God's providence. But friends, let me tell you, Jesus Christ is God's ultimate provision. The Jews found themselves in Persia, remember, in exile as a result of God's punishment having rejected Him. Many times, God sent prophets like the prophet Isaiah asking and pleading with them to turn back.

Then at one time, Isaiah would tell them that a day would come where God inaugurates the Jubilee. A time would come where they would be set free. And now as the story of Esther finishes with Mordecai writing letters to the Jews, encouraging them to remember their deliverance with thankfulness to God, writing to all the Jews to celebrate. And those Jews to celebrate would be both far and near. So now the great and powerful king Ahasuerus, even as the husband of Esther the Jewess, reinforces his rule over them with an edict of tax imposed, it says, on the furthest coastlands of his empire.

In other words, it doesn't matter how far or near you are, the empire still owns you. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Where was this year of Jubilee mentioned in Isaiah? For all the celebrations that even today are celebrated in the Purim, the Jews are still waiting for their year of Jubilee. But remember that there was another word spoken by Isaiah, where God gave them this promise in Isaiah 57.

"I will not accuse my people forever, nor will I always be angry. For then they would faint away because of me, the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed. I punished them and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their wilful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them.

I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel's mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near, says the Lord, and I will heal them." Even as Mordecai could speak peace to the Jews, his words would never be enough. But a time was coming for God's people when God Himself would be speaking the words, "Peace, peace." A time of healing was coming.

God says to those both far and near. So Rabbi Maimonides was right that when the Messiah comes, the book of Esther will remain, but only as a foretaste of the deliverance that awaited those who would receive the ministry of life that Jesus Christ would bring. And so as we celebrate and participate in the Lord's Supper this morning, we're actually being encouraged from the Old Testament in Esther that we partake in a feast the likes of which not even the very first Purim could ever compare. In terms of joy and gladness in deliverance from destruction, the Purim does not hold a candle to this meal. More than the words of Mordecai's instruction, when we take up the supper, we remember when sorrow was truly turned into joy, when mourning was turned into celebration.

The Lord's Supper embodies all of that. For although a people were saved once temporarily, today, we remember and believe that God's people have been saved eternally. Where peace was given for a time, now we know that God's people will never know anything but peace forever. So, yes, the book of Esther remains, and it instructs us to fully adopt Mordecai's instructions to come with gladness and joy to celebrate the feast. At the same time, we also adopt Esther's sobering reminder that we celebrate in joy only because at one time, there was lamenting.

There was a death to die. There was a punishment to bear. There was a Lord who was lost for a time, and yet He rose victorious. And the overwhelming emotion of our Lord's Supper will always be one of thankful praise because we remember and we proclaim every time we participate in it that the empires of man and of Satan are passing away. And though evil will rise in its resistance, we might see and feel its effects from time to time, we can say this morning, with puffed out chests, with full-throated praise, that their resistance will not be long.

The day is coming when our King will return to claim His throne. The days of the evil empire are ending, and the day is coming when the angels of Revelation 11 cry out at last with these words: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." On that day, we will fall on our faces and cry out, "Worthy is the God our Father and the Lamb who was slain by whose blood we have been redeemed for God from every tribe, from every language, from every people, and every nation." And to those words, the whole universe responds simply with, "Amen. Amen."

Amen. Let's pray. Lord, as we now participate in this great feast, a feast of both victory and deliverance. As our hearts and our minds are drawn again to remember, to believe, and to proclaim what Jesus Christ has done for us. That for God's people, there has been a full and utter deliverance.

Help us, Lord, with joy and gladness instead of sorrow and mourning to remember what we have received. Help us to remember, Lord, that we have been saved from the kingdom of darkness, and we've been brought into the kingdom of the glorious sun, the kingdom of light. Thank you for this great reminder again. Thank you for the book of Esther. Thank you for how much we have learned.

Impart these words, sow them into our lives, and help us to remember them always. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.