A PURIM REFLECTION
Nachmanides, a leading Torah scholar of the Middle Ages (known as ‘Ramban,’ an acronym for Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman) noted that any change from the normal in a written biblical Hebrew word or letter alerts the reader to a hidden meaning.
One of these instances occurs in the Book of Esther where three Hebrew letters are written differently with the list of Haman’s ten sons:
1. The letter ת ‘Tav’ is small,
2. The letter ש ‘Shin’ is small,
3. The letter ז ‘Zayin’ is small, and
4. The letter ו ‘Vav’ is large.
The sum of the three letters Tav, Shin and Zayin has the numerical value of 707.
The vav is a six, as in the sixth millennium or 5707,(5000+707) which is equivalent to 1946 AD in the Gregorian calendar. This is the exact year when ten high ranking Nazi war criminals were hung following the Nuremberg trials. Julius Streicher, one of the ten war criminals, shouted, “Purim fest 1946!” as his last words before being hanged. Clearly, he understood the significance of Purim.
There is a striking parallel between the ten sons of Haman the Amalekite and the Nazi war criminals! The hanging occurred on October 16, 1946 (Tishri 21, 5707) on “Hoshana Rabba,” the day when, according to Jewish tradition, God’s verdicts are sealed on the final day of Sukkot. Maybe, Julius Streicher had recalled a speech of Hitler in 1944, stating that if the Nazis were defeated, it would mean a second Purim for the Jews!
Esther’s request for Haman’s sons to be hanged the next day on the gallows was prophetic. The Hebrew word, ‘mecha’ (tomorrow) can also mean, ‘future.’ This bears timeless testimony to all expressions of anti-Semitism. God invariably metes out judgement against those who seek evil against the Jewish people, for as we read in the Book of Zechariah 2:8, “Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.” (NLT)
Anti-Semitism is the seed of the spirit of Amalek. Hillel Ben David wrote that “Wherever you find someone with a fanatical, implacable and illogical enmity to the Jewish people, you have found Amalek. His very existence is founded on his antipathy and hatred for the offspring of Jacob, the agents of that bondage, called conscience.
Amalek is called the first of the nations. He was the first of the nations to attack Israel. Everything that is first contains the blueprint of all that is to follow. The seed comes first. Contained in the seed is the tree. Amalek is the bitter seed of Jew-hatred.”
God’s promise to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you (Israel) and curse those who curse you (Israel)” (Gen.12:3) is not limited by restriction or time.
The first word used for “curse” ( מְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ ‘mekalelcha’) in Gen.12:3, has a root meaning, “to make light of something heavy.” The second word for “curse,” (אָאֹ֑ר ‘aor’) has a different root meaning, “to utterly destroy.” So, what God was saying to Abraham infers that He will, “…bless those who bless (Israel) but those who (even) disrespect (Israel) He will utterly destroy.”
Beware enemies of Israel and the Jewish people, God is not mocked! Purim bears stark witness to this throughout time unto the end.
However dark things may appear for the Jewish people, God is not mocked and even when the entire world stands against them they are no more than a grain of dust in the eyes of God who with just a blink and an inflection of the hand will cause them to scatter in every direction in panic and dismay! Do not mess with God. This is the message of Scripture that we trust as entirely reliable.
So today, let’s take hold of the promises of God and advance against the enemy rather than retreat!
We declare O Lord that You are the God of Creation and the whole Universe. You established the highest heavens, their starry host, the earth, the seas and everything within it. You give life to all things, the multitudes of heaven worship You.[Neh. 9:6]
We sing Your praises, for You are highly exalted. You are our strength and our song. You are our Deliverer who is faithful: since the beginning from ancient times to the present You alone are worthy of praise! When You rise up, Your enemies are scattered so all may know that You are the omnipotent God who reigns from everlasting to everlasting! You overthrow those who rise up against You and in Your burning anger, You consume them as chaff.
Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who can compare with You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; in Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
We declare that Jerusalem is Your city, the city of the Great King. Though nations gather against it to divide her, may You protect her and make her an immovable rock (Zech. 12:3). Pour out upon her a spirit of grace and supplication so she may recognise who You are and yield their lives to You (Zech.12:10) so Jerusalem may become the praise of the whole earth (Isa. 62:7). Fulfil her destiny to minister Your Word and truth to the nations (Isa. 2:3, Zech. 8:3, 22), bringing righteousness and justice to the Gentiles (Jer. 33:16, Isa.60 :3; 62:1-2, Ps. 122:5). May You establish Jerusalem as holy unto You that she may be transformed into the city of Your comfort, glory and splendour (Isa. 52:1; 60:1)
We ask that the ancient prince of the Persian kingdom and every other demonic force coming against Your holy City be bound and rendered powerless in the face of the hosts of Heaven. May Your protection rest upon Your people: “Let Israel declare … ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord’” (Ps.124:1-8).
We stand against the workings of the “prince of Persia” (Dan.10:13) or Haman-like strongholds (Esther 3:5-6) over Iran, and decree: ‘Let all who hate Zion be turned back in shame … Praise be to the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is … my shield in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. … Deliver me and rescue me from the hands of foreigners whose mouths are full of lies… When Your enemies rage against You, rebuke them and say, “I have installed my King on Zion, My holy hill. … Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth [and] serve the Lord with fear” … O God … see how Your enemies are astir, how Your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against Your people; they plot against those You cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more. … Let us take possession of the pasture lands of God.” Make them like tumbleweed, O my God…pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. … May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that You, whose name is the Lord – that You alone are the Most High over all the earth’ (Ps. 129:5-6; 144:1-2, 11; 2: 6, 10-11; 83:1-4, 12-18).
O God, keep Your people as the apple of Your eye; hide them under the shadow of Your wings from the deadly enemies who surround them (Ps. 17:8-9).
Dispatch Your angelic guardian hosts and warrior battalions along Israel’s land, sea and air borders, and protect her from those who seek to devour her.
Hide Israel in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of men and keep her safely from the strife of slander and malicious lies. (Ps. 31:20).
Bring the counsel of ungodly nations set against her to nothing, and their plans to no effect (Ps. 33:10). For Your Word declares, “There is no witchcraft that can succeed against Jacob” (Num 23:23). Keep Israel from ungodly alliances with nations who seek to entrap her. But, may Israel trust in You alone for protection, security and deliverance for Your praise and glory.
Yeshua, Your word states that the government is upon Your shoulders (Isa. 9:6) and there are no authorities except those whom You have appointed (Rom. 13:1).
Father even as you wept over Jerusalem, so we weep as we long for the day of their redemption! Have You have not declared: “Is not Israel My dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him.” (Jer. 31:20). “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”
Yeshua, You wept over Jerusalem, so fulfil the yearning of Your heart to receive the worship and love of Your ancient people. Would You revive and prepare Israel to welcome Your return, for You have said, “You will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matt. 23:39). Empower her to stand firm in love and truth in times of trouble or severe hardship until Your return (Dan. 11:32, Matt. 24:8, 12-13; 25:31-46).
