Holidays

New Moon Celebration

June 28, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Exodus 12:1-3

Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household.”

The gentile Gregorian calendar, based on the sun, substituted God’s biblical (Hebrew) calendar that was based on the moon as if saying that the substitute was a better way. They made a different day for the Sabbath, they made different dates for the Set Times of the Lord (the Jewish holidays) and omitted the celebration of the New Moon from the calendar.

This month some nations joined in Jerusalem for the first time to celebrate the New Moon, thereby reconnecting with God’s biblical calendar. It’s a huge thing, since the Gregorian calendar is actually part of the root of anti-Semitism, denying that God chose the Jewish nation to establish His calendar in the world.

When God took Israel out of Egypt and established her as a nation, He declared that this would be the first day of the first month (first new moon.) Our New Moon celebrations fulfill the declaration He made, that Israel and the nations would gather on God’s timetable.

The Lord’s Supper – Victory Meal

In Jeremiah 31, God promises: “The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. God speaks of the new covenant He would give to Israel. We usually stop at the verse where the Lord declares, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” However, in the very next verse, 35 “This is what the Lord says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the Lord Almighty is His Name: 36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before Me.” He confirms this promise again in the next verse, “ 37 This is what the Lord says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the Lord.”

God affirms that His commitment to Israel is not dependent on what she does or doesn’t do. It is only because of His faithfulness that He will never reject Israel and Israel will never cease from being a nation before Him. Therefore, taking the Lord’s Supper on the New Moon is a victory meal, like a victory shout, that Israel exists before Him as a nation and that the One who brought us out of Egypt, the One Who was, is still alive and is the One Who is to come. As we line up with this promise, we are on a journey to the throne.

What will all nations sing before His Throne? The song, “Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb,” and “Worthy is the Lamb.” This journey started in Exodus, when He said in chapter 12:2, “This is the first of your month and the first of your year” and in the next verse He instructs to choose and take a lamb.

At Passover, all the people of Israel passed through the doorposts covered by the blood of the lamb. That event began the journey to the Throne. And each month, more people enter by one thing – by the Blood of the Lamb of God, Yeshua/Jesus. Each month we get closer and closer to His coming – the One Who was, Who is, and Who is to come. We are not just wandering around in this world. We have a purpose; we know where we are going.

The New Moon is a sign of the New Covenant in His Blood, and God’s eternal commitment to Israel. Even before He gave the Ten Commandments, He commanded:

“This is the first of the month”. That was the basis for His people’s calendar. It echoes way back to creation when He made the moon for signs and seasons.

For a long time, it was removed from our understanding. But now we are enlightened.

People may object saying that it is not in the New Testament. But in the Gospels, we see Yeshua honoring the Sabbath, honoring and celebrating the biblical feasts, so we have no reason to think that He didn’t celebrate the New Moon. On the other hand, there are no instructions to eliminate this set time.

We can’t know when Passover is if we don’t mark the New Moon of that month. We can’t go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles if we don’t recognize the first of the seventh month. Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is Christ.”

*At the time of the New Moon, the sliver of the moon is so small that you can barely see it.*

A shadow speaks of something real, a substance, which is Him. It’s all about Him. The New Moon celebration is not to be removed but to be fulfilled; Yeshua is its meaning. Therefore, it’s so significant that the nations honor this day.

Finally, the nations are saying, “We have joined the New Covenant by the Blood of the Lamb, and we recognize God’s eternal calendar by which He moves.”

May the nations reject the false calendar they set up and celebrate the New Moon to say, “We are joining in and honoring Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, the Coming King.”

Celebrating with the blowing of the silver trumpets in “My House”.

We are thankful for “My House” where we can celebrate every first of the month on God’s calendar until He returns to rule and reign from Jerusalem. This is a thanksgiving feast. To God be the Glory! Amen!

The Counting of the Omer

May 10, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the Omer sheaf (sheaf) of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:15-16)

In Jewish tradition, the Omer is considered to be a bridge that connects the Exodus from Egypt from slavery to freedom, to the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai seven weeks later, on the holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost.) Passover and Shavuot are two of the three pilgrimage festivals when the people of Israel went up to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to come before the Lord.

God commanded the Israelites: “Three times a year shall all your men appear before the Lord your God in the place that God will choose [God chose Jerusalem as His dwelling place], on the festivals of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), and the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot). They shall not appear empty-handed. Each shall bring his own gift, appropriate to the blessing which the Lord your God has given you.” (Deuteronomy 16:16)

The Lord wants to bless His people with abundance, but He wants them to come to Him with the first Omer of their crop, and He will give the increase.

The three festivals are joyous times of anticipation for God’s blessings on their offerings. The time between Passover and Shavuot is truly a happy event, seven weeks of joyous celebration, believing God for a great harvest.

However, since the destruction of the Temple and the Jews dispersed to nations all around the world, the counting of the Omer has become a tradition of strict laws set by the rabbis.

Jews in the Diaspora developed laws regarding what to say and what to do. For example, one stands when counting the Omer, and begins by reciting the blessing in Hebrew translated: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to count the Omer.” After the blessing, one states the appropriate day of the count, like: today is the 28-day of the Omer, and so forth for each day. He also states the week, because the biblical text instructs, “you shall count 50 days.”

Furthermore, the text also says to “count seven complete weeks.” Therefore the tradition commands to count both days and weeks with the appropriate blessings as they appear in the prayer books for the evening service. However, if a person forgets to count the Omer on a particular evening, he may count the next morning for the previous day but without reciting the blessing, and then may continue counting, as usual, that evening with the blessing.

If, however, one forgets to count the Omer at night and also forgets to count in the morning, one should still count the Omer on every subsequent night, but should no longer recite a blessing before counting.

In Judaism, the days of the counting of the Omer have become a solemn time of partial mourning. In different Jewish communities, there are different traditions regarding how much of the Omer period is spent in mourning, and what restrictions apply, for at least some portion of the days of the counting of the Omer. Behavior such as listening to live music, celebrating weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, shaving, and getting haircuts are generally forbidden. There is just one day, the 33rd day of the Omer, Lag Ba’Omer, that is a joyous day, which is treated as a minor holiday with singing, dancing, (hair cuts are allowed), and gathering around lit bonfires.

According to the Talmud (Oral Law), the reason for the mourning during the counting of the Omer is to commemorate a terrible plague that killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students during the Omer period (a famous rabbi who lived in Israel in the 130’s CE and is considered to be one of the greatest rabbinic sages.) The Talmud explains that this horrible tragedy was a punishment because the followers of Rabbi Akiva did not respect one another. The followers were extremely learned men who devoted their lives to the Torah, mainly the Oral Law; but their lack of respect for one another caused the devastation. Jewish tradition puts great emphasis on the treatment of people one to the other. It is not enough to learn Torah and be right with God without being kind and doing good to our fellow men.

Rabbi Akiva also proclaimed Bar-Kochba as the Messiah (a false one) which led to the rebellion against the Romans in AD 132, a rebellion that failed.

As followers of Yeshua/Jesus, the True Messiah, we lift up our attention and focus on God’s Eternal Kingdom. (Colossians 3:2)

During these 50 days of counting the Omer we look forward to Shavuot (Pentecost) and pray for Spiritual Awakening with the promise of God to pour His Spirit on all people. (Joel 2:28)

Coronavirus, Prophecy, and Israel

March 13, 2020 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

The Coronavirus (COVID -19), which first appeared in China’s Hubei Province, is now rapidly spreading around the world at alarming rates, and with it, stock markets are plummeting. Thursday stocks hit their worst losses since the crash of 1987. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 10% for its worst day since a nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987.

Coronavirus, Prophesy and Israel — Covid 19

It seems that the world is in the grip of this virus in what is becoming a global pandemic. People are rushing to stock their homes with emergency supplies, there is a real danger that it will affect supply and demand proportions very quickly. The virus knows no boundaries, nor does it distinguish between races. It attacks Chinese, Italians, Swiss, Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Iranians and others around the globe. Millions are in a panic, which is as dangerous as the disease itself. The reality is that people’s livelihoods and health are being threatened at the same time.

Large outbreaks of the virus globally prompted many to link the epidemic to the biblical prophecies of the end times. Christian ‘End Time experts’ have linked the Coronavirus to the events of the Apocalypse.

The Apocalypse

Many Christians believe that the Book of Revelation prophesizes about cataclysmic events that will unfold before the Second Coming of Christ. Some believe that the world has already experienced the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse with religious deception, wars, and famine. Now with the spread of the Coronavirus, they believe the pestilence of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse has started.

Evangelists Gerald Flurry and Wayne Turgeon of The Trumpet said: “It is imperative that each of us takes heed while there is still time.” Charity Mukuba announced: “The rider of this pale horse has been released on earth today. We can already see the plagues of locusts and pestilences like CORONAVIRUS that have brought famine and death.”

John the Apostle wrote in Revelation 6:

“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

There is however no evidence to suggest that the Coronavirus is the pestilence described in the bible. COVID-19 belongs to a family of viruses that attacked parts of the world in the past. For instance, SARS emerged in 2002 in the Guangdong province of China, and globally spread infecting 8,096 people and causing 774 deaths.

Drastic Measures

Drastic measures are being taken to avoid the spread of the virus and prevent death, as well as avoid the spreading of panic and talk of conspiracy theories. Most of the dead so far are the elderly with previous health problems.

Israel’s rapid implementation of tough quarantine measures was expanded just before the country started celebrating Purim. Anyone entering the country from anywhere in the world must self-quarantine for 14 days, including Israeli citizens. Tourists and non-citizens also have to enter 14 days of self-quarantine after reporting the address where they will be staying. Israel has not closed Ben-Gurion International Airport but most flights to and from Israel have been canceled due to various travel restrictions worldwide and poor ticket sales.

Programs involving international travel, such as the annual March of the Living program, which takes students to Poland to see the death camps of the Holocaust and then moves on to Israel, are postponed.

As the toll of Coronavirus grows, it is crucial not to downplay or exaggerate the threat. Even in a free society, citizens must be willing to sacrifice some of their freedoms and personal comfort for the sake of public health.

Purim 2020

The Jewish month of Adar is a time to rejoice, even more so with the festival of Purim. But this Purim was different as the joy was tainted by this terrible virus. There is some good news from China, where it all started:
There appears to be a slowdown in the outbreak of the virus. With God’s help, a cure or vaccine will be developed in the near future.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a series of government and health ministry decisions urging Israelis to follow stricter hygiene routines, limit public gatherings to 100 people and stay home in self-quarantine if experiencing suspected symptoms.

Netanyahu also asked people not to hold conferences and events if they don’t have to. Schools are closed and higher education facilities will teach remotely. Health Ministry’s Director General called on employers to let more and more employees work from home.

As of today, there are 16 additional confirmed cases of Coronavirus, bringing the national patient count to 126. It was also reported that there are 2,479 health workers in quarantine – among them 949 doctors and 635 nurses. Of those diagnosed with the virus, 91 are in hospitals, one more is being admitted and five are being treated at home, the ministry said. Two Coronavirus patients are in serious condition, and three Israelis have recovered from the disease. As a general rule, people should maintain a reasonable distance from each other.

Pray

As believers, it is important to look to our God and Savior Who is Sovereign over all His creation. It is widely believed that the Coronavirus outbreak will get significantly worse before it stabilizes and gets better. With taking the necessary precautions and abiding by local laws and regulations, we must keep on believing that our God is in control and that He is our protector (Ps. 91). In God’s economy there is no stock market crash. He will supply all of our needs according to HIS riches in glory. We need to pray and rely now on God’s Word and His promises. Do not fear, and do not worry.

If you are in Israel: hotline (*5400) is open to receive general information and assistance, or the Magen David Adom emergency services (101) in case of flu-like symptoms, including fever, coughing, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing (call before going to the hospital.)

Is Christmas really a Jewish Holiday?

December 26, 2019 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Most Jews in Israel and around the world reject the idea that Christmas is a Jewish holiday. As far as they are concerned, Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of someone they don’t believe to be the Messiah and is in direct opposition to their Jewish faith. Many Holocaust survivors claim Hitler and the Nazis were Christians and that the Christian church is anti-Semitic; that in the name of Jesus the Church persecuted Jews as “Christ-killers.”

Even many non-Jews around the world who celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas day do not realize that He is the Messiah of Israel, as well as the Savior of the world. The prophet Isaiah made this Messianic prophecy to Israel about the Jewish Messiah, Who also fulfilled the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that through Him all nations would be blessed. Therefore, the prophecies of Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice for humanity, His resurrection and return to earth apply to Israel as well as to all nations.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on His shoulders, and He will be given the name Pele-Yo‘etz (wonderful counselor), El Gibbor (mighty God), Avi-‘Ad (everlasting Father), Sar-Shalom (Prince of Peace)”. Isaiah 9:6

The world celebrates Christmas with cheers, decorated evergreen trees, flickering lights, manger scenes and baby Jesus, all the while unaware of its Jewish roots. That the story took place in Israel with Israelites and angels who spoke Hebrew seems far away. But the fact is that Mary was Miriam, Joseph was Yoseph and Jesus was Yeshua – all Hebrew names. Yeshua was born in Beth Lehem (the house of bread in Hebrew) fulfilling the Hebrew prophet Micah’s words as recorded in Micah chapter 5:1 “But you, Beth Lehem Ephratah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting days.”

The story of Christmas starts with God’s angel appearing to the priest Zecharya (Zechariah in English which means God remembers in Hebrew) who was chosen by lot to enter the Temple of the God of Israel for the incense offering (Luke 1:9-11). This was in accordance with the law God gave to Moses for the priests from the tribe of Levi. Exodus 30:7-8: “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.” The angel announced to Zecharya that his barren wife Elisheva (Elizabeth means in Hebrew my God promises) would bear him a child to fulfill the prophecy of Malachi 4 to “go as a forerunner before Him (the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:16-17). His name would be Yohanan, meaning God pardons (known as John the Baptist in English.)

A short time later the angel Gavriel (Gabriel, means God is my strength) appeared to Miriam, announcing that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit of God. Miriam was a young Jewish virgin from the Jewish village of Natzeret, Israel, engaged to a Jewish man, Yoseph, of the house of David. The angel Gavriel told her (in Hebrew) “Do not be afraid, Miriam; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua (meaning Salvation in Hebrew.) (Jesus is the English letters of the name Yeshua.) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and God will give Him the throne of His father David (the Jewish king.) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:26-33).

It is no coincidence that the Savior of the world would have a Hebrew name and would be born of a Jewish mother in a Jewish town near Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. He is Emmanuel (God with us in Hebrew) Who will sit on King David’s throne forever and rule from Jerusalem. All nations will come to hear the Word of the Lord from Zion (Jerusalem). (Isaiah 2.)

When Yoseph (Joseph) learned Miriam was pregnant, he feared she had been unfaithful to him. As a righteous man, he didn’t want to expose Miriam to public disgrace and planned to divorce her in secret. But the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said (in Hebrew), “Yoseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriam as your wife because what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua (meaning Salvation) because he Yoshia (will save) his people (Israel) from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means in Hebrew, God with us.) Matthew 1:18-25. Only in Hebrew does it make sense that His name Yeshua – Salvation in Hebrew – has the root word for what He will do: – He will save, Yoshia. Even the word Christmas itself comes from the word Christ, which is a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, a totally original Jewish concept.

We present this holiday to our Jewish people in this Jewish setting with Jewish characters, saying that Yeshua is our Jewish Messiah, as well as the Savior of the world and that he didn’t come to start a new religion. As a matter of fact, Yeshua was against man made religions as well as men’s traditions.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our Jewish friends, family, and neighbors to see that Christmas celebrates the birth of our Jewish Messiah Who came to the world in Israel.

From the first verses in the New Testament, we see how Jewish it is. “This is the genealogy Yeshua the Messiah (a Hebrew word), the son of David, the son of Abraham“ (the father of the Jewish nation). Yeshua’s birth and incarnation were prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, written in Hebrew, by Hebrew prophets. Yeshua’s Jewish parents took him to the Jewish Holy Temple when He was eight days old to be circumcised; how much more Jewish can you get?

Purim: For Such a Time As This

March 21, 2019 By Bella Davidov Leave a Comment

Don’t think that you (Esther) alone will be saved out of all the Jews just because you are in the king’s palace. If you keep silent at this time…relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source… “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

It was the time when the Jews were in the diaspora in the Persian-Madai kingdom under King Ahasuerus’ rule. The Jews enjoyed religious freedom, and one Jew, Mordechai even served at the king’s court gate. Hadassah was an orphan girl adopted by her cousin Mordechai, who grew up to be a beautiful maiden.

The king loved banquets to show off his riches and fortune. In one of those banquets, he wanted to show off his beautiful Queen Vashti and called for her, but she refused to come. As punishment, the king’s advisors said Queen Vashti must be replaced, and for the king to gather the beautiful virgins in his kingdom from which to choose the queen who would replace Vashti.

Beautiful Hadassah, (Her name was changed to Esther in Persia), was also taken, and her cousin, Mordechai instructed her not to reveal her Jewish heritage. From all the beautiful virgins, she was the king’s favorite and he chose her to be his new queen.

It happened that King Ahasuerus honored a descendant of Amalek called Haman the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. By the king’s order, all who were in the king’s court had to bow down to him. However, one Jew wouldn’t bow. This was Mordechai, Esther’s cousin. That enraged Haman. When Haman found out that Mordechai was Jewish, and as he learned more about the Jewish people, his hatred for the Jews grew.

Haman looked for a way to destroy all of the Jews throughout the whole Persian kingdom. He came before the king and said: “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.” The king took off his signet ring and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. He told him to keep the money and that he could do with the people as he pleased.

The Pur (the lot) was cast and fell on the thirteenth of the month of Adar. In one day all the Jews were to be, according to the words of the decree, “killed, destroyed, and annihilated,” (Esther 3:13) a law that couldn’t be altered because: “in the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.” (Esther 3:12c)

When Mordechai learned of this terrible decree, he put on sackcloth and ashes. When Esther heard of this, she was very concerned for her cousin and insisted on knowing why he was in such a state. Mordechai informed Esther of the coming disaster for the Jews and urged her to go to the king and plead to rescue them. Esther explained that approaching the king without being invited would risk her life. Mordechai insisted, saying that if she failed to intervene, relief and deliverance would come to the Jews from elsewhere, but that neither she nor her family would survive. Furthermore, he said, “and who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?”

When Esther heard of the terrible decree to annihilate all the Jews in one day, she realized that the reason she was chosen to be the queen of Persia was for such a time as this; to be used by God for the salvation of His people. She called for the entire Jewish community in the capital city of Shushan to stand with her in prayer and fasting for three days as she risked her life for the chance of saving her people. She would go unlawfully before the king, uninvited. Esther then proclaimed, “and if I perish, I perish.”

God didn’t just use her beauty but also gave her a strategy. On the third day of the fasting, Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court in front of the royal throne in the hall where the king was sitting. When the king saw her, he remembered how much he loved her and extended the royal, golden scepter to her. Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. The king asked her lovingly what her request was, saying that he would grant it even up to half the kingdom. Her plan went into action; first, her request was simply to invite the king and his favorite Haman to a private banquet she had prepared for them that day. As they were enjoying the food and wine, the king asked her again what her request was. Again Esther replied that her request was for him and Haman to come to a private banquet the next day and that she would reveal her request at that time.

Haman was delighted to be invited once again to a banquet with the king and the queen. But when he passed by the court’s gate and Mordechai didn’t bow down to him, his anger and hatred against the Jews arose again. When he got home, Haman boasted with pride to his loved ones about all his riches and the honor he received for being in such a high position that the queen invited only him, besides the king, to her banquet. But, he complained that all this was worthless when this Jew Mordechai refused to bow down and honor him. His wife suggested he build a high pole, and next morning ask the king to hang Mordechai on it. Then he could attend the banquet and enjoy himself. This suggestion delighted Haman, and he set up the pole.

That night the king couldn’t sleep and asked his servant to read to him from a book of records. The servant read to him about the event when two of the king’s officers and guards conspired to assassinate him. It was recorded that Mordechai had exposed their plot and saved the king’s life. The king asked what was done to give Mordechai honor and recognition for this act, and the answer was – nothing. So the king asked who was in the court, and at that moment Haman entered the court. “Bring him to me,” ordered the king. Then the king asked Haman what should be done for a man whom the king is very pleased to honor. In his pride, Haman assumed the king must mean him, for who else was there that the king would rather honor than himself?

So Haman recommended that the person whom the king delights to honor be dressed in a royal robe the king had worn and put on a royal horse the king had ridden, and a royal crest be set on his head. Then, he should be taken on horseback through the city streets, with a high official proclaiming in a loud voice, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor.” The king commanded Haman to go at once and do exactly as he suggested for Mordechai the Jew who sat at the court’s gate, without neglecting to do anything that he, Haman had recommended.

Haman had to do for Mordechai the Jew, what he thought should be done for him. He was so humiliated that afterward, he rushed home to tell it to his wife and loved ones. His wife Zeresh and his advisers said that this would be the beginning of his ruin because if Mordechai was a Jew, Haman would not be able to stand against him, and in the end, he would be ruined. At that moment, the king’s servants came to take him to Esther’s banquet.

While they were drinking wine at the banquet, the king asked Esther, “Now tell me what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Esther revealed that she was Jewish and her request was for the king to spare her life and the lives of her people, as it was ordered to annihilate all the Jews in his kingdom. Apparently, the king had forgotten all about it and asked who would dare to do such a thing. Queen Esther pointed to Haman and said, “It was that wicked man, the enemy of the Jews who ordered it.’’

When the king learned it was the wicked Haman who ordered the killing of his beloved queen and the queen’s people, he was furious and went out to the royal garden to cool off. Haman was horrified and fell on the sofa the queen was reclining on. As he was pleading for his life, the king entered the room and saw Haman on top of his queen. The king was furious thinking Haman tried to molest Esther in his own palace. One of his servants spoke about the high pole Haman had set up on which to hang Mordechai the Jew, the very man who had saved his life. The king ordered his servants to take Haman and hang him on the pole meant for Mordechai. So they did, and the king’s anger subsided.

God always does what He says He will do in His Word. Hundreds of years before the story of Esther, the Lord told Moses, “I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” (Exodus 17:14) King Saul disobeyed God and didn’t kill all the Amalekites but spared the life of King Agag. Even though the prophet Samuel did kill him, apparently some of his family lived on. Haman was the descendant of Agag the Amalekite.

The king promoted Mordechai to a high position and gave him his signet ring to reverse the decree and save the lives of the Jews. God has turned the mourning of His people to ecstatic joy. Purim “should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.” (Esther 9:28)