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Discussions Prophets and Writings Purim Torah

Burnt offering, Purim and Passover: Keep the coal of your heart’s fire burning long for the Kingdom of God

No, this isn’t a case of duct-taping Bible passages together into a hodge-podge teaching. There is an important link between instructions to priests about keeping the Tabernacle altar fire burning, the command to destroy the memory of back-stabbing Amalek, the reluctance of later generations to carry that out fit, Queen Esther’s bold intervention for the Yehudim (Jews), the memory of deliverance from slavery at Peskah (Passover) and the freedom brought by Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Strap in your brain for a wild ride.

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Purim

Studies and resources on Purim (Feast of Lots in the book of Esther)

Download an interactive reading of the book of Esther, arranged for a multiperson drama, listen to how a presentation of this drama and access teachings on the lasting importance of Purim for believers in Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

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Appointments With God Discussions Prophets and Writings Purim Questions

Question: How are the main people in the book of Esther also thematically tied to other people in the Bible?

The book of Esther presents multiple characters throughout the storyline that may have a more significant purpose than it first appears.

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Appointments With God Purim

Messianic symbols, message in the Book of Esther

Many wonder why the Book of Esther is in the Bible, because the name of God is not mentioned in it. Yet, actually God is mentioned throughout the account. The main people in the book also are symbols for God, God’s Messiah, Israel and the Adversary, aka haSatan.

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Appointments With God Discussions Purim Torah Unleavened Bread

Seventh day of Unleavened Bread: Significance then and today of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea

Seven days after Israel left Egypt after the first Passover, the new nation went through the Red Sea. The salvation of the LORD was on display. God said that “from generation to generation” we are to remember the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is easy not to remember this time because the world’s system purposefully distracts from this time and ignores it as much as possible. God proved His sincere desire to redeemed mankind when He commanded His Son to die for us.

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Appointments With God Discussions Purim

Structure of the Book of Esther points to messianic prophecy

Many passages in the Bible were written with a chiastic structure, which is like rhyming patterns in poetry but pairing similar information or concepts instead. That’s one reason why some passages seem to be highly repetitive. The point of chiastic structures is to point the reader to a key concept. Daniel explains that the Book of Esther is one large chiastic structure, focusing on a messianic prophecy in the middle.

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Appointments With God Purim

Purim: God loads the dice for His glory

One common smear against God in recent times is that He is “an absentee landlord” or “a blind watchmaker” Who may have set everything in motion but now doesn’t care or doesn’t get involved. Many then blame Him for the evil and suffering that goes on in the world, particularly to those who it appears to us don’t deserve it, such as a dying family member or a starving child. A common slight against the book of Esther is that it doesn’t directly mention the name of the LORD, as the other books of the Bible do. However, the clear totality of the account is that He is very much at work in making evil plans turn back upon themselves to bring the promise of a blessing for the whole world — Messiah — through Abraham’s descendants. This would happen, even when the promise seemed to have been abandoned along with the people of Israel in Persia.