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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.
The Torah reading צו Tzav (“command,” Leviticus 6:8-8:36) covers the five offerings (qorbanot) of Leviticus 1-5 from the perspective duties of the priesthood. Today’s we’ll focus on the instructions for the עֹלָה ‘olah (“that which goes up,” i.e., burnt) offering and what they teach us about tending the “coals” of our hearts so they “burn” long and hot for the Kingdom of God, rather than roaring up and down like a bonfire a the mercy of the fuel supply.
From the Shabbat Zachor readings related to Purim (festival of Esther), we learn that the power of the sneak-attack adversary called Amalek (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) oppresses the people of God in each generation. King Shaul (Saul) failed to deal with the grave threat of Amalek, revealing that God always has wanted devotion from the heart and not just from the ceremony of offerings (1Samuel 15). The descendants of Yehudah (Judah), Ben Yamin (Benjamin) and Amalek also played roles at the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon and later Persia, at the time of Esther.
Although God’s name isn’t mentioned in the book of Esther, there are several mentions of the well-known time references for Pesakh, which is a lesson about God’s not leaving His people in bondage or exile without one anointed to offer himself or herself for the sake of the people. That’s why the leap month in Israel’s calendar is inserted before the 12th month, to keep Purim and Pesakh connected.
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