MY SHORT REPORT NEH 10 - JOB 10
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this Short Report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Internal links provide additional information. One such link opens a new tab with pertinent pictures.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 22--NEH 10 - JOB 10: Last week’s report illustrated the relationship between the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and presented some facts about Cyrus and how the God of history used him to repatriate the exiles. This week’s Short Report focuses on the book of Esther by considering Esther’s place in Scripture, God’s presence in the book, and what Purim means to the Jews.
Esther is unique for many reasons. For one, it reads like a short old fashioned drama with plots and counter plots, tension and intrigue, and in the end the good guys win. Another thing that makes Esther unique is it is 1 of only 2 books, of 66, that is named after a woman. The other, of course, is Ruth. The third thing is the addition of a new festival: the Feast of Purim. The fourth and fifth unique things are intertwined and the most important of the five, because (4) the apparent absence of God, I underscore apparent, adds a lot of weight to the (5) questions of Esther’s place in the Scriptures.
In the short book of Ruth, by way of contrast, the Lord is mentioned six times, God twice, and the Almighty twice—and that’s in the first chapter. Yet, with Esther, God, in no way, is mentioned—not even once—in 10 chapters.
But once again the book of Esther does not stand alone, because it shares this fact with the Song of Solomon. Neither book directly mentions God.
At times the apparent absence of God makes reading Esther a little uncomfortable, especially in the closing chapter where Mordecai receives the praise. The ESV even labels this section “The Greatness of Mordecai.” The HCSB and the NKJV are a bit more subdued labeling the section “Mordecai’s Fame” and “Mordecai’s Advancement,” respectively.
Mordecai did well, but was only placed in danger because of his obstinateness. On the other hand, Esther risked her life by approaching the king uninvited, a death sentence by Persian law unless the king extended mercy to the intruder by receiving him or her as an invited guest. She further imposed on the king by delaying her explanation for the intrusion, twice, until the circumstances were just right.
Should a mature Christian reader leave these and other tense moments in the drama open to chance—to pur (Esther 3:7; 9:24) as the ancient Persians would call it—or to Divine Providence? To Divine Providence, of course.
Like Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac we must always trust God (Genesis 15:6), who keeps His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9; 2 Timothy 2:13), and always has a ram in the bush (Genesis 22:13). Also, Paul is encouraging us to recognize God’s Providence when he says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
In the People’s Bible Commentary Burg calls his reader’s attention to this when he says, “The hand of God is clearly present in the book of Esther, shaping and directing the course of events so that his people will be protected.” To that he adds, “[Esther] demonstrates how God works among us at any given time in history” (p. 156).
One of the best responses to the question of the apparent absence of God in Esther comes from Huey in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary: “The hiddenness of God,” he declares, “can also sometimes be explained as evidence of his displeasure; this fact may be the key to the problems of Esther that disturb many sincere Christian exegetes” (p. 793).
This explanation fits the picture well. God is not only proactive, as when He prompted Moses to led the Hebrews out of Egypt, He is also reactive, like when the people listened to the spies that gave a bad report (Numbers 13:31-33) and God denied them entrance into the Promised Land (14:20-23). They sinned all the more when they decided they could take the Promised Land by force even though Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the Presence of the Lord, stayed in camp, and they were soundly defeated (vv. 41-45). In a sense God “hid” Himself by withdrawing his help.
Job and David both felt the hiddenness of God, and provide two more examples. Job, known as a righteous man (Job 1:1), is responding to Zophar, one of his “friends,” when he turns to the Lord in his affliction to ask, “Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?” (Job 13:24).
In Psalm 13:1 David asks, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary tells its readers, “The expression of divine alienation is unrelated to the palmist’s being a sinner. There is no confession of sin, no contrition, and no recognition of personal guilt that prevents his realization of God’s blessing” (Longman, 170).
Thus, the Scriptures give us instances of God’s hiddenness in different situations, and this may be the case with God not showing Himself in the foreground during the events unfolding in Esther.
Looking at Esther’s place in the canon—written material acknowledged as the true inspired work of the Holy Spirit that comprise the Bible—Burg tells his readers that theologians from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have questioned Esther’s inclusion, including Martin Luther. But he adds that Luther’s remarks were more dismissive rather than careful exegesis. In addition, Burg lists several reasons why Esther is sometimes questioned, I show five of them here: 1) the name of God is not used, 2) the editions to Esther in the Roman Catholic Bible, 3) the book is not mentioned in the New Testament, 4) the addition of the Feast of Purim outside of the feasts required in the Law, and 5) not discovered among the volumes found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (p. 154).
Before I continue I must add a comment on Luther that comes from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary where Huey provides a helpful quote from another author, E.J. Bickerman, saying, “Bickerman observed that in the preface of Luther’s German translation of Esther, he acknowledged that ‘it contains much that is good’” (p. 784).
Getting back in focus, I don’t want to misrepresent Burg, nor myself. By faith, I fully accept Esther’s inclusion in Holy Writ, so does Burg, and I quote: “There is no compelling reason to doubt the authenticity of the book of Esther. Its position in the canon of Old Testament is well established” (p. 155).
Also, while Burg notes that Esther was not discovered among the volumes found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (p. 154), Guthrie speaks of the book’s wide acceptance because of the historic persecution of the Jews and declares, “One result of this popularity is that there are more MS [manuscript] copies of Esther than any other book of the OT” (p. 412).
This type of back and forth can go on and on because we simply lack the necessary knowledge to make a more fully informed decision, but can find plenty of opposing views about the book of Esther.
We do know the Old Testament, including Esther, was complete by the time of Christ’s appearance and was well received by most of the early church. In addition, Esther was established in the Christian canon in A.D. 393 and reaffirmed in 397 at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage, respectively (Huey, 783).
So, how do most Jews feel about the book of Esther? They love it, and that should not come as a surprise, because they have faced great persecution over the centuries and in the book of Esther, with the help of God, they overcome more than persecution, they overcome extermination. In short, they see that even when the world hates them, God loves them.
A few key words associated with the Feast of Purim (thanks Wikipedia): 1) Challah is a special Jewish ceremonial bread, from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering, usually braided, and eaten on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. 2) Gregger, or grogger, from the word for ratchet is a noise maker 3) Kreplach are small dumplings filled with ground meat, mashed potatoes or another filling, usually boiled and served in chicken soup, though they may also be served fried 4) Hamantashen ( literally 'Haman's ears') is a filled-pocket cookie or pastry recognizable for its triangular shape 5) Megillah means scroll and may refer to the Scroll of Esther (view pictures here).
The following is a review of an article on the Jews for Jesus website (a link is provide in Works Cited) labeled: “Such a Curse: A Messianic Look at Purim.” The article starts out easy by telling its readers, “Purim is the Jewish holiday which is most carnival-like. Children drown out Haman’s name with greggers. Young Jewish girls participate in Queen Esther beauty pageants. Plays are enacted called Purimspiels. And everyone noshes on poppyseed and prune hamantaschen.”
The article quickly shifts gears to explain the curse of Amalek, the people that first attacked the Hebrews after God brought them out of Egypt and where God states, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses says, “The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:8-16). Years later, Moses remembers the moment during his farewell speech and told the people, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt...blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
The article also quotes Numbers 24:20 where Balaam, during his final oracle curses Amalek saying, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.”
Next, the article jumps forward to King Saul and reminds us how the Amalekite problem deepened under Saul’s rule, and that Saul disobeyed God’s command to exterminate them (1 Samuel 15). The article makes clear that the Amalekites “were the biological and spiritual descendants of the nation God had cursed in the wilderness.”
The article also makes a connection between Amalek and Hamam by stating, “In the Book of Esther, Haman is referred to as an Agagite, a descendant of Agag, King of Amalek.”
Turning to the People’s Bible Commentary for a minute, Burg shows his awareness of the Amalek-Agag-Haman connection, calling it “Jewish tradition.” He even mentions some of the same Bible verses, but he concludes by saying this is “just a coincidence” (pp. 170-171). To argue this case goes well beyond the scope of this Short Report, and time is short, so I won’t even look to other commentaries on this matter. I will say, however, Burg might have brought out a few bigger guns than “tradition” and “coincidence.”
In addition, the article shows a connection between Saul, Mordecai and Esther—all were from the tribe of Benjamin.
This section of the article wraps everything together with this paragraph:
"Moses and Amalek, Saul and Agag, and now Mordecai and Haman. The curse of Amalek and the obliteration of his name repeat again in the Scroll of Esther. It is at Purim that we are able, along with all of Israel, to join Mordecai in blotting out the name of Haman, and by transference, the names of Agag and Amalek. It is no coincidence that we make noise and try to drown out the reader each time Haman’s name is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah."
The closing section is labeled “Good and Evil” and it’s here to remind us that blotting out evil Haman during the Feast of Purim is not done so we think of our good deeds, it is not about us, it is about Jesus—our salvation—for Jews and Gentiles who call on His name. Because of His name, our names will never be blotted out of the book of life! Thank you, Jews for Jesus for posting this article (see Works Cited for article link).
Purim is always celebrated on the 14th of Adar—the real Adar—on the Jewish calendar, which can happen in February or March because of the occasional Jewish leap year. The leap years also present an opportunity for a small Purim—more of a happy day than a full blown celebration (use all four of the links under calendar to check my data).
The Jewish calendar has 12 months, most of the time, like the American calendar. Every fourth year the American calendar adds 1 day in February, a minor adjustment, to synchronize our calendar year with the solar year.
Sometimes the Jewish calendar has 13 months. This happens 7 times in a 19 year period. This cycle helps to synchronize lunar months with solar years in an ancient Babylonian calendar which the modern Jewish calendar is based on—the Jewish nation is using the calendar of the Babylonian Captivity! The extra month is added at the end of the year but uses the name and position of the 12th month with an added number (one). The real 12th month becomes the 13th month and retains its name with an added number (two).
So, 11 times in a 19 year period the 12th month on the Jewish calendar really is Adar, and 7 times in the same period the 12th month, which is thought of as the extra month, is called Adar I and the 13th month, which is thought of as the real Adar, is called Adar II. Thus, during “normal” years Purim is held on the 14th day of the 12th calendar month of Adar, and during Jewish leap years Purim is held on the 14th day of the 13th month of Adar II. In addition, during leap years the 12 month, Adar I, still holds a small Purim.
In closing, this Short Report focused on the book of Esther by examining Esther’s place in Scripture to show that it is well established, God’s presence in the book although “hidden” is real, and what Purim means to the Jews—a time of rejoicing because of God’s great love for them.
Esther is unique for many reasons. For one, it reads like a short old fashioned drama with plots and counter plots, tension and intrigue, and in the end the good guys win. Another thing that makes Esther unique is it is 1 of only 2 books, of 66, that is named after a woman. The other, of course, is Ruth. The third thing is the addition of a new festival: the Feast of Purim. The fourth and fifth unique things are intertwined and the most important of the five, because (4) the apparent absence of God, I underscore apparent, adds a lot of weight to the (5) questions of Esther’s place in the Scriptures.
In the short book of Ruth, by way of contrast, the Lord is mentioned six times, God twice, and the Almighty twice—and that’s in the first chapter. Yet, with Esther, God, in no way, is mentioned—not even once—in 10 chapters.
But once again the book of Esther does not stand alone, because it shares this fact with the Song of Solomon. Neither book directly mentions God.
At times the apparent absence of God makes reading Esther a little uncomfortable, especially in the closing chapter where Mordecai receives the praise. The ESV even labels this section “The Greatness of Mordecai.” The HCSB and the NKJV are a bit more subdued labeling the section “Mordecai’s Fame” and “Mordecai’s Advancement,” respectively.
Mordecai did well, but was only placed in danger because of his obstinateness. On the other hand, Esther risked her life by approaching the king uninvited, a death sentence by Persian law unless the king extended mercy to the intruder by receiving him or her as an invited guest. She further imposed on the king by delaying her explanation for the intrusion, twice, until the circumstances were just right.
Should a mature Christian reader leave these and other tense moments in the drama open to chance—to pur (Esther 3:7; 9:24) as the ancient Persians would call it—or to Divine Providence? To Divine Providence, of course.
Like Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac we must always trust God (Genesis 15:6), who keeps His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9; 2 Timothy 2:13), and always has a ram in the bush (Genesis 22:13). Also, Paul is encouraging us to recognize God’s Providence when he says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
In the People’s Bible Commentary Burg calls his reader’s attention to this when he says, “The hand of God is clearly present in the book of Esther, shaping and directing the course of events so that his people will be protected.” To that he adds, “[Esther] demonstrates how God works among us at any given time in history” (p. 156).
One of the best responses to the question of the apparent absence of God in Esther comes from Huey in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary: “The hiddenness of God,” he declares, “can also sometimes be explained as evidence of his displeasure; this fact may be the key to the problems of Esther that disturb many sincere Christian exegetes” (p. 793).
This explanation fits the picture well. God is not only proactive, as when He prompted Moses to led the Hebrews out of Egypt, He is also reactive, like when the people listened to the spies that gave a bad report (Numbers 13:31-33) and God denied them entrance into the Promised Land (14:20-23). They sinned all the more when they decided they could take the Promised Land by force even though Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the Presence of the Lord, stayed in camp, and they were soundly defeated (vv. 41-45). In a sense God “hid” Himself by withdrawing his help.
Job and David both felt the hiddenness of God, and provide two more examples. Job, known as a righteous man (Job 1:1), is responding to Zophar, one of his “friends,” when he turns to the Lord in his affliction to ask, “Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?” (Job 13:24).
In Psalm 13:1 David asks, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary tells its readers, “The expression of divine alienation is unrelated to the palmist’s being a sinner. There is no confession of sin, no contrition, and no recognition of personal guilt that prevents his realization of God’s blessing” (Longman, 170).
Thus, the Scriptures give us instances of God’s hiddenness in different situations, and this may be the case with God not showing Himself in the foreground during the events unfolding in Esther.
Looking at Esther’s place in the canon—written material acknowledged as the true inspired work of the Holy Spirit that comprise the Bible—Burg tells his readers that theologians from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have questioned Esther’s inclusion, including Martin Luther. But he adds that Luther’s remarks were more dismissive rather than careful exegesis. In addition, Burg lists several reasons why Esther is sometimes questioned, I show five of them here: 1) the name of God is not used, 2) the editions to Esther in the Roman Catholic Bible, 3) the book is not mentioned in the New Testament, 4) the addition of the Feast of Purim outside of the feasts required in the Law, and 5) not discovered among the volumes found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (p. 154).
Before I continue I must add a comment on Luther that comes from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary where Huey provides a helpful quote from another author, E.J. Bickerman, saying, “Bickerman observed that in the preface of Luther’s German translation of Esther, he acknowledged that ‘it contains much that is good’” (p. 784).
Getting back in focus, I don’t want to misrepresent Burg, nor myself. By faith, I fully accept Esther’s inclusion in Holy Writ, so does Burg, and I quote: “There is no compelling reason to doubt the authenticity of the book of Esther. Its position in the canon of Old Testament is well established” (p. 155).
Also, while Burg notes that Esther was not discovered among the volumes found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (p. 154), Guthrie speaks of the book’s wide acceptance because of the historic persecution of the Jews and declares, “One result of this popularity is that there are more MS [manuscript] copies of Esther than any other book of the OT” (p. 412).
This type of back and forth can go on and on because we simply lack the necessary knowledge to make a more fully informed decision, but can find plenty of opposing views about the book of Esther.
We do know the Old Testament, including Esther, was complete by the time of Christ’s appearance and was well received by most of the early church. In addition, Esther was established in the Christian canon in A.D. 393 and reaffirmed in 397 at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage, respectively (Huey, 783).
So, how do most Jews feel about the book of Esther? They love it, and that should not come as a surprise, because they have faced great persecution over the centuries and in the book of Esther, with the help of God, they overcome more than persecution, they overcome extermination. In short, they see that even when the world hates them, God loves them.
A few key words associated with the Feast of Purim (thanks Wikipedia): 1) Challah is a special Jewish ceremonial bread, from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering, usually braided, and eaten on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. 2) Gregger, or grogger, from the word for ratchet is a noise maker 3) Kreplach are small dumplings filled with ground meat, mashed potatoes or another filling, usually boiled and served in chicken soup, though they may also be served fried 4) Hamantashen ( literally 'Haman's ears') is a filled-pocket cookie or pastry recognizable for its triangular shape 5) Megillah means scroll and may refer to the Scroll of Esther (view pictures here).
The following is a review of an article on the Jews for Jesus website (a link is provide in Works Cited) labeled: “Such a Curse: A Messianic Look at Purim.” The article starts out easy by telling its readers, “Purim is the Jewish holiday which is most carnival-like. Children drown out Haman’s name with greggers. Young Jewish girls participate in Queen Esther beauty pageants. Plays are enacted called Purimspiels. And everyone noshes on poppyseed and prune hamantaschen.”
The article quickly shifts gears to explain the curse of Amalek, the people that first attacked the Hebrews after God brought them out of Egypt and where God states, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses says, “The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:8-16). Years later, Moses remembers the moment during his farewell speech and told the people, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt...blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget” (Deuteronomy 25:17-19).
The article also quotes Numbers 24:20 where Balaam, during his final oracle curses Amalek saying, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.”
Next, the article jumps forward to King Saul and reminds us how the Amalekite problem deepened under Saul’s rule, and that Saul disobeyed God’s command to exterminate them (1 Samuel 15). The article makes clear that the Amalekites “were the biological and spiritual descendants of the nation God had cursed in the wilderness.”
The article also makes a connection between Amalek and Hamam by stating, “In the Book of Esther, Haman is referred to as an Agagite, a descendant of Agag, King of Amalek.”
Turning to the People’s Bible Commentary for a minute, Burg shows his awareness of the Amalek-Agag-Haman connection, calling it “Jewish tradition.” He even mentions some of the same Bible verses, but he concludes by saying this is “just a coincidence” (pp. 170-171). To argue this case goes well beyond the scope of this Short Report, and time is short, so I won’t even look to other commentaries on this matter. I will say, however, Burg might have brought out a few bigger guns than “tradition” and “coincidence.”
In addition, the article shows a connection between Saul, Mordecai and Esther—all were from the tribe of Benjamin.
This section of the article wraps everything together with this paragraph:
"Moses and Amalek, Saul and Agag, and now Mordecai and Haman. The curse of Amalek and the obliteration of his name repeat again in the Scroll of Esther. It is at Purim that we are able, along with all of Israel, to join Mordecai in blotting out the name of Haman, and by transference, the names of Agag and Amalek. It is no coincidence that we make noise and try to drown out the reader each time Haman’s name is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah."
The closing section is labeled “Good and Evil” and it’s here to remind us that blotting out evil Haman during the Feast of Purim is not done so we think of our good deeds, it is not about us, it is about Jesus—our salvation—for Jews and Gentiles who call on His name. Because of His name, our names will never be blotted out of the book of life! Thank you, Jews for Jesus for posting this article (see Works Cited for article link).
Purim is always celebrated on the 14th of Adar—the real Adar—on the Jewish calendar, which can happen in February or March because of the occasional Jewish leap year. The leap years also present an opportunity for a small Purim—more of a happy day than a full blown celebration (use all four of the links under calendar to check my data).
The Jewish calendar has 12 months, most of the time, like the American calendar. Every fourth year the American calendar adds 1 day in February, a minor adjustment, to synchronize our calendar year with the solar year.
Sometimes the Jewish calendar has 13 months. This happens 7 times in a 19 year period. This cycle helps to synchronize lunar months with solar years in an ancient Babylonian calendar which the modern Jewish calendar is based on—the Jewish nation is using the calendar of the Babylonian Captivity! The extra month is added at the end of the year but uses the name and position of the 12th month with an added number (one). The real 12th month becomes the 13th month and retains its name with an added number (two).
So, 11 times in a 19 year period the 12th month on the Jewish calendar really is Adar, and 7 times in the same period the 12th month, which is thought of as the extra month, is called Adar I and the 13th month, which is thought of as the real Adar, is called Adar II. Thus, during “normal” years Purim is held on the 14th day of the 12th calendar month of Adar, and during Jewish leap years Purim is held on the 14th day of the 13th month of Adar II. In addition, during leap years the 12 month, Adar I, still holds a small Purim.
In closing, this Short Report focused on the book of Esther by examining Esther’s place in Scripture to show that it is well established, God’s presence in the book although “hidden” is real, and what Purim means to the Jews—a time of rejoicing because of God’s great love for them.