Look Inside Look Around. What do you see? Show Me! #16

Having traveled along with Israel through their history of the Exodus through their entry into the promised land, being established there only to disobey and be exiled, then endure that and enter again to rebuild the temple and city of Jerusalem, we come to the unique account of Esther. We find this summary in chapter 9:

20 And Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, 22 as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews accepted what they had started to do, and what Mordecai had written to them. 24 For Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur (that is, cast lots), to crush and to destroy them. 25 But when it came before the king, he gave orders in writing that his evil plan that he had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. (Esther 9)

Some of us have read this short book, but I believe many never get this far. It is a great summary that fits right in with the time period of Ezra and Nehemiah, answering the question: "What about the Jews who did not return to Jerusalem?" How did they fare? This shows how God preserved them, and why they established the celebration of Purim to remember that. Again we find a remnant of God's faithful people, despite being surrounded by unbelievers who are bent on their destruction. The roots of this bitterness go all the way back to the Exodus and the jealousy of the Amalekites against Israel. This book is full of banquets and celebrations, and the reminder that God preserves His people. Many have noted that God's name never appears in the book, which appears to be by design. This society was so secular that the thought o f God never entered their minds, so when those who do believe in him rise up, they stick out.  Look around.  How do you see your life, or that of others sticking out simply for your faith? Where do you see remnants of trust in God in a society seeking to wipe out all memory of Him? What celebrations do you have so you never forget He is here, even in such a time as this? Take a picture. Post it or send it! Look for God at work behind the scenes and beneath the surface.