We are in the midst of the three-day celebration of Purim. This is the festival celebrating the deliverance of the whole Jewish race from Haman's evil plot to annihilate them in the book of Esther. It is a fascinating story - one that has been repeated through the ages by several other "Hamans" who sought to destroy the Jewish race. After all, that is Satan's primary, #1 goal always, to destroy the race through which the Seed of the Messiah comes, hoping to ultimately destroy Jesus Himself. From Hitler to the present-day leader of Iran, Ahmadinejad, the plot continues - but the Jewish people are still many in number across the globe, and this weekend they are celebrating a young Jewish girl named Hadassah (Esther) who risked her very life to expose the evil man Haman's plot, thanks to some quiet, behind-the-scenes work on the part of her Jewish uncle, Mordecai.
Mordecai wasn't anyone special. He was a Jewish man of the tribe of Benjamin who had been carried from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon. Now he just happened to work in the palace of the Persian King Xerxes, and he was privy to communications in the palace. Because his little cousin Esther, whom he had raised, had been made the Persian queen, he was able to get word to her about the plot to destroy the Jews.
Rabbi Richman, leader of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, has written a most interesting article this week about Mordecai. He points out that our scriptures refer to him in the book of Esther as "Mordecai the Jew," - but that the Hebrew understanding of this description is actually "Mordecai the individual." I like this! It was Mordecai's individuality; his character, his quick, forward thinking, and his devotion to God and his people that mattered here.
Furthermore, as we follow the story, we see that Mordecai did not have a TV news station to consult with, he did not keep company with the local politicians, and he did not compromise his faith by taking up the customs and idols of the Persian Empire. He kept the Torah, and He listened only to the counsel of his God.
This has had an impact on me this week. I listen to too many other voices in the media discussing the upcoming economic collapse, nuclear holocaust, and times of tribulation. I don't need to listen to these "talking heads!" There is enough wisdom and counsel in the Word of God to guide me through these times. Scripture tells us these times are coming and our Lord gives us ample instruction on how to be ready. Mordecai was a good example. Here is what Rabbi Richman wrote this week:
"Mordechai the Jew," (Esther 2:5) or, invoking the word play of our sages, Mordechai the individual. Not Mordechai the prophet or Mordechai the man of G-d: just Mordechai the individual. We all have the potential to be individuals if we so desire. The moment we drop our pretenses, strip off our masks, push aside what the mass media has to serve us, step away from the banquet table of lies, and remove ourselves from the conformity of the palace walls, we too can regain our eyes and our ears, revive our hearts and regain our conscience.
Let's be honest: We don't need a Minister of Justice to tell us what is right and what is wrong. Nor do we need a Secretary of Defense to show us who we need to wage war against. We certainly do not need a Commissioner of Police to know what is permissible and what is not. No one needs a CNN special report to know what the enemies of Israel are plotting against her, nor do we require a network weather caster to tell us what we ourselves can hear being whispered in the wind. Just as "the nations are compassed about [us]," (Psalms 118:10) so too, does God stand with us.
