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7 things Christians should know about Purim

what is Purim and what should Christians know about this important Jewish festival?

1. Purim is based on the biblical account of Esther

Purim is defined in the book of Esther, where we read the extraordinary miracle story of God’s protection of the Jewish people from the genocide sought by hateful Haman. Haman was a top official in the ancient Persian empire under King Xerxes I – also called Ahasuerus in the Hebrew language – who ruled Persia and much of the Middle East from 486-465 BC.

2. Purim literally means “lots”

Purim means “lots” in ancient Persian. The holiday was thus named since Haman had thrown lots to determine when he would carry out his diabolical scheme.

3. Purim is a day of celebration

Purim is one of the most fun-filled holidays in the Jewish calendar. It is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations on Purim with children (and adults, if they desire) to dress up in costumes. On the day itself a festive meal is shared. Gifts are given to friends and the poor. The origin of these customs is the biblical passage instructing Jews to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. (Esther 9:22).

“as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor.” Esther 9:22 (NKJV)

Soldiers Celebrate Purim with At-Risk Children (CC BY-NC 2.0)

4. Jewish people fast the day before Purim

The day before Purim is a fast day, commemorating Esther’s decree that the Jews fast before she appeal to King Xerxes to spare them.

The Book of Esther is read on the eve of Purim and then again the following day. Before reading the passage, three blessings are read aloud (see below). In keeping with the lighthearted atmosphere of the day, listeners boo, hiss, stamp feet, and rattle noisemakers whenever the name of Haman, is mentioned in the service.

5. Food is an important part of Purim celebrations

A traditional Purim food is hamantaschen (or oznay Haman), three-cornered pastries bursting with poppy seeds or another sweet filling. It is also tradition to send gifts of two kinds of food to at least one person.

6. Purim reminds us of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people

Haman hated the Jews simply for being Jewish. But the account of Esther reminds Jews and Christians that God has His hand upon the Jewish people. Esther’s bravery and willingness to stand up for her people reminds us that we must not be silent in the presence of evil, but must confront and eliminate it. Furthermore we are reminded that while oppressors come and go, God’s promise and covenant with his people, Israel, is everlasting. The Jews of the Persian Empire, after all, were saved, reminding us that God never deserts His people.

7. Purim provides an important lesson for today

The ancient problem of anti-Semitism exists in our world today. The Jewish people are hated by some groups simply for being Jews. Furthermore, the Jewish nation is surrounded by enemies that seek its destruction. However, God watches over Israel. And whether Christian or Jewish, we can follow Esther’s example by not remaining silent when confronted by evil and standing for Israel “for such a time as this”.

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 (NKJV)

PRAYER POINTS:

• Pray for the Jewish people at this Purim. Pray that their holiday will be filled with joy.
• Pray for the protection of Jewish communities in the UK, Europe and around the world.
• Pray against the rise of anti-Semitism.
• Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that God will protect Israel and that threats by her enemies will fail.

Here are the three blessings read prior to reading the book of Esther in synagogue. You may like to say one as you pray for the Jewish people:

Shavuot – What Christians should know about the “Festival of Weeks”

Shavuot means “weeks” as it occurs seven weeks after the Feast of Passover so is often referred to as “The Feast of Weeks”.

Shavuot has a double significance. It marks the all-important wheat harvest in the Land of Israel and it commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled under the leadership of Moses at Mount Sinai.

The Torah mandates the counting of the seven-week period beginning on the second day of Passover through to the start of Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement in Egypt; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.

Key Facts

The Hebrew word is Shavuot (pronounced shah-voo-oat).

Shavuot means “weeks” as it occurs seven weeks after Passover.

The Greek word for this holiday is Pentecost, which means “50th”. This is because Shavuot happens 50 days (one day plus seven weeks) after the sabbath after Pentecost. (Leviticus 23:15)

Shavuot is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals (alongside Passover and Succot).

In the Bible the Book of Acts chapter 2 tells of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to that small remnant of [Jewish] disciples gathered together in the upper room in Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago. The Shavuot holiday is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals that required the Jews to go up to Jerusalem for the feast.

Now at that time (see Acts 2:5) there were many devout Jews gathered from every nation who had come up to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot. In Jewish tradition the Torah was revealed by God-given revelation on Mount Sinai. Indeed, Shavuot on Mount Sinai was considered the day Judaism was born. Another tradition was that King David was born on Shavuot and died 70 years later also on Shavuot so the Jews read the book of Ruth during the feast as it speaks of both the harvest and Ruth being an ancestor of David.

In the Bible (Acts 2) when Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and preached his message he focused on the prophecy of Joel, which explained the pouring out of the Spirit, and on King David’s prophetic Psalms, which talked of the resurrection of the Christ (Jesus) to the right hand of God. This same Peter (in Matthew 16:16) had declared to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus had confirmed that flesh and blood had not revealed that to him but upon this God-given revelation “I will build my Church”.

After Peter preached to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost the revelation came to many of these devout Jews and 3000 were added to their number. Many see Pentecost as the day the early Church was born. It was amazing how these devout Jews had gathered to celebrate the law being given to Moses on tablets of stone but when the Holy Spirit was poured out the law was written on their hearts (Hebrews 8:10).

This year, due to the difference between the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar, the Jewish people will be celebrating Shavuot several weeks after the church celebration of Pentecost. Even the different calendars separate us from our Judeo-Christian roots. Many Christians are not even aware that the Day of Pentecost (in Acts 2 of the New Testament) occurred on the Feast of Shavuot established in the Book of Exodus (Old Testament). Sadly, far too many Christians believe the Church has replaced the Jewish people in the plans and purposes of God. That the Law has been replaced by the freedom of the Spirit and that the Old Testament has been replaced by the New. However, Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one title will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled”.

We too must seek a deeper revelation of the roots of our faith and in so doing enrich our Christian lives.

“Their God changes the path of our rockets in mid-air, said a terrorist,”

As Israel continues to deal with the threat of terrorist rockets flying through its skies, a recent newspaper headline trumpeted the possibility of supernatural protection.

“Their God changes the path of our rockets in mid-air, said a terrorist,” was the headline in the July 18 edition of the Jewish Telegraph.

It was a partial quote from Barbara Ordman, who lives in Ma’ale Adumim on the West Bank.

Her exact quotation was: “As one of the terrorists from Gaza was reported to say when asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets more effectively: “We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.”

She opened her piece by noting: “In October 1956, [Israel’s first Prime Minister] David Ben Gurion was interviewed by CBS. He stated: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.'”

Ordman also noted religious texts, specifically the Jerusalem Talmud, teaches Israelis not to depend on miracles for survival.

“It argues that we must not desist from our obligations and must not wait for miraculous intervention from the Supernatural,” she writes.

After her mention of the divine diversion of enemy rockets, she said, “When our God is not busy doing that, He is ensuring that the high-tech brain power of our ‘start-up nation’ is working overtime to produce yet another Iron Dome battery to help protect our cities and us.”

The headline is now being shared worldwide

• “Shalom to Israel and supernatural protection, thank you Jesus for releasing your warring angels to supernaturally protect and defend Israel in Jesus’ name … ” (Juliet M. Maeck)

• “Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:4” (Danette Mallard)

• “The Muslims should also read about their future … in Psalm 83.” (Jimmie Vestal)

• “Anyone against Israel should just run the other way!” (Trace Remington)

Christians, it’s time to defend our Biblical roots

On 13 October the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a shocking anti-Semitic resolution.

UN-sponsored anti-Israel decrees are nothing new, however, this document stands out for its blatant disregard of the truth and effectively denies the 3,000-year-old Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

The resolution changed the names of some of Jerusalem’s most holy sites, removing both the Hebrew and English names for the Temple Mount and Western Wall, and referring to them only by their Islamic names. This action rightly sparked outrage from Israel and Jewish people all around the world, but it should equally outrage Christians.

Let’s be clear – the vote by UNESCO is an attack on the legitimisation of Israel. It is a callous attempt to undermine the Jewish state’s very existence in their own land.

We know from history that what starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews, and this is a clear example where an action against the Jews has gone beyond just offending the Jewish people.

As Christians we cannot read our Bibles and at the same time ignore that the land of Israel and its historical, present and future place as the homeland of the Jewish people is also integral to our Christian faith. We can be assured that no vote at the United Nations can ever take away the right that the Jewish people have to the land of Israel and its holy sites. God has ordained it, which should be enough for any Christian to care about protecting the Judeo-Christian heritage that we hold so dear.

Christians should know that Judaism does not need Christianity to explain its existence. However, if you take away the Jewish foundation of Biblical Christianity, there would be no Christianity.

By ignoring the Jewish connection, they are also ignoring the Christian connection. And as a result, Christians around the world should be joining Israel’s side in opposing this resolution.

Psalm 125:1-2 says, “Those who trust in the LORD Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.”

Joel 3:16 says, “The LORD roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.”

Psalm 133:3 describes “the mountains of Zion” as the place where “the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

The “mountains of Zion” are the stage God is using to perform the most important acts in history.

The “mountains of Zion” are where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, but instead God provided a sacrificial lamb in Isaac’s place.

The “mountains of Zion” are where King David established Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel more than 3,000 years ago.

The “mountains of Zion” are where Solomon built the first Temple and fulfilled the promise God gave to his father, saying, “And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.”

And as Christians we also believe that the “mountains of Zion” are where Jesus Christ became the sacrificial lamb for the salvation of all mankind. Very soon He will also return and rule and reign from this very place.

Is it any wonder that today Jerusalem stands on the “mountains of Zion” as the most contested place on earth?

Despite God’s faithfulness over the centuries, men continue to work against the will of God.

Make no mistake about it – this UN Resolution is an attack on the faith of all Jews and Christians. 

The nations that backed the resolution, for the most part, were Muslim-majority countries. Unfortunately, and to their shame, most of the countries that abstained from the vote were so-called Christian-majority countries. Their voices were silent.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian Pastor who died opposing the Nazis said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Christians United for Israel will not remain silent on this issue. We started a petition last week calling on UNESCO to recognise the Judeo-Christian roots of Jerusalem’s holy sites. So far, over 3,000 Christians have signed this petition; one person for every year of Jewish history in Jerusalem. You can sign the petition here.

Please tell your friends and family to also sign the petition.

An attack on the Jewish roots of our faith should motivate every Christian to speak out against this hatred.

It is time Christians raised their voices on Biblical matters. The Church needs to reconnect with its Jewish roots, because it is only through those roots that we have our faith. And in understanding them, we can fully understand the plans and purposes God has for us.

Christians United for Israel