Remembrance of God’s goodness, inspires a people of Response
“…days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” -Esther 9:22
“The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword… In Susa the citadel itself the Jews killed and destroyed 500 men, and also killed… the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, (here’s the important part) but they laid no hand on the plunder.”
“By naming the festival ‘Purim’, attention is focused on something deeper. And it is this: the lot, the destiny, of God’s people is not left up to chance and it is not determined by someone like Haman casting lots before his gods. No, only God determines the lot of his people. The name reminds the people that it is God and God alone who determines how things turn out in the world.”
-(Inconspicuous Providence by Bryan R. Gregory)
“…relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place…” -Esther 4:14
“Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name.”
– Jaroslav Pelikan
“The narrator notes at this point that she is the daughter of Abihail, only the second time he has noted her Jewish father. The first time, in 2:15, when Esther was being brought into the palace to compete for a place as the new queen, she was identified by both her Persian name and her Hebrew name, as if to note that she was a young woman torn between two identities. Now, however, she may be the Persian queen, but her identity is defined by her Jewish ancestry, just as Mordecai is identified as ‘Mordcai the Jew.’”
– Bryan R. Gregory
Remembrance of God’s goodness, inspires a people of Response
New to Grace Point Church? We’d love to connect with you! https://gpcvegas.com/connect
Want to listen to the music we sing on Sundays? Check out our playlist on Spotify! https://gpcvegas.com/songs
Partner with us through giving: https://gpcvegas.com/give