The Feast of Purim is a two-day holiday or feast, which occurs in the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar, and it commemorates the time when the nation was saved against a powerful enemy (Haman). Instead of being a day of hopelessness, it became a day of great joy, because the Jews were able to triumph over their enemies. While the feast is not commanded by the Lord to celebrate as a Sabbath, it is a National Day of Celebration, which was put in force by the traditions of men. This doesn’t make its celebration wrong, after all, it can be shown that Jesus, himself, went to Jerusalem in celebration of this feast of the Jews.[1] So, even though God is never specifically referred to in the Book of Esther, the day celebrates him as the Power, behind the change of events that resulted in the Jews’ salvation.
After the Jews had defended themselves against their enemies and celebrated their great success, Mordecai had letters drawn up and sent to the Jewish authorities throughout the Persian Empire in an effort to establish the 14th and the 15th days of the month of Adar as national feast days for the Jews (Esther 9:20-22), which would commemorate this joyful time, when disaster turned into joy and feasting for the Jews throughout the Persian Empire.
Thus, the Jews did throughout the empire, and they established the two days as a memorial for when Haman, their enemy, had conspired against the Jewish people, casting lots (purim) to destroy every last Jewish man, woman and child within the Persian Empire on the 13th day of the 12th month of the calendar year (Esther 9:23-24). Nevertheless, his conspiracy was discovered for what it was, and his efforts failed, because Esther had gone to the king, and he ruled that his conspiracy should be turned against him and his family, whereby his body and the bodies of his sons were publicly hung on gallows as an example to all who would follow his wicked ways (Esther 9:25). Moreover, the Jews called these feast days by the name Purim to commemorate that lots were cast in the beginning of the year to establish the best time to carry out the evil deed (Esther 9:26; cp. 3:7). Therefore, the Feast was established to be celebrated throughout their generations, according to the words in Mordecai’s letters (Esther 9:27).
Thus, was the Feast of Purim begun and established, in order that none of their descendants afterward would forget what occurred to their nation, when an enemy stood up to destroy them, man, woman and child! Moreover, a second letter was sent out from Queen Esther and Mordecai to the Jewish communities in the Persian Empire, and it took the force of a commandment from Queen Esther to ensure that these days would be established as days of celebration throughout the generations of the Jewish communities. (Esther 9:28-32).
As these things were done, Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the lands throughout his empire (Esther 10:1), which points to the fact the empire was at war. Alexander the Great, head of the Grecian empire, was about to take over gentile influence of the Jewish people located in Palestine (cp. Daniel 8:3-7, 19-21; 11:2-3). However, Mordecai remained the faithful servant of the king, being next to him in authority, and his fame and deeds are written in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia (Esther 10:2-3). Throughout it all, he still worked for the welfare of his people, the Jews, and he was celebrated among the Jews as a great man who worked for their peace (Esther 10:3).
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[1] See my earlier study: Jesus’ Seven Visits to Jerusalem.
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