Purim 2021

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Purim (a.k.a. Festival Of Lots) is a Jewish holiday commemorating events in the Old Testament book of Esther.

Although the holiday is biblical; it isn't God-given like all those listed in the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God per the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, viz: Purim is man-made. (Esther 9:27)

The primary focal point of the story is the political tension between two Persian empire officials: one named Haman and the other Mordecai.

Haman outranked Mordecai, but due to a rather unpleasant incident that took place involving Mordecai's ancestors and Haman's, Mordecai refused to acknowledge Haman as his superior and render him the proper respect, even though the King had required it so.

Haman's emotional reaction to Mordecai's insubordination escalated to the point where he devised a scheme wherein not only Mordecai be executed, but also everyone in the realm deemed Mordecai's people, i.e. all the Jews.

There's a dark side to this story that is seldom, if ever, afforded daylight, to wit: that a frightful genocide was instigated by the pride of just one stubborn individual situated in a key position.

The name of God never appears in even one single verse anywhere in the entire book of Esther; and I am of the opinion it's because Jehovah had nothing to do with any of it-- and wanted nothing to do with it --the whole incident was a painful embarrassment perpetrated by folks known the world over as God's chosen people.

The Jews survived that calamity, but 75,000 law-abiding Persians didn't. I now sometimes wonder whether the Holocaust wasn't a sort of payback for all those needless Persian deaths at the hands of the Jews so many years ago because God remembers things like that.

• Ex 34:6-7 . . He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished: visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
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I now sometimes wonder whether the Holocaust wasn't a sort of payback for all those needless Persian deaths at the hands of the Jews so many years ago because God remembers things like that.

Were the Holocaust victims provocatively dressed and promiscuous?

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• Rom 13:7 . . Give everyone what you owe him: if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

• 1Pet 2:17c . . fear God; honor the king.

Webster's defines kings as 1) monarchs, 2) paramount chiefs and/or 3) one that holds a preeminent position; e.g. monarchs, sovereigns, presidents, prime ministers, czars, chairmen, etc.

During the 2020 US presidential campaign, there was a print, cyber, and broadcast blitz of disrespect for Mr. Donald Trump the intensity of which was unlike anything I've ever seen in my 77 years on this planet; and along with that were social media bosses meddling with the election process by moderating their platforms like KGB assets.

And it wasn't just riff-raff and commoners in on it; the speaker of the House of Representatives, no less, tore the President's state of the union address in full view of the public-- on national broadcasting!

Christians don't have to particularly like the folks in government, but we do have to give their positions appropriate courtesy. So please, if Christ is your master; don't ever copy Mordecai's example; he wasn't back then, and he isn't now, a suitable role model for civic-minded Christians to follow.

• Prov 24:21 . . My son, fear The Lord and the king; have nothing to do with those who hate them.

• Rom 13:1-5 . . Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

• Rom 13:7 . . Give everyone what you owe him: if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
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During the 2020 US presidential campaign, there was a wave of hatred, hysteria, sabotage, propaganda, and disrespect for Mr. Donald Trump the intensity of which was unlike anything I've ever seen in my 77 years on this planet. And it wasn't just riff-raff and commoners in on it; the speaker of the House of Representatives, no less, tore the President's state of the union address in full view of the public-- on national broadcasting!

Christians don't have to particularly like the folks in government, but we do have to honor their positions. So please, don't ever follow Mordecai's example; he wasn't back then, and he isn't now, a suitable role models for Christ's loyal followers.

I wouldn't have thought to make the comparison between Donald Trump and Haman, but you make a good case and I think it's more than apt. After reading your post, I went back and read Esther as a parable of the last three months.

When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath.

It was incredibly entertaining.

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FAQ: Why do you suppose God's name isn't active in the book of Esther?

A: There's been some speculation as to why God is absent.

1» The Book isn't scripture, rather; it's a whimsical tale. (Possible, but not likely)

2» The events in Esther are believed situated during the reconstruction era depicted in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The seventy years of captivity were over and the Jews had official permission to return to their ancient homeland. But instead of returning, many Jews strewn about the realm didn't.

It's understandable that a number of Jews wouldn't want to go. Many of them were not expatriated, viz: they had never lived in Israel having been born and raised elsewhere during the seven decades of captivity. To them, Israel wasn't a homeland, rather, it was a foreign country. And as for Mordecai; he no doubt was very satisfied with his cushy federal job and would not be readily willing to give it up.

Well, it's believed that God returned to Israel -- along with the prophets Haggai and Zechariah --to assist His people in rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem's walls. God was demonstrably very active in that theater; but not so with the Jews who elected to stay where they were. Apparently the old axiom; "Walk with God, and He will walk with you." was just as true then as it is now.
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The Book isn't scripture, rather; it's a whimsical tale.

Are there any other books of the Bible that aren't scripture?

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Are there any other books of the Bible that aren't scripture?

My comments in post No.5 represent speculation.
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Are there any other books of the Bible that aren't scripture?

My comments in post No.5 represent speculation.

Do you speculate that any other books of the Bible aren't scripture?

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Do you speculate that any other books of the Bible aren't scripture?

The speculations in post No.5 aren't mine. I picked them up from people along the way somewhere. I've been an on-going student of the Bible for 53 years via lectures, Sunday school classes, sermons, seminars, Bible related books, and radio broadcasts.

However, were I to suggest a book of the Bible that I myself am personally of the opinion doesn't belong, it would be Solomon's Song.
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The speculations in post No.5 aren't mine. I picked them up from people along the way somewhere. I've been an on-going student of the Bible for 53 years via lectures, Sunday school classes, sermons, seminars, Bible related books, and radio broadcasts.

However, were I to suggest a book of the Bible that I myself am personally of the opinion doesn't belong, it would be Solomon's Song.

Where I'm going with all that is that I don't think I've run into anyone else (writing since the middle ages, anyway) that suggested that some of the accepted canon is inspired scripture and some isn't. That seemed to be what you were suggesting and I was curious what your criteria are and how they apply to the rest of the Bible.

For what it's worth, I think that Esther is the Jewish rewriting of a Babylonian myth (Mordechai and Esther are Marduk and Ishtar) associated with Purim. I assume that Purim was popular and Jews returning to Palestine adapted the story to a Jewish milieu in order to carry the festival with them.

In a similar vein, I think that Ruth is also fiction and was written as polemic against the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and its rejection of foreign wives.

But then again, I don't think that any of the Bible qualifies as divinely inspired, so I find your position interesting.