Purim is one of the Minor Festivals that falls in between Hanukkah and

Passover, celebrated on the Hebrew Calendar on the 14th of Adar. This is not
one of the seven Main Feasts that is Commanded in the Torah and has more of
a historic value. This Feast is found in the TaNaK (OT) in the Book of Esther.
The main event of Celebrating Purim is set in Persia 2,300 years ago, the
"Megillat" (Scroll - as it is commonly called) recounts how a seemingly unrelated
series of events spun together to save the Jewish people from annihilation.
Purim is a happy festival with an almost carnival atmosphere and is a time to
remember that "YHVH works all things together for good" for those who love
Him. [Rom 8:28]

History & Background

The story of Purim plays off in the 4th Century BCE, and the Temple was
destroyed approximately 50 years earlier when the Jews were subjects of the
mighty Persian empire which extended over 127 lands.
Three years after King Ahasuerus ascended the Persian
throne, he celebrated by throwing a grand 180-day-long
party for all his subjects. Following this extravagant event,
Ahasuerus hosted a smaller week-long party for the
residents of the capital city of Shushan. On the seventh day
of this party, Ahasuerus' heart "was merry with wine," and he
commanded his wife Vashti to appear before all the partying
menhe wanted to show them all her exquisite beauty.
Vashti refused and disobeyed the kings orders, and at the
advice of his advisor, Ahasuerus ordered Vashti's
replacement.
When Ahasuerus' wrath dissipated, he was lonely for a wife. His servants
suggested that he orchestrate a beauty pageant. Officers would be appointed in
all the king's lands, and all beautiful girls would be brought to Ahasuerus.

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 And the girl who would find favour in the king's eyes
would be the new queen. This was where Esther, a
Jewess found favour in the eyes of the king and became
his new queen. Later on in the story, Esther's uncle
Mordechai, the leader of the Jews uncovers a plot to
assassinate the king. This placed him in a favourable
position with the king as well. The plot thickens when
Haman, the king's top advisor, obtains a decree to have
all the Jews destroyed. Purim is so named because Haman had lots (purim)
cast to determine the day on which the Jews would be destroyed, and the lot fell
on the 13th of Adar.
In the end, through a complicated twist of events, Esther gets the second decree
of grace established by the King to help the Jews defend themselves within the
execution of the first decree. Haman was hanged on the gallows, and Mordechai
became the prime minister.

Est 9:17-18 And on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the
fourteenth day of the same, they rested and made it a day of feasting and
gladness. (18) But the Jews at Shushan gathered on the thirteenth of it
and on the fourteenth of it. And on the fifteenth of the same, they rested
and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar, the day after Haman's roll of the dice,
since it was on this day that the Jews successfully fended off their enemies and
experienced the joy of deliverance. This historic day is honoured by fasting to
hone the soul and stir up strength for the challenges ahead. This feast is a
memorial to Esther and the people who fasted for three days before she went in
before the king. [Est 4:16]

Joyful Sound, Disturbing Noise and Silence

You have experienced the reading of the Story of Esther with the joyous sound
made each time you hear the name Esther, an annoying noise made every time
you hear the name, Haman. This is because of Esthers Hebrew name,
Hadassah, means joy and Haman mean noise.
Q- Have you ever wondered what sound is associated with YHVH?
YHVHs Name is not used once in the Book of Esher but hidden below the
surface, and that implies that you should make no sound whenever you hear His
Name. The first reason that jumps to mind is that silence a sign of respect,
especially with the announcement of a Kings Name, and secondly, YHVH wants
us to be silent so that we can listen rather than to speak or make a sound.
1 King 19:11-12 Then He said, Go out, and stand on the mountain
before YHVH. And behold, YHVH passed by, and a great and strong
wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before YHVH,
but YHVH was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but
YHVH was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but
YHVH was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

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The Scroll of Esther
The title Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther) actually mean "revealing
the hidden." Unlike every other book in the Bible, Megillat Esther
never mentions YHVH's name even once. The hidden hand of
YHVH is shown through the maze of events. There are no
coincidences.
Esther means 'secret' or 'hidden' and the story of Esther is the revelation
of the Bride is who will be married to the King (Messiah). Another interesting fact
is that the Name of YHVH is nowhere found in the Book of Esther except if you
look beneath the surface of the Hebrew text.
Isa 45:15 Truly You are l, who hide Yourself, O Elohim of Yisral,
Saviour!
This is one of YHVHs Character strains; He hides Himself from us, and those
who seek Him will find Him. His Name is hidden four times, and the number four
is associated with the Work of Messiah. This show us that the Father is revealed
through His Son as well as through Scripture because Yshua is the living Word.
Each of these four verses reveals His Name when you look at either the first
letter, in some cases, or the last letter of the words of each verse.
Est 5:4 let the king and Haman come today. (First letters R-L forward)
",vyh ]mhv ;kmh avby" - h v h y
Est 1:20 throughout all his empire (for it is great), all the wives shall give
their husbands honour. (First letters L-R or backwards)
"vnty ,ysnh lkv ayh" - y h v h
Est 5:13 Yet all this avails me nothing as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting
at the king's gate (Final letters L-R or backwards)
"yl hvs vnnya hz" - y h v h
Est 7:7 the king, arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath, went into the
palace garden. And Haman stood up to beg for his life (Final letters R-L or
forward)
hidh vyla htlk yk" - h v h y
Spiritual Insight: This shows us that YHVH hides Himself within every
situation where He can be found amongst all our troubles and challenges, by
those who seek Him during these times of difficulty. Megillat Esther teaches
us that lifes challenges work out for the best because what appear as
obstacles, are opportunities to see Him and these situations will help you in
your development and preparation as the Bride of Messiah.
Hadassah is Esthers Hebrew name that means joy or Myrtle. According
to Wikipedia Encyclopaedia, the Myrtle has the following attributes:
The Myrtle (Myrtus) is of one or two species of flowering plants in the family
Myrtaceae, native to southern Europe and North Africa.

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 They are evergreen shrubs or small trees, growing to 5 m tall. The
leaves are entire, 3-5 cm long, with a pleasantly fragrant essential oil.
Petals are usually white, with globose blue-black berries containing
several seeds. Insects pollinate the flowers, and the seeds dispersed
by birds that feed on the berries.
Spiritual Insight: This is a beautiful picture of the Bride with evergreen
leaves that releases a pleasant fragrance. The white flowers reflect His light,
that is the Word of YHVH. She bears fruit through the Gifts of His Spirit, and
she plants seeds in the hearts of everyone she is in contact with. The birds
(Satan and opposing forces) will come to steal the seed (Word), and we have
to be diligent to guard and protect the Word against the attacks of the enemy.
Mordecai is Hadassahs uncle and his name means; contribution, bitter
and bruising. Bruise is the word shuph that means, to bruise, to crush,
to scrape clean and speech. Suph is first found in Scripture in Gen 3:15 where
YHVH spoke a curse over man and Satan saying that the Seed of the woman
(Yshua) will bruise the head of the Serpent (Satans final judgement).
In return, the Serpent will bruise the heel of the Seed (Yshua shedding His
blood for humanity).
To bruise or shoof also reveals that Yshua will come with His flaming sword
(shin )in His mouth (pey )and judge man (vav )with His Word and scrape
it clean from unrighteousness. (Rev 19:15). Mordecai is a picture of the fiery
Word of YHVH that will purge through judgement.
It all happened in the days of King Achashverosh
. His name
means Prince, and he is a picture of the Prince of Peace, Yshua, the King. He
had a wife called Vashti
, and her name means "that drinks" (get drunk).
She did not obey the King's Commandment to come before Him (Est 1:10-11)
because of her intoxication and she represents the "religious system that is
designed by the enemy to intoxicate YHVHs people. She features in the Book
of Revelation described as the woman that got drunk on the blood of YHVH's
people (Rev 17:4). She refused to enter into the presence of YHVH as His Bride
of Messiah. Her cup is full of the abominations and filthiness of her fornications.
Many kings of the earth (religious leaders) drank from her cup and became
drunk from her wine (Rev 17:2), and they will be destroyed with her if they do
not come out of Her (Rev 18:4).
Haman infiltrated the Kingdom and was appointed over all the rulers of the earth
(Est 3:1), and his name means noise. This is a picture of Satan, the accuser of
the brethren and ruler of the kingdoms of the earth, who has a right to come into
the presence of the King. He will be ruling until the Stone, (not cut out with
hands not from man), will destroy the Serpent and his kingdoms. Haman also
represents the System that exist in the end times called Babylon, that came into
being through all the noise (lies and distractions) that results mixing and
confusion. This is what fuel the false religious system represented by Vashti.
Believers allow this noise of confusion because of a lack of knowledge of the
Word of YHVH, twisting the Truth that resulted in over 40,000 different Christian
Denominations today.

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Grace in Torah
One of the popular teachings of the Church today is that the
New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant, which you no
longer need to obey the Commandments in the Old
Testament because the Holy Spirit help us to walk in the one
Commandment found in the New Testament, namely love.
Lets look at the story of Esther and see if we can find
evidence to back up or disprove this statement.
Kingdom Principle: When a King makes a Law or a Decree, it cannot be
changed or annulled, not even by the King himself. Every word the King speak
that is written becomes part of the laws of the Land that needs to be obeyed.
The only part of a Law made by a King that can be changed is called
Judgements. A Law dictates what is acceptable and what is not and if that Law
is broken, then there are a Judgement or consequence associated with breaking
that Law or Commandment. The guilty party will then come before a Judge and
stand trial, is found guilty, be sentenced according to the Judgement associated
with the Law that was broken. The Judge has the power to listen to the plea of
the accused, and if valid, can change the verdict or judgement, adding grace to
his verdict.
We see the principle in the parable Yshua taught in Mat 18:23-27. It is about a
servant who owed the King money. The servant pleaded before the King, and
the Kings heart was moved with compassion that resulted in the servants debt
(consequences of bad decisions) to be cancelled. In this case, the King was the
Judge as well and changed the Judgement by adding grace. The Kings grace
resulted in the debt being cancelled, or the consequences of his sin being
removed, not the Law.
When Esther pleaded before the King for the Jews not to be executed, the King
was moved with compassion and added another decree (grace) that the Jews
can have weapons and may defend themselves. The King did not nullify His first
Decree or Law because the Word of a King could never be annulled, but He
added a second Decree that added grace.
Spiritual Insight: This is a prophetic picture of YHVHs Original Covenant or
First Decree, and the New Covenant was added as a second Decree to
change the judgement of consequences of us breaking the first Decree. What
is fascinating is that the Second Decree or New Covenant existed in the
Original Covenant as depicted by the Passover Lamb that added grace so
that death could pass them over.
The New Covenant or Second Decree is not a new concept but was
established in the time of Moses and fulfilled in the time of Yshua, making it
part of the Original Covenant. When you annul the First, then you annul the
second decree with it! the YHVH is our King, and His Word stands forever,
no matter what people believe today. His second Decree of Grace was added
to allow us to defend ourselves with the weapons He gave us, His Word
(Sword) and His Spirit (capability). Note that He did not abolish the original
Covenant, replacing it with a second Covenant, but He ADDED the Second or
New Covenant alongside His Original or First Covenant that still stands.

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 Those who reject His Decree of Grace will face the Judge and be trialled
according to the Judgements required by the First Covenant. Those who
accept His weapons given through Messiah will find grace in the eyes of the
Judge, and their sins will be forgotten, and their judgement of debt will be
forgiven and annulled.

Grace is the word chen ]x that means graciousness, kindness, favour,

beauty, pleasant, precious and favoured. Chen is first found in Scripture in
Gen 6:8 where it said that Noah found favour (chen) in the eyes of YHVH. We
all know the story of Noah where YHVH saved him
and his family in a time of Judgement, and this is the
context of wherein Grace and Salvation are found in.
This confirms the meaning of grace in the story of
Esther where she found favour in the eyes of the
King and He extended His kindness to her and her
people.
Mercy is related to grace and is the word chesed
dcx that means, goodness, kindness,
faithfulness. It is first used in Scripture in Gen 19:19
where the messengers came to Lot before YHVH
destroying Sodom and Gomorrah with brimstone and
fire. He said, if I find grace (chen) in Your sight,
and You has magnified Your mercy (chesed) It
comes from the root word chasad that means to bow the neck. Mercy will
only be shown to those who bow their necks. The neck normally holds the
head up high, symbolising pride. Those who are proud and arrogant will not
receive YHVHs mercy. This shows that mercy is conditional, and YHVH will
guard His mercy and grace and only extend it to those who humble and
beautify themselves as His Bride.

Preparation of the Bride

Est 2:12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go
into King Achashverosh, after that she had been twelve
months, according to the manner of the women, (for so
were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit,
six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet
odours, and with other things for the purifying of the
women;)
As the Bride, we know that we should sanctify ourselves and
we see the same example portrayed by Esther when she
prepared herself to come before the King. She went through twelve months of
preparation and purification, six months with oil and myrrh and six months of
purification with things used to purify women. We will now look at each of the
ingredients the Bride will be exposed to refine Her so that she will be ready to
stand before the King.

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 Oil is the word shemen that means fatness,
olive oil, anointing, fruitful and riches. Oil is first
used in Scripture in Gen 28:18 where Jacob
poured oil on the stone as a memorial after having
the dream of the ladder that reached to heaven.
This represents the anointing that connects
you to the Father, a living a living relationship
with Him.
Myrrh is the word mor that is used for a
sacred oil and perfume. Mor comes from the
root word marar that means bitter. Marar is
first used in Scripture in Gen 49:23 where it
Jacob speak a blessing over Joseph saying that
the archers will shoot at him and hate him.
Joseph represents the Christians with the
anointing or special oil who will be persecuted
and hated for their faith in Messiah.
This represents the anointing that equips the saints to spread the
message of Messiah that they will be hated for.
Sweet Odours is the word besem that means
spicy, balsam plant, fragrance. It comes from the root
word basam that means to be fragrant. This word is
first found in Scripture in Sng 5:1 where it talks about the
Beloveds Voice (Messiah) knocking at the door. He
brings His myrrh and spice (basam), His Honeycomb
(dabar Word), milk (cheleb - fat and riches) as well as
His wine (yayin banqueting wine feast). He asks that His Undefiled Bride
open to Him so that He can share in all His goodness. This represents the call
of the Beloved, to His Undefiled Bride, the ones who are preparing
themselves, ready to open the door and see the Beloved Messiah face to
face. This day will be great and, He will share His myrrh, spice, honey, milk
and wine with us at His Banqueting Table, the Marriage Feast.
Other Purifying Things is the word tamruq that
means soap or perfumery bath or a detergent. Water is a
cleansing agent and works wonders if you add soap or a
detergent. Kind words of wisdom can cleanse you but, the
Word of YHVH has the soap and detergent to get rid of
the most stubborn stains and blemishes in your life.
This represents the water of the Word that has the
cleansing power to prepare the Bride to be without spot or wrinkle.
Eph 5:26-27 that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the Word, 27 that He might present it to
Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any
such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Our aim is to be Holy, without spot or blemish, having a connection to the Father
and a living relationship with Him as well as to be equipped to share this good
news of the Beloved Groom that is coming to gather His Undefiled Bride.

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Haman and his Sons Hanged
Esther 9:7 that describes the event where Haman
and his ten sons were executed and hanged from
the structure Haman prepared for Mordecai the
Jew.
Below is a copy of the Megiddah scroll as it would
have been copied by hand before the First
Coming of Yshua.

We see the names of the ten sons of

Haman with a large gap in the middle of
the text; this is quite unusual. What is
also notable is that some letters are
smaller or bigger than the others. The
first is a tav t with the numerical
number 400
The second is a shin s with a
numerical value of 300
Lastly is a zayin z which is the
number 7.
Then there is a larger letter, a vav
v that is the number 6.
Q - What does all this mean?

If you add up all the numbers, it adds up

to a total of 707. This corresponds with
the date 5707 on the Jewish calendar if
the year 707 fell within the 6th
millennium.
This might be the case because of the larger letter vav v that equals six,
representing the 6th millennium.

Q- What happened in the year 5707and what is it on the Gregorian calendar?

5707 is the year 1946 where there was an event similar to what we read in the
Book of Esther. What happened in Esther became prophetic of what played off
in 1946, the event called the Holocaust.
After World War II the Nuremberg trials took place, and during these trials, 12
people were found guilty of being part of the inhuman actions that resulted in the
killing of six million Jews.

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One of these men escaped to South America and another committed suicide the
day before the execution of the ten remaining men on 16 October 1946. One of
these men were Julias Streicher who was hanged in the early hours of October
16. Streicher's was the most melodramatic of the hangings carried out that night.
At the bottom of the scaffold, he cried out "Heil Hitler!"

When he mounted the platform, he delivered his last sneering reference to

Jewish scripture, snapping "Purim-Fest 1946!" This corresponds with the ten
sons of Haman that were hanged after the King commanded their execution.
Haman plotted to have all the Jews killed similar to Hitler and his henchmen.
What is fascinating is that the date of the execution of these ten men. This date
was embedded prophetically within the Hebrew text, even before the First
Coming of Messiah. This proves that the Book of Esther a prophetic Book that
should be regarded as Scripture that reveals things about the hidden God we
serve.

Purim Activity:
Let someone read the Story of Ester, here is a link to a retelling of the story:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/645995/jewish/The-Basic-Purim-
Story.htm. Every time you hear the name Esther, make a joyful sound. Every time you
hear the name Haman, make an annoying noise. After the story is read, explain the
reason why you made the noises and then have a quiz with prizes for those who
managed to recall the facts regardless of the disruptions.