Purim

Did you know that "Esther" is the only book in the whole Bible that never uses the word "God"? Yet He is evident throughout and never moreso than in the reading from today. Haman's plan to kill Mordecai as it intersected with the King's desire to honor him, has the fingerprints of God all over it! Once Haman was taken out of the picture, Esther was able to put a decree into effect that gave the Jews the right to defend themselves against the previously ordained attack on March 7th. It was not possible to reverse the decree, so this was the best that could be done. I could not find any historical record of the events of the book of Esther, and found that it is the only book of the hebrew Bible that was not found among the Dead Sea scrolls. But the fact that Esther was not included among the books found at Qumran may indicate a distaste among the very pious Essene sect for the subject matter (drunken revelry of the king) and the fact that God's name is not mentioned. We do have evidence however, that the festival of Purim (so named for the lots that were cast to select the date for the planned annihilation of the Jews) was in existence as early as 150 BC. The book itself is supposed to have been written 300 years prior, just after the events themselves occurred, and probably based on the records kept by Mordecai.

Tomorrow's reading:Ezra 4:7-23; 7-8:36