The Jews were victorious
over their enemies who were scattered throughout the Persian empire,
and Mordecai wrote a letter to all of them to commemorate those days
of victory. In chapter nine and verse twenty-one we see Mordecai's
purpose for writing them his letter. We read:
To establish this
among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month
Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,
The
verse begins, “To establish this among them,
that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the
fifteenth day of the same,” Like an official letter that
establishes a holiday, Mordecai desired to “establish”
these two days of Adar which corresponds to our February-March. When
we use our calendar to determine these days established, they change
from year to year, but the days established by Mordecai are always on
the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the Jewish calendar. Usually the
two days are celebrated in March, but sometimes they fall into the
month of February.
The
verse goes on to say, “yearly”. This victory was not one
that should be celebrated once and then forgotten. No, rather,
Mordecai knew that people needed reminding of these events annually.
With days of feasting and gladness established every year, the people
would not only be reminded of this great victory, but would also
remember the one who gave them this triumph.
We
celebrate Christmas and Easter in much the same way that Mordecai
desired the Jews to enjoy this time. Christmas reminds us of the
goodness of God to send us a Savior which is “Christ the Lord”,
and Easter reminds us that this Savior Jesus not only died for our
sins, but was raised from the dead three days afterwards. Perhaps we
too should establish a few personal annual days of celebration
concerning times when God has intervened in our lives and given us
victory, and maybe as we proceed from battle to battle we will begin
the habit of establishing days of celebration as we venture into the
future.
Next
time we will see more of the details to this annual feast, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want
to Be Married” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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