Remembering the Days Esther 9:28 - Equipped for Battle

The victory was won. The festivities began, and the time of annual celebration was set for the Jews called Purim. Still there needed to be assurance that this time of remembrance would be followed throughout future generations. In chapter nine and verse twenty-eight we see yet another assurance that these days of Purim will be kept. We read:

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

The verse begins, “And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city;” Mordecai desired that every Jew throughout the Persian empire keep these days of observance. He knew the importance that every generation, family, province and city remember from what the Lord delivered them. By keeping these yearly days of celebration, all Jews would know about the mighty hand of God who rescued them from their foes.

The verse continues, “and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.” Mordecai knew how easily it was to forget times when God intervened in their lives, so he instituted this annual celebration called Purim. By observing these days, the Jews would recall and review the time when wicked Haman desired to eliminate them. These days “would not fail” or “not pass over” the Jews without reminiscing and recounting the mighty deliverance God provided for them. The memory of God's deliverance was to be passed from children to grand-children, to great grand-children, and so on.

Special days of observance and memorial days are good to remind us of events from the past. We are prone to only continue in what we are experiencing at the moment rather than think about what allowed us to be in this moment. When God intervenes in our lives it is good to have days of remembrance that may be passed on to present and future generations. Days such as these will help us and our prodigy to recall how God prevailed in our circumstances in the past, and His actions then give us hope for His intervention in the future. As we ponder the repeated importance of these days of Purim, perhaps we too will see the value in setting days of remembrance that will leave a legacy to those who come behind us.

Next time we will see Esther and Mordecai wrote a second letter to confirm Purim, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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