Mordecai sent out letters to
the Jews located in the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the
Persian empire. They contained information concerning an annual time
of celebration that was to be enjoyed by Jews everywhere because they
were victorious over their enemies who desired to destroy them. In
chapter nine and verse twenty-three we see the Jews response to
Mordecai's request. We read:
And the Jews undertook
to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them;
The
verse begins, “And the Jews undertook to do as they had
begun,...” Because of their triumphs, the Jews had already
began to celebrate. We read in verse nineteen in this ninth chapter:
Therefore
the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the
fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and
feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to .
Now that
Mordecai's letters came to them, their gladness, feasting, good days
and sending portions was confirmed. It was as though Mordecai
solidified what they were already doing, and now they could repeat
their festivities every year. They simply obeyed Mordecai and
continued what they began doing.
The
verse goes on to say, “and as Mordecai had written unto them;”
It would have been one thing for the Jews to have had a time of
joy and gladness when they feasted and shared in their triumph, and
it would have been quite another to make this a national holiday.
They had a choice when the letters came from Mordecai. They could
have altered his request or simply disobeyed it. However, they knew
the position of Mordecai within the kingdom, and this time of annual
observance was a good thing for them. Rather than resist him, they
“undertook” to do all that Mordecai encouraged them to do.
Perhaps
for a moment we can imagine receiving a letter like this from someone
who we knew had our best interests in mind. What if we were told to
hold annual feasts to celebrate victories in our lives? Even as
children we were reminded to be thankful for things given to us, and
when we read words such as Mordecai's, the basic idea is to be
grateful for God's provision. The annual feasting of the Jews would
be such a time as this, and it becomes an inspiration for us to be
thankful and to have hope for our futures. These yearly feasts will
remind us that God was with us in the past, and He will be with us in
the days ahead. May we join the Jews in annual times of celebration
to remember to thank God for his provision in the past and hope in
God for our futures as well.
Next
time we will review why this annual celebration began, 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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