As the 1st of the Appointed Times of the Lord begin.
Moedim – (moe-eh-DEEM) – מ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים
Purim is remembered and with it the brave and selfless actions of Esther who was willing to lay down her life to save the nation of Israel. To risk all for salvation of her people Israel. Esther’s Jewish name Hadassah – Myrtle. Strongs 1919: Pronounced, had-as-saw’.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/who-was-hadassah/
There are however, some amazing links between Purim, Pesach (PAY-sahch), Passover and Yom Kippur. (Also known as Day of Atonement,)
פּוּרִים פֶסַח כפור יום
First we see some connections with the holiest day of the year, which in ancient times occurred on Yom Kippur.
Yowm Kippur
כפור יום
(This one comes towards the end of the year, see chart.)
The High Priest, כהן גדול , Kohen ha’Gadowl, was commanded to cast lots over twin goats, to see which goat would be killed and which goat would be sent away as the scapegoat, (Leviticus 16:8-10).
The initial Hebrew meaning of the root ‘K-P-R’ {כ-פ-ר} – from which ‘Yom Kippur’ comes – actually means ‘to cover’ and can be found in the original Hebrew name for the ‘Mercy Seat’ of the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ which is called in the Hebrew Bible ‘Kaporet’ {כפורת} (‘covering’).
More on the ark https://www.minimannamoments.com/are-we-boxed-in/
The High priest, (Hebrew: כהן גדול – kohen gadol; with definite article הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל ha’kohen ha’gadol, the high priest; Aramaic kahana rabba), was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times, until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. His duties were many, but they culminated with a blood sacrifice for sin for himself, the other priests, and the nation.
This was performed in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur each year on the day we call the Day of Atonement.
The noun kohen is used in the Torah to refer to priests, whether Jewish or pagan, such as the kohanim (priests) of Baal (2 Kings 10:19) or Dagon, though Christian priests are referred to in Hebrew by the term komer (כומר).
Upon his chest was the breastplate or sacred pouch, choshen, חשֶׁן (pronounced kho’-shen) Strongs 2833
He would stand before the people with two goats at his side. They had to be identical in appearance, (double-take).
On this day Special Sacrifices were offered for Atonement.
These Special and Peculiar offerings were those of two goats.
One goat for God/Jehovah/YHWH and the other goat for Azazel (Scape goat or goat for departure).
By the hand of HaShem one goat is chosen for blood sacrifice and was slain, the other goat was taken into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man (one able to perform the task), bearing away the sins of the people and was allowed to escape, here combining the Hebrew words aze -goat, and azal – escape, which form the name.
In Hebrew the word scapegoat is azazel which means goat of departure.
Lots (Purim Puwriym), were cast as to which goat was for the Lord in sacrifice and which goat would be taken into the wilderness to be released.
The high priest – Kohen ha’Gadowl – would then reach into a pouch/container and pull out two lots, one in each hand.
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast within the bosom but its entire outcome is with HaShem/The Lord God, who has chosen the goat/lamb for blood sacrifice ahead of time.
Each lot had a different Hebrew word inscribed on it. (Ex. 28:30. Lev. 16:8; 8:8)
Urim םאוּרִי (pronounced oo-reem’) Strongs 224
Thummim תֻּמִים (pronounced toom-meem’) Strongs 8550
Note here also the connection to Alef /Tav the Dalet (Door)
and the Urim = Light
and Thummim = Truth
(Casting Lots – the words, lottery and lot, in the sense of real property, were derived from the original word. Purim – Puwriym)
Josephus (Antiquities 3:8;9) says that the Ancient Greeks got the idea of oracles from the Hebrew Urim and Thumim. ורים ותמיםא
He then placed one lot on the head of the goat to his right and the other on the head of the goat to his left.
One stone identified the goat that would die as the sacrifice for the sins of the people, the other identified the goat that would be set free.
So before there could be a sacrifice that had to be the presentation of the two goats before the people and the decision of the two destinies.
Remember what took place before Messiah’s sacrificial death. He was presented before the people for them to choose – for the decision of the destinies over the two men.
There had to be two men presented before the people and only one could become the sacrifice. So in accordance to the directions on Yom Kippur, Messiah had to be the one of the two lives presented before the people in order to be chosen as the sacrifice.
Messiah understood this and why He was silent before His accusers, (as the Lamb to the slaughter). The other life had to be set free.
The name of the other life that was presented that day and the one that was set free was Barabbas.
This all took place at Passover – Pesach.
The fact that the criminal Barabbas, who was a murderer and obviously a sinner, was set free and Jesus/Yeshua, who was innocent, died; is revealed as the one goat who was released (Barabbas) and did not deserve freedom; and the other goat, (Jesus/Yeshua), was to pay the price for sin by the sacrifice of it’s life as the sin offering in (Barabbas) the sinners (our) place.
According to the requirements of the ancient ceremony of Yom Kippur the two goats or lives had to be identical.
Messiah was the son of God, the son of the father.
How is Barabbas, a criminal, the same as Jesus/Yeshua?
How is this relevant?
The name of Barabbas comes from two Hebrew words, bar which means son, and abba which means father. Barabbas means the son of the father.
Two lives each one bearing the name the son of the/a father.
So the sacrifice and the one set free because of the sacrifice, must be identical.
Now here is the interesting part: if God were to die in our place, He would have to become like us, He would have to become flesh and blood and in the likeness of sin.
He did.
He identified with us in every way. In name and in the flesh life.
Like most things, (Purim – Puwriym), the casting of lots, could be used for good or for evil; because the casting of lots expresses the idea that one has gone beyond the realm of motive and reason into chance, luck or fate.
The High Priest being one of the 3 categories in the Old Testament, that of prophet, priest and king who were anointed of God, were guided by the Holy Spirit in such decisions. It was not chance or luck.
A lottery is resorted to, when there is no reason or desire to choose one option over the other, so the matter is surrendered to forces that are beyond one’s control and comprehension. In the cases submitted to the Lord in faith, the Holy Spirit guides the outcome.
Next, to make a connection to Purim and Passover or Pesach פֶסַח Strongs 6453.
The name Pesach – PAY-sahch, (with a ch as in the Scottish loch), comes from the Hebrew root, Pei-Samekh-Cheit, meaning to pass through, to pass over, to exempt or to spare. It refers to the fact that God passed over/spared the houses of the Israelites at the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt.
Book of Esther Hebrew c. 1700-1800 AD Royal Ontario Museum.
(The pattern of the twin goats can be seen in the book of Esther with Vashti & Esther. Haman is a picture of Satan, and Mordecai is a picture of the Ruach ha’Kodesh (Holy Spirit).
Vashti symbolizes the disobedient bride, Israel, Yisra’el, (Tribe of Ephraim/Ephrayim), who was divorced and exiled or sent away (Jeremiah 3:8), just like the scapegoat never to return.
Queen Vashti was summoned to come to the King’s Banquet, but refused (Esther 1:11-17). Vashti is a picture of those who are described in the parable in Matthew 22:2-14. Many were called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb but made excuses and refused to come. Jesus/Yeshua ended His parable by declaring many are called, but few are chosen.
Queen Vashti
Esther, on the other-hand is a picture of the born-again redeemed bride – challah, after she has purified herself and has been found worthy to approach the King. In the Persian Empire many young virgins were sought out and they were brought to the palace of the king for preparation. Here, Esther represents the few who are chosen in Matthew 22:14, for she’s the obedient bride who ultimately won the king’s favor.
Esther therefore, could be a symbol of the sacrificial goat because she risked her life for her people by coming before the king uninvited. The penalty for anyone coming before the king uninvited was death. (Esther 4:11).)
Esther’s name has a meaning of hidden, this meaning is that the bride of Messiah is to this day hidden from the Jewish people. Esther disguised herself as a Gentile, but secretly she was a Hebrew (Ivri )/Yahuwdiy (Jew). In the same way, those who are born-again by the blood of the lamb are not recognized by those who call themselves Jews because as of today, they do not acknowledge Jesus/Yeshua as their true Messiah.
Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:31 Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a Renewed Covenant [Briyth Chadasha] with the House of Yisra’el, and with the House of Yahuwdah (Judah).
Our English Bibles say “I will make a new covenant,” rather than a “Renewed Covenant.” It is interesting that Messianic Jews refer to the “New Testament Scriptures” as “Briyth Chadashah.” The reason why is because Jeremiah 31:31 uses a Hebrew word for “new” which in the Strongs #2318 means:
chadash, khaw-dash, a primitive root; to be new; causatively, to rebuild:–renew, repair.
Here the term new IS the word Chadash which means to renew, rebuild and repair! Hence, the term Renewed Covenant in Hebrew is called Briyth Chadashah, which literally means Circumcision Renewed. Esther’s Hebrew name Hadassah sounds very similar to the Hebrew word Chadashah.
Our Messiah declared that He is The door to the Heavenly Father (John 10:7-9). The meaning to the word chadash (renew) seems to visually indicate the Messiah setting up a fence or a boundary in the form of His commandments, to protect His sheep from being eaten by a wolf.
In the same way that our Messiah was sent to renew the broken covenant with Israel /Yisra’el, HaShem/God/YHWH, sent Esther to renew the decree that was against the Yahuwdiym (Jews).
Queen Esther Was the Door to Salvation for Her People & Messiah is the Door to Salvation and to the Father.
Messiah fulfilled the pattern of the twin goats during His earthly ministry for the House of Yisra’el (Isaiah 8:14).
Puwriym Purim celebrates the fact that Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua is the seed of the woman who crushed the plans of Satan when He died on the tree for all. By laying down His life, He made a WAY for everyone to be victorious against the enemy of our soul, the devil. The Book of Esther and Purim – Puwriym, also points us to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 of the Seed of the Woman. (Yeshua/Jesus).
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman [Jerusalem], and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise [crush] your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The Hebrew word for bruise in the above passage literally means to crush!
Strongs #7779 shuwph shoof a primitive root; properly, to crush; gape upon; desire; seize, i.e. snap at; figuratively, to overwhelm:–break, bruise, cover.
The woman in this prophecy is (Eve) literally translated Chawah, and Messiah’s genealogy traces all the way back to Adam & Eve (Luke 3:38).
The woman in this prophecy is also a type of Miryam (Mary) Messiah’s mother, who gave birth to the seed who would grow up to crush the head (authority) of the devil (the serpent). The woman is also representative of Jerusalem as in Galatians 4:26 we are told “Jerusalem is the mother of us all”.
Purim is the Akkadian word for [casting] lots. Lot = pur. In the Hebrew Strongs Concordance the word Purim, Puwriym, literally means to cast the lot, but it comes from a root word puwr which means to crush, to bring to nothing.
The festival is called Purim because of the lots cast by Haman. In his pride, Prime Minister Haman cast lots to destroy the Jews, but God intervened and delivered the Jews in His mercy. This is not some incidental detail in the story of Purim, but the single event that most expresses what Purim represents.
Another connection is with Haman who paid money to betray the House of Judah and Judas was paid money to betray the Messiah.
Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had schemed against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast a pur–that is, the lot—to consume them, and to destroy/crush them…
This is why they called these days Purim after the Pur… Esther 9:24-26
The word Pur is also related to the Hebrew word `porer’ which means to dismantle, break, destroy, break into crumbs.
The word hefir, derived from the verb pur, has the sense of cancellation, cessation, breaking of something permanent.
Another link between the two events is that lots were cast for Messiah’s garment & lots were cast for the best time to kill the Jews.
In the same way that our Messiah was an intercessor for His people. Esther also interceded and asked for the life of her people before her King. He granted that the children of Yahuwdah, (Judah, or the Jews) would be allowed to fight against their enemies. As a result, they crushed and brought the wicked plans of Satan that were against them to nothing.
The word Puwriym, and the root word Puwr, in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance #6332 Puwr, poor, also (plural) Puwriym {poo-reem}; or Puriym {poo-reem}; from 6331; a lot (as by means of a broken piece):--Pur, Purim.
#6331 puwr, poor a primitive root; to crush:–break, bring to nought, utterly take.
Messiah was broken for us too.
The men who were under the authority of Haman, cast lots or puwr, to find out when it was a ‘lucky time’ to destroy the Yahuwdiy (Jews). They consulted the lots as if consulting a fortune teller:
Hadassah (Esther) 3:7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Puwr, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
Another parallel in the story of Esther and the gospel, is the instance of the Roman soldiers casting lots for the Messiah Yeshua’s robe: Mat. 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; and John 19:24.
Yahuwchanon (John) 19:24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which said, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
And so the decree was given that the Persians were to attack the children of Yahuwdah (Judah) on a certain day Hadassah (Esther) 3:13-15
When Messiah hung on the tree, He must have felt as if the Father in Heaven had completely forsaken Him. He even quoted a Messianic prophecy about Himself from Psalms 22: Tehilliym (Psalm) 22:1 My Elohiym, my Elohiym, why have you forsaken me? why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Messiah was temporarily forsaken by the Father in Heaven as was Esther temporarily forsaken by her Husband. Of course the Heavenly Father had not really forsaken Jesus/Yeshua but it merely felt that way while He hung there on the tree. His cry was toward His Father it was relational not circumstantial. To fulfill God’s plan of redemption, Messiah had to take upon His body the curse of sin and death, to experience and feel all that we do in our humanity for the fulness of identification with us. The Father had to hide His face from Him, because the scriptures tell us the presence of the Holiness of the Father cannot be in the same place as and look upon sin.
Is 54:7 “ For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. 8 “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”
Likewise, Esther felt as if she had been forsaken by her husband Ahasuerus when he failed to call upon her for thirty days. (Esther 4:11). The sentence for appearing before the king uninvited was death, and so the same thing is true with our Father in Heaven. We cannot approach His throne lightly, with sin in our lives. If the High Priest in the Temple went into the Holy of Holies with any sin in His life, he could die in the presence of God’s holiness.
Hadassah (Esther) 4:11 All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
Both Esther and Yeshua felt as if they were forsaken for a moment, however, at the proper time, they both found grace in the eyes of the Father/The King, and could approach the throne of the king to save their people! In this story, the wicked Haman built a gallows from a tree (symbolic of the cross) intending to hang Mordecai on it.
Once King Ahasuerus found out about Haman’s wicked plot, he ordered that the gallows which Haman had built for Mordecai would be used instead to hang him and his 10 sons. (Esther 9:10).
The disciple who betrayed our Messiah named Judas or Judah also hung himself as he is a picture of Haman.
In the same way, Satan thought he would destroy Messiah on the cross, but instead, Yeshua was resurrected and Satan’s kingdom (the ten horns on the Beast?) was defeated on that cross! Haman is a picture of the Antichrist, and his ten sons could represent the ten horns on the beast in Revelation 13. These ten horns are ten nations or political powers that will seek to destroy the House of Yahuwdah (Judah) and the House of Yisra’el in these last days.
The very thing that Satan intended to use against Messiah was actually used to destroy his own kingdom! The cross, like Haman’s gallows was intended by Satan to destroy the plans of our Creator. He thought that he was going to destroy our Messiah and thus prevent the salvation of Yisra’el, His covenant people. Instead the gallows and the cross were both used to destroy satan and his kingdom.
In this story, King Ahasuerus represents the Heavenly Father, and Haman represents Satan. Mordecai represents the spirit of Messiah (the Holy Spirit). Esther represents the physical person of Jesus/Yeshua, as well as the bride/challah of Messiah or the body/ecclesia, of Messiah.
Descendant of the Amalekites named Haman.
During the exile many Jews are living in the capitol city of Susa in Persia and in the 127 provinces of Persia.
In Susa is a descendant of the Amalekites named Haman who hates the Jews, particularly a Jew named Mordecai.
Saul was told to destroy the Amalekites, but disobeyed and the Amalekites were the first people to obstruct Israel from entering the Promised Land.
Haman carried a grudge against the Jews and held a high position in the Persia Empire under King Xerxes.
Haman convinces Xerxes to decree the extermination of the Jews in all 127 provinces and whoever kills the Jews can keep the Jews’ possessions.
Haman casts lots (Hebrew pur or purim), that is, he rolls the dice to determine the day to kill the Jews.
The dice come up Adar 13th (March)
When King Ahasuerus took the ring away from Haman and gave it to Mordecai (representing his authority) this is a picture of the Father handing down his authority to the Son who then took away the keys from satan, (Revelation 1:18) and then he in turn handed down His authority to His followers the keys to the kingdom. Matthew 16:19; Luke 9:1. When Messiah went back to heaven after He was resurrected, His ministry was taken up by Ruach ha’Kodesh/Holy Spirit: John 15:26 16:7
King Ahasuerus his gave authority to Esther just as the Father in Heaven gave his authority to Jesus/Yeshua. In turn, Esther handed that authority to Mordecai, who is a type of the Ruach ha’Kodesh/Holy Spirit. Jesus/Yeshua proclaimed in the above verses that He would send His Holy Spirit to continue His work. (Luke) 10:19
At the start, Yom Kippur was mentioned and although they have casting the lots in common, one could hardly find two more dissimilar days in the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur is the most solemn day of the year. It is a day of soul-searching and repentance Purim, on the other hand, is not. It is a day of feasting and drinking.
On Purim, it was the Jewish body that was saved. Haman did not plot to assimilate or paganize the Jews, but to physically destroy every Jewish man, woman and child on the face of the earth so Purim is celebrated.
Hadassah (Esther) 9:19 Therefore the Yahuwdiym (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 another.
Yom Kippur is indeed a day LIKE Purim: both are points in physical time that transcend the very laws of physical existence. Points at which we rise above the rational structure of reality and affirm our spiritually supernatural bond with God our Heavenly Father—a bond not touched by the limitations of mortal life.
A bond as free of cause and motive as the free-falling lot/purim.
Thus Yom Kippur is only a day LIKE Purim k’purim, for it achieves only a semblance of the essence of Purim.
Everything happened quite naturally and it is for this very reason that Purim is the greatest of miracles—a miracle in which the natural order is not merely circumvented or superseded, but in which nature itself becomes the instrument of the miraculous.
On Yom Kippur when all is said and done, the choice as implied by the lots, shows us that no man is worthy in the eyes of God. So we cast our lot, our purim, with God, confident that He will respond in kind.
These are some of the amazing links between Purim, Pesach and Yom Kippur.
Purim was the sacrifice of Esther for all Israel.
Yom Kippur is for Atonement sacrifice for all Israel.
Jesus/Yeshua’s sacrificial death is the atonement for Israel AND all people, whose Blood was placed on the Mercy Seat, the Kapporet, once for all time.
(At One Ment – Restoration of the broken covenant (marriage) relationship in all cases.)
A Persian-Pur-Purim-Pūru-Die.
Haman’s lot-casting was his attempt to exploit the supernatural-reality of God’s plan to effect and manipulate an opposite end.
Haman declared that the Jewish people, might be the pursuers of God’s wisdom on earth and the agents of His will, thus meriting His favor and protection. But he said, surely God, in essence, is above it all—above our earthly reason and its notions of virtue and deservedness, beyond such concepts as good or evil. Ultimately, the divine will is as arbitrary as a roll of dice. Why not test it to see if its true?
He got his answer and the truth is, God is for us not against us and His promise is to never leave us nor forsake us.
This separation on the cross that Messiah experienced, is surety that the words He spoke are true for all who trust in Him. They can be absolutely depended upon.
Echoed from Deut. 31:6. The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5,6
and reaffirmed in Hebrews 13:5.
Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [Iwill] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Amp.
He said Matthew 28:20 – Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Image from MMM family at Christian Inspirational Designs
As we follow the upcoming Spring Appointed Times/Moedim, let’s do a double take and purim, cast our lot entirely to the Lord and remember their deeper meanings. Spend some time thinking just how much the Father loves us, in order to orchestrate such praiseworthy connections within the plan of salvation; and complete the restoration to Himself through Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
The holiday of Purim falls on the Hebrew calendar date of Adar 14. Purim 2019 will begin at sundown on Wednesday, March 20 and concludes at nightfall on Thursday, March 21. Purim in Other Years. Note: The Jewish calendar date begins at sundown of the night beforehand.