Page 14 - March 2014 Catalyst

Purim: deliverance From our enemies
From Holy Light Tabernacle
15 anderway columbia, south carolina 29203 P: 803.735.6103 • F: 877.817.4985 inFo@holylighttabernacle.com • holylighttabernacle.com Founders: deacon James & Pastor dr. hattie mae mickens
The festival of Purim is the celebration of Yahveh’s preservation of the children of Israel through Esther, whose Hebrew name is Hadassah.
erefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. erefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come to them, e Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves to them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their decree, and according to their appointed time every year; 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. Hadassah (Esther) 9:26-28.
During this time, the children of Israel were in captivity by the Medo-Persians in the ancient Persian Empire. e Persian king’s right-hand-man, Haman, wanted to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom. He almost suc- ceeded, but almost doesn’t count.
Although Haman plotted and thoroughly planned to kill the Jews, Mordecai and Queen Esther foiled his plans. What makes this story so interesting is that Yahveh raised up an Israelitess, a woman, to be in the right place at the right time to save her people.
...who knows whether you have come to the
kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:14. rough the Hand of Yahveh, the children of Israel were preserved. e reason we celebrate this feast and rejoice at this time is because we remember Yahveh’s mighty deliverance of His people. You cannot read the story without seeing the Hand of Yahveh in action.
e Jews had light, and rejoicing, and glad- ness, and honor. And in every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s com- mandment and his decree was declared, the Jews had rejoicing, and gladness, a feast and a Good Day. And many of the people of the land became Jews... Hadassah (Es- ther) 8:16-17.
e story also teaches us about obedience. If Mordecai had not listened to Yahveh’s direc- tion, he would not have been in a place to in uence Esther to try for being queen.
If Mordecai had not listened to the Voice of Yahveh, he would not have had the courage to uncover the plot to kill the king and there- fore would not have been in place to guide Esther to ask the king for help.
On Purim, we remember how the children of Israel escaped from Haman’s evil plot to de- stroy them. e most important deliverance we have comes from being set free from the guilt of our sins. e day on which Yahshua sacri ced Himself on the stake is the greatest Purim of all because through Yahshua’s lov- ing intervention, we are eternally delivered from the hands of our enemies.
ese Articles use some Hebrew terms in an e ort to convey the truest meaning of words. Rather than use the term God or Lord when referring to the Master and Maker of the universe, out of reverence to Him, the author has chosen to use Yahveh, the proper Name of our Creator as He gave to Mosheh (Moses). e same is true when rendering the Hebrew Name of our Savior. e author uses the Hebrew Name Yahshua, which was given by the angel rather than the Greek/Latin name Jesus. e usage of Hebrew terminology is not intended to o end the reader, but rather to re ect the knowledge of emet (truth) given to the author.
14 CityLight.org
march 2014