Painting of 1625 Titled ‘Feast of Esther’
The Book of Esther comes from the 5th century B.C. It involves King Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes) who ruled 127 provinces of the Med-Persian empire, which ran from Ethiopia to India. It tells of a plot by Haman the Agagite to kill the Jews of all those provinces, because he was upset the the Benjaminite Mordecai the Jew, would not bow down to honor him. It tells of the banishment of Queen Vashti and her being replaced by a young woman named Esther (Hadassah). Esther was an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, who becomes Queen. After prayer to God and fasting, she pleads for her people with the king, and the enemies of the Jews, instead of gaining victory, were defeated. In the book, lots (pur) were cast. In commemoration of what happened, Jews celebrate the Feast of Purim on the 14th and 15th of Adar each year. Dr. Thiel goes over all the verses of this book and points out historical and spiritual information related to it. He also points out aspects related to Iran and Israel in the 21st century as well as some ramifications for Christians to wait on the Lord in this age.
