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Hanukkah-Purim
These next 2 weeks are going to cover some other Hebraic festivals that are not a part of
Lev 23. They are man-ordained, yet God-blessed. Yeshua celebrated these festivals and
through them, He spoke some very powerful things to the Hebrews, and thus, to us as well.
Then after these 2 weeks, we will finish the Festival Class with the 7th Festival, Sukkot.
Celebrating Hanukkah
• Also means the Feast of Dedication
• It is also called
♦ The Festival of Lights
♦ The Feast of the Maccabees
♦ The Festival of Illumination
• It’s an eight-day festival beginning on Kislev 25
• Kislev is the ninth month of the Biblical year, approximately November/December.
• The story of its history is found in 2 Maccabees and in Josephus, who was a witness
to the time of the destruction of the Temple just over 200 years later
• Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the 2nd Temple following a great military
victory of the Israelites, led by Judah Maccabee.
• The reason for that rededication has its roots in Greek history. There was a king
named Alexander the Great, who burned up his life so quickly that he died around
33, having conquered all the nations around, adding to what had been his father’s
kingdom: the Kingdom of the Greeks, which is represented by the bronze
belly/thighs of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of Dan 2:32-33: 32"The head of that
statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its
thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay…”
Also, in Dan 8:5-8: 5While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from
the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the
goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6He came up to the ram that had
the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him
in his mighty wrath. 7I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him;
and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength
to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there
was none to rescue the ram from his power. 8Then the male goat magnified
himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken;
and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of
heaven.
• Alexander was that “goat” and had been called the King of the World, and had
ushered in the Greek culture and the Hellenistic Age so rapidly and violently; it was
a culture directly counter to the Hebrew culture, with its parameters set by the
LORD.
• When Alexander died after only 12 years, his 2 infant sons were assassinated and
his kingdom eventually was split up into what became 4 kingdoms under 4 of his
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generals, according to Dan 11:3-4: 3"And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule
with great authority and do as he pleases. 4"But as soon as he has arisen, his
kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the
compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which
he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.
The Word of God is so specific!! People say that the LORD gave Israel 400 years
of silence between Malachi and Matthew. I don’t think it was silent; I think that He
had spoken all He wanted to say in advance… in the book of Daniel… and a few
other spots… Those words that He spoke then and still echoing and reverberating
through the world today.
The four kingdoms were: Cassander ruled over Macedonia; Lysimachus ruled over
Thrace and Western Asia Minor; Ptolemy ruled over Egypt; and Seleucus ruled over
a large section of Syria, Eastern Asia Minor, Babylon, and Persia. Little Israel was
complete surrounded by 2 of the kingdoms, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, (the
Southern King) and the Seleucid Kingdom of Syria (the Northern King).
Two hundred years later, a “little horn” rises, referred to in Daniel 8:9-14: 9Out of
one of them came forth a rather small horn, which grew exceedingly great toward
the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10It grew up to the host
of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth,
and it trampled them down. 11It even magnified itself to be equal with the
Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the
place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12And on account of transgression the
host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will
fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. 13Then I heard a holy
one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking,
"How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the
transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be
trampled?" 14He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy
place will be properly restored."
It is this “little horn” refers to two very specific people in history.
♦ The first one becomes the official archetype of the anti-Messiah; he was
the descendent of Seleucus, and his name was King Antiochus IV Theos
Epiphanes, who got the crown by murdering his brother. His name meant
“God Made Manifest/Illustrious/Majestic”, or “Image of the Invisible
God”.
♦ The second person is the final anti-Messiah who will cause such havoc in
the nations and be fully possessed by Satan, in the end of the age.
♦ The two men will be uncannily similar in what they do.
♦ Two specific men, but the spirit of anti-Messiah has been in the world for
a very long time and will continue to be in the world until the 2nd advent of
Yeshua
♦ [Listen to Elliot’s teaching on Daniel on the Torrance House of Prayer
website; you will not regret it!!]
2 • Dan 1:21-24: 21"In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor
of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and
seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22"The overflowing forces will be flooded away
before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant. 23"After an alliance
is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power
with a small force of people. 24"In a time of tranquility he will enter the richest
parts of the realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his
ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he
will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.
• Antiochus came against the “Glorious Land”, the center of all creation, Jerusalem
and Israel. God is married to the land: Is 62:4-5: 4It will no longer be said to you,
"Forsaken," nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate"; but you will
be called, "My delight is in her," and your land, "Married "; for the LORD
delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. 5For as a young man
marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over
the bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
• The Jews were in turmoil at that time, as some desired the Hellenistic influence over
Judaism, while others refused to be influence by the Greek culture, especially
regarding the true worship of the LORD.
• This disunity weakened Israel’s defenses and left them wide open for assault.
• Antiochus failed in an attempt to chastise the Egyptians, and on the way back from
his humiliation, he took out all of his wrath on Israel
• Antiochus blasphemed the true God and he:
♦ Plundered Israel
♦ Killed the High Priest
♦ Installed a corrupted High Priest loyal to himself
♦ Martyred 100,000 Jews who kept Torah and enslaved possibly the same
number of other Jews
♦ Outlawed the Torah
♦ Outlawed a Biblical lifestyle
♦ Punished circumcision/Sabbath-keeping/eating Kosher
♦ Killed anyone that refused to eat pork
♦ He tried to erase the memory of God’s holy covenants
♦ Pushed mothers of circumcised boys from city walls to their deaths below.
♦ Tortured to death any Jew who wouldn’t sacrifice to Greek gods
♦ Sacked the Temple and stole its golden vessels (the very ones taken by
Nebuchadnezzar, most of which were returned by King Cyrus at the end of
the 70-year Babylonian exile), and he sold them for scrap gold to pay the
salaries of his troops
♦ Ended the daily sacrifices
♦ Sacrificed a pig on the altar on Zeus’ birthday on 25 Kislev; a birthday that
was also shared by various other false gods, such as the Egyptian god Ra,
3 and the ancient Babylonian king of Babel in the land of Shinar, Nimrod,
and also his son, Tammuz
♦ Sprinkled the pig’s blood on the Mercy Seat and poured its broth on the
sacred Torah scrolls
♦ Desecrated the Holy of Holies
♦ Dedicated the Temple of the LORD to a false god named Zeus/Jupiter, not
surprisingly with his own likeness
♦ He was an archetype of the end-times anti-Messiah and he set up the first
“abomination of desolation” of Dan 11:31: 31"Forces from him will
arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular
sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation.
• He emphatically enforced the Greek culture made global by Alexander, who had
adhered to a religion known as Hellenism
♦ Israel had been instructed by the LORD that He was their first love in Ex
20:2-3: 2"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3"You shall have no other gods before
Me.
♦ Contrary to that, Antiochus introduced them to other new first loves, such
as sports, beauty, art, and philosophy.
♦ He erected a gymnasium in Jerusalem for Olympic sports, and brought
Greek athletics to Israel
♦ Gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, meaning “naked”
♦ Many Hebrews began to act like the Greeks and adopted Greek customs,
Greek speech, and Greek unisexual clothing.
♦ Many Hebrews athletes, wanting to look like their competitive Greek
athletic counterparts, endured surgical mutilation, rather that display the
circumcision that represented their ownership by the LORD GOD.
♦ Hellenistic culture values right knowledge, and right beliefs; and Hebrew
culture values right actions, and right conduct.
♦ Hellenistic culture believes that salvation comes from knowledge; and
Hebrew culture believes that salvation is lived each day.
♦ Hellenistic culture believes that only the spiritual world is good; and
Hebrew culture believes in making the world a better place.
♦ Hellenistic culture believes that the gods are whimsical and change
constantly; and Hebrew culture believes that God never changes, but
remains constant in a changing world.
♦ Hellenistic culture believes that worship is not service; and Hebrew culture
believes that worship includes service.
♦ Hellenistic culture blends gender roles; and Hebrew culture believes that
gender roles were established in Genesis.
♦ Hellenistic culture believes that it takes a village to raise a child; and
Hebrew culture believes that one is to raise children according to the
Scriptures.
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♦ Hellenistic culture believes that beauty is holiness; and Hebrew culture
believes that holiness is beauty.
♦ More specifically, Hellenistic culture sees beauty in the human body; and
Hebrew culture believes that holiness and right living are true beauty.
♦ This is a cultural war; and it’s even in the Body of Messiah today.
For a play-by-play action of the time leading up to Antiochus and beyond, just read
Daniel
It was a very dark time, filled with terror and persecution
Great acts of heroism are recorded in the Book of Maccabees, a part of Jewish
history that one can find in the Apocrypha
An example from 2 Maccabees 7: 1It also happened that seven brothers with their
mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king to force
them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. 2One of the brothers, speaking for the
others, said: “What do you expect to learn by questioning us? We are ready to die
rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” 3At that the king, in a fury, gave
orders to have pans and caldrons heated. 4These were quickly heated, and he gave
the order to cut out the tongue of the one who had spoken for the others, to scalp
him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of his brothers and his mother
looked on. 5When he was completely maimed but still breathing, the king ordered
them to carry him to the fire and fry him. As a cloud of smoke spread from the pan,
the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, with these
words: 6“The Lord God is looking on and truly has compassion on us, as Moses
declared in his song, when he openly bore witness, saying, ‘And God will have
compassion on His servants.’” 7After the first brother had died in this manner, they
brought the second to be made sport of. After tearing off the skin and hair of his
head, they asked him, “Will you eat the pork rather than have your body tortured
limb by limb?” 8Answering in the language of his ancestors, he said, “Never!” So
he in turn suffered the same tortures as the first. 9With his last breath he said: “You
accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the universe
will raise us up to live again forever, because we are dying for His laws.” 10After
him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put forth his tongue at once when told to
do so, and bravely stretched out his hands, 11as he spoke these noble words: “It was
from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of His laws I disregard them; from
Him I hope to receive them again.” 12Even the king and his attendants marveled at
the young man’s spirit, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing. 13After he
had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. 14When
he was near death, he said, “It is my choice to die at the hands of mortals with the
hope that God will restore me to life; but for you, there will be no resurrection to
life.” 15They next brought forward the fifth brother and maltreated him. 16Looking at
the king, he said: “Mortal though you are, you have power over human beings, so
you do what you please. But do not think that our nation is forsaken by God. 17Only
wait, and you will see how His great power will torment you and your
descendants.” 18After him they brought the sixth brother. When he was about to die,
5 he said: “Have no vain illusions. We suffer these things on our own account,
because we have sinned against our God; that is why such shocking things have
happened. 19Do not think, then, that you will go unpunished for having dared to
fight against God.” 20Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was
the mother who, seeing her seven sons perish in a single day, bore it courageously
because of her hope in the Lord. 21Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her
womanly reason with manly emotion, she exhorted each of them in the language of
their ancestors with these words: 22“I do not know how you came to be in my womb;
it was not I who gave you breath and life, nor was it I who arranged the elements
you are made of. 23Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe who shaped the
beginning of humankind and brought about the origin of everything, He, in His
mercy, will give you back both breath and life, because you now disregard
yourselves for the sake of his law.” 24Antiochus, suspecting insult in her words,
thought he was being ridiculed. As the youngest brother was still alive, the king
appealed to him, not with mere words, but with promises on oath, to make him rich
and happy if he would abandon his ancestral customs: he would make him his
Friend and entrust him with high office. 25When the youth paid no attention to him
at all, the king appealed to the mother, urging her to advise her boy to save his life.
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After he had urged her for a long time, she agreed to persuade her son. 27She
leaned over close to him and, in derision of the cruel tyrant, said in their native
language: “Son, have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months,
nursed you for three years, brought you up, educated and supported you to your
present age. 28I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that
is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things. In
the same way humankind came into existence. 29Do not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I may
receive you again with your brothers.” 30She had scarcely finished speaking when
the youth said: “What is the delay? I will not obey the king’s command. I obey the
command of the law given to our ancestors through Moses. 31But you, who have
contrived every kind of evil for the Hebrews, will not escape the hands of God. 32We,
indeed, are suffering because of our sins. 33Though for a little while our living Lord
has been angry, correcting and chastising us, He will again be reconciled with His
servants. 34But you, wretch, most vile of mortals, do not, in your insolence, buoy
yourself up with unfounded hopes, as you raise your hand against the children of
heaven. 35You have not yet escaped the judgment of the Almighty and All-Seeing
God. 36Our brothers, after enduring brief pain, have drunk of never-failing life,
under God’s covenant. But you, by the judgment of God, shall receive just
punishments for your arrogance. 37Like my brothers, I offer up my body and my life
for our ancestral laws, imploring God to show mercy soon to our nation, and by
afflictions and blows to make you confess that He alone is God. 38Through me and
my brothers, may there be an end to the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen
on our whole nation.” 39At that, the king became enraged and treated him even
worse than the others, since he bitterly resented the boy’s contempt. 40Thus he too
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died undefiled, putting all his trust in the Lord. 41Last of all, after her sons, the
mother was put to death. 42Enough has been said about the sacrificial meals and the
excessive cruelties.
All remained steadfast and righteous, even in light of their death, in hope of the
resurrection. Wow. How do we define success…?
An elderly priest named Mattathias lived in the village of Modi’in, about 17 miles
northwest of Jerusalem. Syrian detachments from King Antiochus went around to
all the little villages to enforce the changes that Antiochus was making. They
finally came to the tiny village of Modi’in and built an altar to Zeus. Mattathias was
singled out of the crowd, by a Syrian officer, and commanded to offer a sacrificial
pig on the altar in honor of Antiochus. He was of the line of Jehoiarib, of the first
division of priests; he also was the father of 5 brave sons: John, Simon, Judah,
Eleazar, and Jonathan. He defiantly refused and an apostate Hellenistic priest came
over and asked permission to sacrifice the pig.
A righteous indignation rose up in Mattathias and he ripped the sword from the
Syrian officer, killed the officer, and ran the sword through the apostate Jewish
Hellenistic priest, and left him lying on the altar. He tore down the altar and cried
out, “Let everyone who is zealous for Torah and supports the covenant, come with
me!” His five sons and some other faithful men engaged with the other soldiers, and
killed each one. Knowing that severe retribution was coming their way, the faithful
raw for the hills of Judea, leaving all possessions behind.
And so the Maccabean revolt began – an uprising against the blasphemous enemies
of the One True God.
The revolt lasted for three years
Mattathias only lived for the first year, and on his deathbed said, “Now my children,
show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant” (1 Macc 2:50). Upon
his death, his son, Judah the Maccabee (the Hammer), took command of the forces
In three years, God gave them the victory in 2 battles between Jerusalem and
Hebron, with 10,000 Maccabees facing 60,000 Syrian soldiers.
The Maccabees reclaimed Jerusalem and were stunned at the way the Temple had
been left: the gates of the Temple were burned, weeds grew waist-high in the
courtyards, the blood of pigs on the mercy seat and above it all, there loomed the
vile statue of Zeus in the likeness of Antiochus in the Temple. They ripped their
clothes, and covered themselves with ashes in mourning.
But then they got to work. The priests immediately began to cleanse the Temple,
built a new altar and furniture, and place a new curtain before the Holy of Holies.
Israel rededicated the Temple to the LORD on 25 Kislev, the same day when
Antiochus had defiled it, 3 years earlier
♦ They offered a clean sacrifice on the new stone altar
♦ The Levites played instruments and sang the Hallel, Psalms 113-118
♦ Everyone fell down on their face to worship the LORD
♦ Eight is the number of dedication, so the celebration of the cleansing of the
Temple also lasted 8 days; eight for a “new beginning”; the people also
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celebrated for eight days due to missing the Festival of Tabernacles,
Sukkot, which is an eight-day celebration
There’s a story about not having enough oil to last the 8 days, but the earliest
records of this festival, including Rabbinic tradition and Josephus, do not mention
that story; most likely that story was birthed in an attempt to pull attention away
from the Maccabean dynasty, which became extremely corrupt long after Judah
Maccabee. Additionally, the Talmud seldom mentions the festival of Hanukkah, as
the Talmud derives out of the Pharisaic tradition; yet the Sadducees were aligned
with the descendants of the Maccabees.
♦ Josephus, the ancient Jewish historian, wrote of this festival as the Feast of
Lights, centuries before the legend of the oil came to be
st
The 1 Temple had had 10 golden lampstands; the 2nd Temple had only 1 golden
lampstand; as this new dedication of the Temple, after Antiochus, the priests made a
new lampstand out of gold – as their wealth increased, they build a silver menorah,
and then a golden lampstand modeled after the one of Moses’ time.
The culmination of this ancient struggle between the sons of Greece and the Sons of
Zion can be seen in a prophetic passage of the end times in Zech 9:13-16: 13For I
will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up
your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; and I will make you like a
warrior's sword. 14Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go
forth like lightning; and the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and will march in
the storm winds of the south. 15The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they
will devour and trample on the sling stones; and they will drink and be boisterous
as with wine; and they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, drenched like the
corners of the altar. 16And the LORD their God will save them in that day as the
flock of His people; for they are as the stones of a crown, sparkling in His land.
The Man of Lawlessness is a type of Antiochus Epiphanes; a man living without the
Law or Torah. Antiochus made it illegal to follow the Torah and killed many for
upholding the Scriptures. The Man of Lawlessness who is soon to arrive on the
global scene will do the same. 2 Thess 2:3-4: 3Let no one in any way deceive you,
for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is
revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself above every socalled god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God,
displaying himself as being God.
The real victory of Hanukkah is the light over darkness, righteousness over
unrighteousness, lawfulness over lawlessness, weakness over strength, too little over
too many, and clean over unclean. The Maccabees recognized that their battle was a
spiritual one and thus began every battles and skirmish with praise, with the sound
of the trumpet, with singing and with prayer. Just like in the days of Jehoshaphat in
2 Chron 20.
We, as the people of the LORD, also use the same weapons in our spiritual battles.
Gwen Shaw, author of God’s End Time Battle Plan, specified the believer’s spiritual
weapons as praise, singing, music, uplifted hands, shouting, clapping, marching,
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walking, laughing, tithing, and writing down the victory; and we could add blessing
and forgiving and abiding to that list!
Throughout the ages, Gentile nations have consistently desecrated the place of the
Holy of Holies; Antiochus placed the image of Zeus there, Roman emperor Hadrian
constructed a temple to Jupiter there, and currently, shrines to Allah, the crescent
moon god, sit there.
There is yet another Hanukkah, in the future, when again Israel will enter into
covenant or security agreement with a Gentile ruler, known as the anti-Messiah.
The Scriptures call this a “covenant with death” in Is 28:15: 15Because you have
said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made a pact.
The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, for we have made
falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception." This
covenant of false peace begins the final week of Daniel 9. Let us continue to give
the LORD no rest, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in all the earth, and turns them
(us) from our stubbornness and stiffneckedness and back to Him wholeheartedly.
The LORD’s answer this upcoming final time, is to send His Son one last time.
Hallelujah!
God commanded Moses and the people to make a lampstand (menorah) of pure
gold in Ex 25:31-40: 31"Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The
lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups,
its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. 32"Six branches shall go out
from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three
branches of the lampstand from its other side. 33"Three cups shall be shaped like
almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped
like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb and a flower - so for six
branches going out from the lampstand; 34and in the lampstand four cups shaped
like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers. 35"A bulb shall be under the first
pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches
coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for
the six branches coming out of the lampstand. 36"Their bulbs and their branches
shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure
gold. 37"Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its
lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it. 38"Its snuffers and their trays
shall be of pure gold. 39"It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these
utensils. 40"See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown
to you on the mountain.
It’s a holy design
It was given by the LORD at Mt. Sinai
It has 7 lamps on one lampstand, menorah
♦ A stunning picture of the Temple menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the
Temple Trumpets, and other Temple implements, can be seen on the Arch
of Titus, in Rome. Emperor Domitian built this arch shortly after the death
of his older brother, Titus. He wanted to memorialize and celebrate Titus’
9 victory over Jerusalem and the Jews in the Siege of Jerusalem in 70AD.
The south panel shows the spoils being stolen from the Temple in
Jerusalem and then carted off to Rome. The picture is carved in deep
relief and is quite beautiful. These priceless objects would have been the
200-year-old Temple implements made by the priesthood after Antiochus
Epiphanes was overcome; and now stolen by Romans. Italian Jews to this
day avoid the Arch.
• For Hanukkah, there is a special lampstand, called the hanukkiah, with 8 candles
and 1 shamash, or servant candle, from which all the other lamps are lit
• The mandated menorah is even symbolically seen in the Word of the LORD in
Genesis 1:1: 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• In Hebrew it says: ‫ראשיתבּ בּרא אלהים את השמים ואח הארץ‬
• B’reshit Bara Elohim (Alef-Tav) Shamayim Eth Eretz
• It follows the menorah pattern; the words are laid out as the branches of the
menorah with the Alef-Tav showing up in the middle of the verse. The letters of
Alef-Tav are the First and the Last, the Hebrew original of the Greek version Alpha
and Omega (Rev 1:8), and are found in the middle of the verse, much like the
middle branch of the lampstand. Yeshua, is in the middle of Genesis 1:1 and
appears symbolically in the middle of a hanukkiah, as the Servant Candle
• The ancient scholars said that when people light the hanukkiah, that they light a fire
of rededication and holiness to God
• As the priests rededicated the Temple to God, so too, can believers stay in a place of
humility and rededication to the LORD.
• The Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah represents:
♦ The seven Spirits of God
! Is 11:2: 2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the
spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
! Rev 1:4: 4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to
you and peace, from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to
come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne…
♦ Moses and the burning bush
! Ex 3:2: 2The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire
from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was
burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
♦ God’s Word as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path in Ps
119:105
♦ Israel declaring the praise of the LORD
! Is 43:20-21: 20"The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals
and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. 21"The
people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise.
10 ♦ The followers of Yeshua, who are also lights in the earth, Mt 5:14-16:
14
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15
nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16"Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
♦ The seven churches, Rev 1:20: 20"As for the mystery of the seven stars
which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven
lampstands are the seven churches.
♦ Yeshua, the Light of the World
! Jn 1:4-5: 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not
comprehend it.
! Jn 8:12: 12Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the
Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life."
Yeshua in Hanukkah
• Yeshua did come up to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah,
in Jn 10:22-42: 22At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at
Jerusalem; 23it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of
Solomon. 24The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, "How
long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25Jesus
answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My
Father's name, these testify of Me. 26"But you do not believe because you are not
of My sheep. 27"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28
and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch
them out of My hand. 29"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30"I and the
Father are one." 31The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32Jesus
answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of
them are you stoning Me?" 33The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do
not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself
out to be God." 34Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I
SAID, YOU ARE GODS'? 35"If he called them gods, to whom the word of God
came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36do you say of Him, whom the Father
sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am
the Son of God'? 37"If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
38
but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you
may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father."
39
Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
40
And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first
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baptizing, and He was staying there. 41Many came to Him and were saying,
"While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was
true." 42 Many believed in Him there.
Remember the context! The Jewish leadership was wanting to know if He was the
Messiah, but in the view that they desired – as one Who was a conquering king only.
He had already demonstrated clearly that He was the Messiah and had verified it
with many miracles. They had rejected Him because He had consistently failed to
meet their limited expectations of what Messiah should look like.
The Jews viewed the words of Yeshua, that He and His Father are one, to be
completely blasphemous. No doubt, they were remembering Antiochus Theos
Epiphanes nearly 200 years earlier, who sacrificed a pig to a false god, Zeus, on the
same exact day, 25 Kislev, in the same exact city. Yet, this Yeshua went so much
farther, by declaring Himself to be One with the Father; He was declaring Himself
to be God. This is one huge reason why they wanted to kill Him ~ they did not
recognize Him…
Many scholars believe the Yeshua was actually conceived during Hanukkah, the
Festival of Lights, for the Light of the World had finally come
Yeshua is the Servant Candle, the Shamash; for our lamps can only be lit by His
light; He gave His life to serve us; and we can only have oil if we are filled with His
Holy Spirit
Yeshua is THE victory over the darkness, for His light has come into the world, and
forever shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome nor understood
nor comprehended nor conquered His light. Hallelujah!!
And now, Yeshua has lit up our lives with His Light and we shine for His glory, so
that all the world may know Him and love Him!!
Celebrating Hanukkah at Home
• In the synagogue, congregations sing the Hallel, Psalms 113-118, and other joyful
hymns. They march around the synagogue waving palm branches to honor the
Maccabee’s victory. “Ma’oz Tzur” or “Rock of My Salvation” is a famous
Hanukkah hymn asking the LORD to restore Temple worship. Many people
distribute gifts to the elderly and to the sick.
• The most significant place where Hanukkah is celebrated however, is the home. A
nine-branch hanukkiah is brought out for this special season. Eight branches for
the days of rededication, with the Shamash or Servant Candle
• On the first night of Hanukkah, a candle is placed on the far right of the lampstand,
and another in the middle. They light the Servant Candle, the Shamash, in the
middle, and they use it to light the far-right candle. It is always the one used to light
all the other candles over the eight days of celebration and rededication. Each new
day another candle is added to the original, from right to left, until all the candles are
lit on the eighth and final day.
• They recite 3 traditional blessings:
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♦ Candle Lighting Blessing – a blessing to sanctify the lighting of the
candles
♦ Hanukkah Blessing – a blessing to thank God for safely delivering our
ancestors
♦ Shehe’cheyanu – a blessing to thank God for safely bringing the holiday
season.
Families read from the historical books of the Maccabees to remember the story.
Because many Jews were willing to give up their lives for their faith, children are
asked if they would also do the same.
Folks often collect a hanukkiah for each member of the family and use all of them
around the house to make a beautiful warm glow in the home, especially as the eight
days go by and more and more candles are lit.
They invite family and friends over to their homes over the eight-day festival.
Many will also bring their lampstands with them and light theirs as well! Beautiful!
Sometimes they play the Dreidel Game together. A dreidel is a top that has four
sides to it. Each side is marked with a Hebrew letter; the letters stand for Nes Gadol
Hayah Sham, or “A Great Miracle Happened There.” To start, each player puts
something in the pot, in the middle of the table, such as a real coin, gelt, or a goldcovered chocolate coin. The players spin the dreidel and do what each letter says.
♦
♦
♦
‫ נ‬NUN – receive nothing
‫ ג‬GIMEL – receive all of the pot
‫ ה‬HEY – receive all of the pot
‫ ש‬SHIN – place one in the pot.
♦
• They also read the Hallel, Psalms 113-118
13 Celebrating Purim
• Again, this festival is not part of the Festivals of the LORD in Leviticus 23
• Purim is the Feast of Esther and the story is found in the Book of Esther
♦ The entire story of Esther is highly dramatic, and would give moviemakers the makings of a stunning and explosive script; there’s the rags-toriches story of a orphaned beautiful girl who becomes a queen and then
risks her life to save her people, a powerful yet eccentric king, a caring
righteous cousin who becomes a hero, an cunning evil villain, political
intrigue, hatred, and love ~ better than almost anything one can find at the
local AMC theater… (And the Oscar goes to…!!)
• Purim is a plural form of the word pur, which means, “lot”. It is celebrated in
remembrance of the pur cast by the evil Haman to determine the day and month that
the Jewish people should be killed throughout the entire Persian Empire; Haman had
decided that the lot spoke of 13 Adar
• Thus, it is also called the Feast of Lots
• Joyously the actual date for the Jews’ destruction instead became the date of their
deliverance
• It’s a feast of the people, celebrating the defeat of their enemies, and established by
Esther for all generations to come in remembrance
♦ And moreover, the festival celebrates, not just the defeat of God’s
enemies, but most especially the deliverance of God’s people, profoundly
using both Esther and Mordecai to do so
♦ Celebrating Purim stirs up faith in God who has the victory over His
children’s enemies
♦ This festival is not only for the Jews to celebrate, but also for all those who
are aligned with them.
♦ Esther 9:27: …27the Jews established and made a custom for themselves
and for their descendants and for all those who allied themselves with
them, so that they would not fail to celebrate these two days according to
their regulation and according to their appointed time annually .
• Esther called for the festival to be celebrated on 13-14 Adar
• It’s name in ancient times was Mordecai’s Day
• Since the time of Esther, the Hebrew people have taken great joy in celebrating
Purim, with elaborate feasts where costumes are worn, gifts of food for the poor,
sweet food gifts for friends and family, and serve up seriously sweet desserts at their
feasts, helping to explain its last title, as the Sugar Holiday
• It is a holiday where the Book of Esther is read and it is customary to boo, hiss,
stamp your feet and rattle noisemakers whenever the name of Haman is mentioned
in the story. The purpose of this custom is to “blot out the name of Haman”
• It is also customary to eat, drink, and be merry, and according to the Talmud, a
person is “required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between ‘cursed be
Haman’ and ‘blessed be Mordecai’”, although opinions differ greatly as to how
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drunk that is ~ especially as one should not get so drunk as to violate any other
commandments or get seriously ill. One more reason that the Word of God rules
over the Talmud!!
At home, every food eaten is symbolic of the story of Esther. The roast turkey
reminds one of Xerxes’ foolishness; the beans and vegetables remind one of
Esther’s piety; the challah bread is Haman’s rope and egg noodles are Haman’s hair.
Hamantaschen, three-cornered fruit-filled cookies, are Haman’s pockets. Kreplach,
meat-filled dumplings, signify Haman’s defeat.
There are parades and carnivals and parties like “Esther’s ball” to celebrate Purim.
Over the centuries, traditions grew up surrounding this festival that differ across the
world.
One such tradition is the wearing of costumes and masks of Esther, Mordecai and
Haman representing that God is in control, even if He appears to be hidden or
masked as He seems to be in Esther; sadly, this tradition is looking more and more
like Halloween and is looking very dark these days.
Some folks choose to fast from dawn to dusk just before Purim begins to identify
with Esther, who fasted to approach the king and save her people
Esther 9:28: 28So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout
every generation, every family, every province and every city; and these days of
Purim were not to fail from among the Jews, or their memory fade from their
descendants.
Esther is a very unique book in the Scriptures. It’s the only book with no specific
mention of any Name of God. (The Song of Songs, comes in close, with one small
ambiguous reference to the Lord in SOS 8:6… where “the very flame of the Lord”
has an alternate reading as “a vehement flame”)
♦ No scroll Esther was found amongst the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls, most
likely because it doesn’t specifically say the Name of the LORD
♦ A little background…as to why the Dead Sea Scrolls even existed. The
most commonly held theory is that the scrolls were being hidden quickly,
just before the Roman invasion of 68CE (or AD). This theory was first
suggested to John Trever by a man named Ibrahim Sowny, brother of
Father Butros Sowny of St. Mark’s Monastery in Jerusalem, when the
Isaiah scroll was first taken to the American Schools of Oriental Research
in 1948.
♦ A more-likely explanation however, the Genizah Theory, came from the
first scholar to encounter the scroll dealers and the Bedouins they
represented. His name was Eleazar Sukenik and when first shown some
parchment fragments out of Qumran caves, he strongly believed that it was
“genizah’. A genizah, meaning reserved or hidden, is a temporary storage
place for certain old, damaged and other unusable Jewish manuscripts that
are awaiting a proper burial. The Talmud (Shabbat 115a) says that all
sacred writings of Torah, Prophets, and Writings, must be preserved in a
place where they cannot be destroyed, until they are buried in a Jewish
15 cemetery as a sign of reverence and respect. This section of the Talmud is
based out of Dt 12:3-4: 3"You shall tear down their altars and smash
their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut
down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from
that place. 4"You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God.
♦ It is thought that because Esther does not contain the Name of God, that it
was omitted from being laid in the genizah of the caves in Qumran.
Theories, theories, theories…
• The Book of Esther contains other unique qualities.
♦ Every letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet is contained in the single verse of
Esther 3:13: 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to
destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old,
women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month,
which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder. ♦ Esther 8:9 gives us the longest verse in all of Scripture, weighing in at 43
words in Hebrew, and 85 in English. Esther 8:9: 9So the king's scribes
were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on
the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai
commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of
the provinces which extended from India to Ethiopia, one hundred
twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its script, and to
every people according to their language as well as to the Jews
according to their script and their language.
♦ Esther contains Persian words found nowhere else in the Bible
♦ The Hebrew word mishteh, or banquet, occurs 40 times in Scripture, half
of which are found in Esther alone.
♦ Outside of the Torah, only Esther contains 7 feasts
History
• At the time of Esther, the king of Persia was a man named Ahasuerus, often
identified as Xerxes I. He ruled a vast empire stretching from Ethiopia to India for
24 years, approximately 486-462BC. His son Artaxerxes, possibly by his first wife
Vashti, was the king who allowed Nehemiah, his wine cupbearer, to go rebuild
Jerusalem.
• Ahasuerus was a powerful, passionate, yet rash, man. From the Scriptural record
alone, one can see that he did not always think things through all the way. As a
king, he wanted glory and to be remembered, so he ordered craftsmen to build a
throne for him in Shushan (Susa) to rival the one of the Magnificent King Solomon.
The finished throne was too large to move and so Ahasuerus moved his court and
capital from Babylon to Susa, in order to sit on his new grand throne!
♦ In 1852, archaeologists discovered the remains of his ancient palace, just
north of the Persian Gulf in what is now called, modern-day Iran.
16 • Ahasuerus had thrown a party for all of his princes, army officers, nobles and
various provincial princes for 180 days, 6 months in the third year of his reign. He
finished up this celebration of his splendor with a 7-day-long banquet.
• On the last day of the banquet, when he had become merry with much wine, he
commanded the eunuchs to bring his wife, Vashti, before him in her royal crown, to
display her beauty before everyone at the banquet. Some scholars think that he
wanted her to be wearing only the royal crown. She refused. He was very angry
and through counsel, he removed her from being his queen, in approximately
483BC. Battles with Greece followed, including the Battle of Thermopylae,
recently the subject of the film, 300.
• Sometime later, after the wars ended, and the king got over his anger at Vashti,
Xerxes again desired a queen. His overseers gathered all the beautiful young virgins
to Susa, to be prepared to come into the presence of the king, and possibly to receive
his favor to become his queen.
• At that time, there was a Jew who had been taken into exile with the other captives
of Judah, and his name was Mordecai. He was bringing up Hadassah, who was his
orphaned cousin. Hadassah means “Myrtle”. Hadassah was greatly beautiful and
was chosen to be one of the virgins presented to the king. Following the wisdom of
her older cousin, Hadassah kept her name and her people quiet. Her name was
changed to Esther, meaning “hidden” and “star”
• She entered into the harem and underwent mandated beauty treatments of six
months with oil of myrrh, and then another six months of spices and cosmetics,
before she could enter into the presence of the king
• In the seventh year of his reign, Esther was taken to King Xerxes in his royal palace.
• She won the heart of the king through her beauty, kindness, grace, humility, reserve,
discretion, modesty, quietness, self-control & wisdom. The king loved Esther more
than all the women and she found favor in his sight and became the queen of Persia.
I want to be like her when I grow up… She was a woman who’s body, soul, and
spirit affected reality and changed the world.
• Mordecai, her cousin sat in the king’s gate, continued to give Esther counsel and she
continued to keep her silence as to which people she came from
• According to Talmud, Megillah 13b, Mordecai was a well-educated member of the
Great Assembly and was a master of many languages, so when he heard 2 of
Xerxes’ officials planning to kill him, he understood their speech and then he was
able to make that known to Esther and have her inform the king. She credited
Mordecai as she informed the king and when this was investigated and found to be
true, both traitors were hanged and Mordecai’s role of saving the king was written in
the Book of the Chronicles.
• Sometime after that, King Xerxes promoted Haman, the Agagite, to be the prime
minister. All the king’s servants at the king’s gate bowed down to him; all, that is,
except Mordecai, who had modeled himself after Daniel, who only bowed down to
the LORD. Haman was so offended that he became incensed and sought to chasten
17 him, but upon discovering Mordecai was a Jew, Haman set his eyes on destroying
not just Mordecai, but his entire people group.
• A little side note:
♦ Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, a descendant of King
Agag, king of the Amalekites
! Remember the Amalekites? They were Hebrew-haters right from
the start. They were the first to attack Israel after the Exodus from
Egypt (Ex 17:8-14), in the passage where Aaron and Hur help lift
up Moses’ hands in order for the Joshua and the Israelites to prevail
against Amalek. It was here that the LORD promised that He would
utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven, and
simultaneously revealed His Name as Jehovah Nissi
! The Amalekites joined with the Midianites and intentionally
destroyed Israel’s crops, after they had entered into the Promised
Land, in order to starve them in Judges 6:3-5
! This was the people group of Haman; six centuries of hatred toward
the Jews
♦ Mordecai, on the other hand, has his genealogy written in Esther 2:5:
5
Now there was at the citadel in Susa, a Jew whose name was Mordecai,
the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite
! His genealogy is also written in more detail in Targum Sheni, as
“…son of Ya’ir, son of Shin’i, son of Shmida, son of Baana, Son of
Eilan, son of Micah, son of Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of
Saul, son of Kish…son of Benjamin, son of Jacob the firstborn,
whose name is called Israel.”
♦ God had told Saul, Mordecai’s ancestor, to kill King Agag, Haman’s
ancestor. Saul disobeyed, and spared Agag’s life
! 1 Sam 15:16-23: 16Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me
tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him,
"Speak!" 17Samuel said, "Is it not true, though you were little in
your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel?
And the LORD anointed you king over Israel, 18and the LORD
sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the
sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are
exterminated.' 19"Why then did you not obey the voice of the
LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the
sight of the LORD?" 20Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the
voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD
sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and
have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21"But the people took some
of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to
destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."
22
Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings
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and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.
23
"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of
the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."
♦ So, when Haman found out that Mordecai was a Jew, it took his fury to a
whole new level; he wasn’t just angry at Mordecai for refusing to bow
before him, but six centuries (even 12, if we go back to the original battle
in Moses’ time) of utter hatred against the Jews were met in that one man
♦ One of the consequences of King Saul’s foolishness to not obey the LORD
was falling upon the entire Hebrew people throughout Xerxes’ kingdom.
In the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman began to cast
Pur, that is the “lot”, from day to day and from month to month, until the twelfth
month, Adar, to see what day he should cause the Jews to be slaughtered.
♦ We could call it an earlier version of “The Final Solution”. The Egyptians
wanted the Jews for their backbreaking labor; the Babylonians wanted
them for their brains and statesmanship; but Haman just wanted them dead
and he plotted a cunning plan to make that happen, all at the same time.
Then Haman took his plan to King Xerxes, and spokes lies about the Jews to the
King. So easy… Tell the king lies, give him a solution of slaughtering them, and
pay for it to happen! Works every time…
The king gave Haman his signet ring and thus gave Haman permission to annihilate
the Jews
13 Aviv/Nisan: The king’s scribes were summoned to write up the decree that the
Jews should be slaughtered everywhere throughout the Persian empire, from
Ethiopia to India, all on the same day of 13th Adar, in the twelfth month. The letters
were sealed with the king’s signet ring, and the couriers went out to the far reaches
of the kingdom, including the city of Susa, leaving the people there in great
confusion.
♦ Esther 3:12: 12Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth
day of the first month, and it was written just as Haman commanded to
the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province and to
the princes of each people, each province according to its script, each
people according to its language, being written in the name of King
Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring.
13 Aviv/Nisan: Mordecai learned of the plot and began tearing his clothes, putting
on sackcloth and ashes and went into the city wailing and weeping bitterly. Esther’s
maidens and eunuchs came and told her. Through her servants, Mordecai informed
Esther that she should go to the king and implore his favor and plead with him for
her people. Esther answered in Esther 4:11-14: 11"All the king's servants and the
people of the king's provinces know that for any man or woman who comes to the
king to the inner court who is not summoned, he has but one law, that he be put to
death, unless the king holds out to him the golden scepter so that he may live.
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And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days." 12They
related Esther's words to Mordecai. 13Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther,
"Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the
Jews. 14"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for
the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And
who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"
Esther then had Mordecai gather the Jews in Susa to fast water and food for her to
be able to plead with the king for her people; she and her maidens did the same
Esther then fasted for 3 days and on the third day, she courageously approached the
king to invite him and Haman to a banquet that day, on Aviv 16: Esther 5:1-2:
1
Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood
in the inner court of the king's palace in front of the king's rooms, and the king
was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the
palace. 2When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained
favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter, which was
in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter.
At the banquet, Esther invited the king and Haman to a second banquet, the
following day, Aviv 17. Esther 5:5b-8: 5bSo the king and Haman came to the
banquet, which Esther had prepared. 6As they drank their wine at the banquet, the
king said to Esther, "What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And
what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done." 7So Esther
replied, "My petition and my request is: 8if I have found favor in the sight of the
king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and do what I request, may the
king and Haman come to the banquet which I will prepare for them, and
tomorrow I will do as the king says."
Between the banquets, Haman saw Mordecai and was enraged all over again. He
and his wife derived a plan to build a gallows, 50 cubits high, and then have the king
hang Mordecai upon it. He went on his way to speak to the king.
That same night, the king was sleepless and had the book of records read to him;
listening, he remembered Mordecai’s faithfulness to save his life, yet the man had
received no honor for it. He chose to honor Mordecai in that moment and used the
first person in the court to do so. It was Haman coming to ask the king to hang the
very same man, Mordecai. Esther 6:6-9: 6So Haman came in and the king said to
him, "What is to be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?" And
Haman said to himself, "Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?"
7
Then Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king desires to honor, 8let
them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and the horse on which the king
has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown has been placed; 9and let the robe
and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble princes and let them
array the man whom the king desires to honor and lead him on horseback
through the city square, and proclaim before him, 'Thus it shall be done to the
man whom the king desires to honor.' " And thusly, the king had Haman lead
Mordecai through the city and Haman’s anger burned hotter
20 • During the second banquet on Aviv 17, Queen Esther exposed the plan for the
destruction, slaughter, and complete annihilation of her people, the Jews, to her
husband, King Ahasuerus. She revealed Haman as the instigator of the plan. Esther
7:1-6: 1Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2And
the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the
banquet, "What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And
what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done." 3Then Queen
Esther replied, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the
king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; 4for we
have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be
annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would
have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the
annoyance to the king." 5Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, "Who is he,
and where is he, who would presume to do thus?" 6Esther said, "A foe and an
enemy is this wicked Haman!" Then Haman became terrified before the king and
queen.
• That very day, Haman was hanged on the same gallows that he had had built to hang
Esther’s cousin, Mordecai. Esther 7:10: 10So, they hanged Haman on the gallows,
which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king's anger subsided.
• The king gave the house of Haman to the Queen Esther, who then gave it to
Mordecai, and the king gave Mordecai his own signet ring that had been taken away
from Haman.
• Esther petitioned on behalf of the Jews that their lives would be spared, but the king
said that he couldn’t be rescinded, but that Esther and Mordecai could write a new
edict that the Jews would be allowed to protect themselves on the day of their
slaughter, on 13 Adar, and even plunder their enemies
• Thus, the Jews were given the victorious deliverance over their enemy, Haman, and
his emissaries on Aviv 17, although the complete enforcement of their victory
wasn’t fully realized until a later date, on 13 Adar. The Jews had gained the
mastery over all those who hated them; and the dread of the Jews fell on all the
peoples
• Mordecai’s was great in the king’s house, until he became 2nd only to the king…
sounds familiar…Joseph…Daniel
• Even in Citadel of the capital, the Jews killed 500 men, including Haman’s 10 sons:
Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai,
Aridai, and Vaizatha; in the capital, the Jews killed an additional 300 on 14 Adar;
outside the capital, the Jews defended their lives and killed 75,000 of those who
hated them, but they didn’t tough the plunder, on 13 Adar
• Both Mordecai and Queen Esther send letters out to the Jews establishing the
festival of Purim as the celebration of their victory over their enemies and
inaugurating 14 & 15 Adar as an “appointed time”, a mo’ed.
21 Prophetic Fulfillment
• An odd thing: Esther 9:6-14: 6At the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and destroyed
five hundred men, 7and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8Poratha, Adalia,
Aridatha, 9Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, 10the ten sons of Haman the
son of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the
plunder. 11On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa
was reported to the king. 12The king said to Queen Esther, "The Jews have killed
and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa.
What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces! Now what is your
petition? It shall even be granted you. And what is your further request? It shall
also be done." 13Then said Esther, "If it pleases the king, let tomorrow also be
granted to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the edict of today; and let
Haman's ten sons be hanged on the gallows." 14So the king commanded that it
should be done so; and an edict was issued in Susa, and Haman's ten sons were
hanged.
• Haman’s sons were already dead! Why this request?
• In Esther 9:13, Esther used the word machar, which has been translated as
“tomorrow” in the English, but in the Hebrew implies both “tomorrow” and also “in
the distant future” or “in the time to come”
• According to the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, who lived at the time of
Esther, Persians highly valued families that contained large numbers of sons ~ so
much so, that the kings would even send gifts to them (Herodotus 1:136). They
were considered the Pride of Persia. When the LORD judged Haman, He also
judged his 10 sons, the pride of Persia. Their names are inscribed in the Scriptures.
When the text of Esther is read in the synagogue, the 10 names of Haman’s sons are
read in one breath: Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha
• The system of numerical values, if you remember, come from a system call
Gematria. Ancient scholars believed that every abnormality seen in the Hebrew
text, such as the size of the letters or an odd spelling, is a code from the LORD
• In the Hebrew scroll of Esther, the names of Haman’s sons are listed seemingly on a
separate page, written in a prominent, unusual manner. On the left-hand of the
scroll, there is a column that contains the word “v’et” ten times. According to the
Sages, the word is used to denote replication, and thus concluded that another 10
people were hung in addition to Haman’s ten sons. Who were they???
• In the Hebrew, the names of three of the sons contain a Bible code; the 1st son, the
7th son, and the 10th son (I couldn’t see this in BlueletterBible.org, but I did see it in
various other Hebrew versions):
• Parshandatha
• Parmashta
• Vaizatha
‫פרשנדתא‬
‫פרמשתא‬
‫ויזתא‬
(small tav)
= 400
(small shin)
= 300
(small zayin)
=7
22 • This code gives us a total of 707. The number 707 can designate the year 707, 1707,
2707, 3707, 4707, or 5707 as in the Webster’s New World Hebrew Dictionary, it
states, “…the thousands are skipped and the Jewish year is referred to by quoting, in
Jewish numerical symbols, the figure from the hundreds down.”
• The Jewish year 5707 began in the fall of 1946. God, in His mercy, fulfilled
Esther’s request by judging the war crimes against the Jewish people in World War
II. Following the war, a military court, the famous Nuremberg War Trials, tried
German Nazi officers for their war crimes against the Jews and all humanity. Just as
God judged Haman’s sons of ancient Persia, so too, did He judge Germany’s sons of
modern-day Germany after the Holocaust, the Sho’ah.
• The whole world waited to see the outcome of these famous trials. Eleven Nazi
officers were found guilty at the trials, and were sentenced to death by hanging on a
gallows.
• After the verdict was announced, one of the officers committed suicide by cyanide
in his cell before he could be executed. He was none other than Hermann Goering,
the highest Nazi officer to be tried. He was one of the architects of the “Final
Solution” to the “Jewish Question”, who was acting under orders of Hitler, much
like Haman was the architect of the plans to annihilate the Jews during Xerxes’
reign, who was acting under order of Satan. Both died before the “10 sons”. Some
make a connection that Goering is likened to Haman’s daughter who committed
suicide and recorded in Talmud, Megillah 16a; this is made all the more weird with
the serious rumors of Goering being a transvestite…
• Military executioners hung the remaining 10 officers on October 16, 1946. Julius
Streicher, the last to hang, made the connection between their hangings and the story
of Esther. In the last moments of his life, he shouted to the witnesses, “Purim Fest
1946” and a few moments later he was dead. A 20th century military court stood as
the fulfillment of Esther’s request to hang ten sons in the future.
• Another echo: Early 1953, Stalin was planning to deport most of the Jews in the
USSR to Siberia. Just before his plans came to fruition, he suffered a stroke and
died a few days later. He suffered that stroke on the night of March 1, 1953, the
night after Purim. The plan regarding the Jews was not carried out. A funny side
note: that night at Purim gathering in USSR, the Rebbe was asked to give a blessing
for the safety of Russian Jews, who were known to be in great danger. Instead, the
Rebbe told the story that there had been man who was voting in the USSR, who was
in the midst of people cheering for the candidate, “Hoorah! Hoorah!” The man,
fearing for himself, was afraid to not cheer, so he said, “hoorah”, but in his heart, he
meant it in Hebrew, hu ra, which means “he is evil”! The crowd listening at that
1953 Purim celebration began shouting “Hu ra! Hu ra!” regarding Stalin, and that
night, Stalin suffered the stroke that preceded his death a few days later
• Another echo: Purim was the last day of the Gulf War in 1991 when 29 scud
missiles hit Israel without a single fatality.
• In 2003, Purim was the first day of America’s attack on Iraq, the ancient Babylon
23 • Those who oppose Israel will not succeed, especially in the end.
Spiritual Significance
• Yeshua celebrated Purim in Jn 5:1: 1After these things there was a feast of the
Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Purim was the only feast celebrated
between the winter season of Jn 4:35, and the Passover of Jn 6:3-4.
♦ Jn 4:35: 35"Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes
the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the
fields, that they are white for harvest…”
♦ Jn 6:3-4: 3Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down
with His disciples. 4Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
• It was at Purim that Yeshua Jn 5:46: 46"For if you believed Moses, you would
believe Me, for he wrote about Me…”
• Dt 31:18: 18"But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil
which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.
• Esther’s name comes from the Persian word, estar, meaning hidden and star; it’s
especially associated with the planet Venus and the Babylonian goddess of love
• When Ahasuerus was replacing his rebellious queen, Vashti, he had no idea that the
very choice of his bride would be the very plans of God in Heaven to rescue His
people from complete annihilation.
• Esther underwent a 12-month beautification regimen, with the other virgins of the
king’s harem, to turn women from every walk of life into someone fit to be in the
presence of the king. The objective was to ameliorate the effects of life, heat, wind,
desert aridness, and disease. After the first six months of basic skin health care, the
attendants used oils, spices, and fragrances to demonstrate each girl’s natural beauty.
It’s thought that women had daily massages with olive oil, cassis oil, myrrh oil, and
honey, to moisturize, heal, disinfect, and promote uplifting emotions. Cassis oil
helped with female issues, emotional flare-ups, joint and body pain; olive oil helped
with its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and healing benefits; honey
acted as a natural moisturizer, antiseptic, and healing benefit to skin
• Specifically, in the Scriptures, it says that she was bathed in the oil of myrrh, for the
first 6 months: she was being purified, and she was dying to self. Myrrh oil is first
a resin harvested from a tree. The tree is pierced and drops of resin-like “tears”
bleed out of the tree with a reddish color. This was her anointing oil, her perfume,
as she died to herself and was purified, being made readied to be married to a king.
Myrrh oil was used for its benefit of encouraging greater spiritual awareness and
strengthening of memory; it was used to deal with fungal conditions, aging issues;
and it was used to stimulate circulation, decrease inflammation, soothe inflamed
skin, prevent wrinkles, and heal various other tissue concerns
• Myrrh, the burial oil, is associated with Yeshua’s death, and was one of the gifts of
the Wise Men, who came bringing Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh; could these
represent the three roles of Yeshua, respectively: King, Priest, and Prophet? And if
24 •
•
•
•
the role of prophet is likened to the burial oil of Myrrh, than is Esther’s immersion
into the oil of Myrrh, and dying to herself, likened to her story being prophetic…?
Esther’s true struggle was not against Haman, nor the king, when she attempted to
be able to approach him without being killed. Her true battle was against the Prince
of Persia. Dan 10:10-14: 10Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling
on my hands and knees. 11He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem,
understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now
been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
12
Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set
your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your
words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13"But the prince
of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold,
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with
the kings of Persia. 14"Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will
happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet
future."
The Prince of Persia was still ruling that area during the time of Esther and he
inspired Haman to act out on his hatred. He’s still actively inciting the people of
modern-day Iran against Israel and the Hebrew people today…
Esther was a type of messiah, who interceded for her people, at great cost to herself,
and at the risk of death. She humbled herself in the palace. She is a type of Yeshua,
Who still lives to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25), and He humbled Himself to
come to earth. She represents Believers as one who receives a new name, and who
is hidden from the world, and who bathes in the oil of Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy
Spirit.
Some believe that the LORD doesn’t show up at all in the Book of Esther. He’s
there, He’s just a bit hidden, just like her name implies. Remember how the Name
of the LORD is the initials of Yod Hey Vav Hey?
‫יהוה‬
• There are 5 turning points in Esther. These verses contain the hidden plans of the
LORD for His people and spell out the letters of His Name in Hebrew. (Chuck
Missler that there are no less than 8 of these hidden names of God in Esther, but I’m
still looking for the rest!)
♦ Out of a portion of Esther 1:20: 20"When the king's edict which he will
make is heard throughout all his kingdom, great as it is, then all women
will give honor to their husbands, great and small." The first letter of
each word is Yod Hey Vav Hey, in reverse, showing that the LORD
reverses the wisdom of man.
♦ Out of a Esther 5:4: 4Esther said, "If it pleases the king, may the king
and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him."
The first letter of each word is Yod Hey Vav Hey. This is the verse where
God releases a strategy to prevent Haman from harming His people
♦ Out of Esther 5:13: 13"Yet all of this does not satisfy me every time I see
Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." The last letter of each word
25 •
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
is Yod Hey Vav Hey in reverse. Haman wanted to put Mordecai to death
at the same moment that the king wanted to honor Mordecai. The
LORD’s Name in reverse, as He reverses Haman’s evil plot against
Mordecai.
♦ Out of Esther 7:7: 7The king arose in his anger from drinking wine and
went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from
Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by
the king. The last letter of each word is Yod Hey Vav Hey, where God
increases the influence of Esther and Mordecai in the Persian kingdom.
! And not just for the time of Esther, but later on for the rebuilding of
Jerusalem!
One last parallel: The seven feasts in Esther parallel the Feasts of the LORD out of
Lev 23, according to Valerie Moody in her book, The Feasts of Adonai
The First Feast Builds a Kingdom. During the first feast of Passover, the LORD
began to build Israel into a kingdom. During Xerxes’ first feast, he made official
plans to expand his kingdom.
The Second Feast Lasts Seven Days. The Second Feast of Unleavened Bread is a
seven-day celebration. Xerxes held a second feast for the people of Susa, which
lasted seven days.
The Third Feast Concerns Resurrection. The third Feast of Firstfruits marks the
day of Yeshua’s resurrection. The third feast in Esther is Vashti’s private feast. It
resulted in her removal as queen, and the resurrection of marriage for the king with
Esther.
The Fourth Feast is a Crowning. The fourth Feast of Weeks is the day of the year
when the LORD crowned Israel with priesthood in Exodus 19, and believers with
power in Acts 2
The Fifth Feast is a New Beginning. The fifth Feast of Trumpets is the new
beginning of the Hebrew year. Esther’s feast, the fifth in the book, opens a new
beginning for her people.
The Sixth Feast is Judgment. The sixth festival of Yom Kippur is a day when God
judges Israel’s sins. Haman is judged at the sixth banquet in Esther, and sent to the
gallows.
The Seventh Feast is Joy. The seventh Feast of Tabernacles is called the Season of
Our Joy. Purim became the seventh feast in Esther to celebrate their rescue with
joy.
26