Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour. 17 And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them — Esther 8:16-17 It has all the ingredients of a block-buster movie, but this is no Hollywood creation. The Book of Esther tells the very real story in the 5th Century BC of an insidious plot to destroy the Jewish people. Ironically, this scheme was not hatched by the overbearing Egyptians, war-like Assyrians, or despotic Babylonians - it happened under the enlightened, cultured, tolerant Persian empire. Of all Israel’s occupiers, the Persians should have been the least likely empire to hatch such a plot - but, as the book tells us, not only was this plot of Jewish destruction conceived, but it almost succeeded. The reason it ultimately failed is because of the ‘God-factor.’ The Lor...

For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father ’ s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? —Esther 4:14 (NKJV) Among the 66 books of the Bible, Esther stands alone. Apart from the Song of Solomon, there is no obvious direct mention of God.   Aside from the Book of Ruth, it is the only Bible book that has a woman as the main character and namesake. No reference is made of religious observance, prayer, the temple, sacrifices, Biblical holidays, priesthoods or prophets. Even the Feast of Purim, which is introduced in ‘Esther,’ is a decidedly secular affair. It begins and ends with a feast and there are 10 feasts mentioned (1 for each chapter) as well as a total fast of 3 days duration. Despite these seeming deficiencies, Esther has an appropriate place in the Canon of Scripture. Esther is a superbly told story of the Jewish peo...