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...

The circumstances could not have been more tragic. A Judean woman moves to Moab because of famine in her homeland. After arrival to this foreign land her husband dies an untimely death. Her two sons marry local Moabite girls, but like their father, they also die prematurely. There were no children, either. With no government safety net or church support, or children to send out to work, the situation was hopeless. What can you do in such circumstances? Welcome to the Book of Ruth. Far from being a quaint, romantic tale, Ruth is a powerful manifesto of redemption - from tragedy to triumph. When all seems to be lost, redemption comes in and turns everything around -  even more than you can imagine. And there is more. What was really at stake was not merely the fortunes of two widows - it was the Messianic lineage itself from Abraham to David. The redemption of Ruth restored this broken line. Though a Gentile from a despised race, Ruth became an honoured matriarch who ...