In the book of Esther, we first meet the young heroine as Hadassah, a Jewish orphan taken up and raised by her cousin Mordecai during the Jewish exile to Babylon. In the Bible, names are a key to discovering the identity and purpose of a persons life and their God given destiny. From Hadassah to Esther, to Esther the queen, all three speak to her identity as a daughter of Israel, a sweet promise of restoration to the Jewish people and victory over Amalek, the enemy of the Jews.
In Hebrew Hadassah means “myrtle tree” an evergreen, fragrant shrub associated with flowing rivers that is a symbol of the recovery and establishment of God’s promises and prosperity. In the Book of Isaiah, God promises Israel that though they are parched and dry, he will cause rivers to flow in barren heights and trees to grow in the desert such as cedar, acacia and myrtle. It is a prophetic picture of God’s promised blessings.
Esther is a Persian name which means star but also means hidden. There is the root word (asar), meaning to tie, bind, gird. The root (satar), hide or conceal and (mistar) hiding place. Together they would make her name mean “I Am a Hiding Place or I Am Hidden”. Though God is omnipresent and omnipotent, in this story Esther becomes the mysterious hiding place of God, for He is The Great “I AM”. Though we don’t see or hear God speak, we know that He is sovereign for Esther is elevated to Queen of Persia and the Jewish people are given victory over their enemies. We never hear God speaking like we do in the other books of the Bible but we know that He gave her a strategy during a three day fast she called for all the Jews in Persia. She came out with a mysterious plan and great courage that led to victory.
GENERATION TO GENERATION
Mordecai and Esther are from the tribe of Benjamin and descendants of King Saul, the first King ever appointed over Israel. Generations before, King Saul was ordered by God to completely destroy the Amalekites, including their livestock, women and children. Not only were they enemies of the Jews but their evil was so pervasive it had to be blotted out entirely. Saul disobeyed God by sparing the best of their sheep and oxen but even more importantly he spared their King, Agag who lived to produce descendants. It’s important to note that the person of Amalek is introduced as the grandson of Esau, the Father of Edom and the fraternal twin brother of Jacob who is the Father of Israel. Esau was a bitter, angry and rebellious son, despising his birthright and marrying Canaanite women who introduced him to foreign gods. The first time we hear of Amalek attacking Israel is in the Book of Exodus. Amalek attacked by surprise ambush in the desert, targeting the tail end of the line where the slow and weak fell behind. God gave Israel the victory in that battle and then swore He would make war with Amalek from generation to generation until he is utterly destroyed. The lineage of Amalek would have been abolished completely in Saul’s reign had he obeyed God but the captured king’s life produced descendants that went on to continue the war. These two nations are still battling with each other today.
The assignment that Saul forfeited in his time became a battle given to Esther in her generation.
Esther was raised in Persia during the Babylonian exile but we know that Mordecai not only brought her up as his own daughter, he also “raised” her in the ways of Torah to know and have faith in the God of Israel. We are introduced to Esther and Mordecai when King Ahasuerus of Persia is directed by his peers to find a new wife after Queen Vashti refuses to come and be paraded around at his drunken banquet. Queen Vashti is forcefully disposed from her position and a search goes out for all the beautiful young virgins in the land for a new Queen for Ahasuerus. We learn that Esther was one of the women who were “taken” to the palace to be placed in the harem to be given beauty treatments in anticipation of meeting the king. Many have believed that being chosen to be taken to the palace was an honor but the reality is that Esther and the other women were not courted but kidnapped; seized and taken against their will. Many of them never saw their families again, for they remained in the palace whether they pleased the king or not.
We see the hand of God upon Esther throughout her captivity as she is given favor with those in charge of her in the palace. Her character is tested and proven as she remains obedient to Mordecai by never revealing her people or lineage while in captivity. She also uses wisdom in her choice to obey the suggestion of the king’s eunuch to wear only what he suggested for meeting with the king. Esther won favor with the king over all the other women and he placed the royal crown upon her head.
This is where we meet Haman, the descendant of Amalek – the enemy of the Jews.
Haman is introduced to us as the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He is a descendant of king Agag whom Saul captured but did not kill generations earlier…
King Ahasuerus promotes Haman above all the other officials in the palace and commands his servants to bow down to him in honor. Now Mordecai was at the kings gate every day looking out for Esther; he was the only one who refused to bow down to Haman. The kings servants asked why he would not pay homage and Mordecai answered them, “I am a Jew.” He would give this kind of reverence to no man, his worship given only to the God of Israel. Haman became enraged and sought to destroy not only Mordecai but the entire Jewish population in the kingdom, all 127 provinces of Persia. To better understand the magnitude of the decree, below is a map of the Persian empire in Esther’s time:
We may not know exactly how many Jews were still in Persia at the end of the exile but we know that there were many for there were three exiles of the Jewish people to Babylon by the time Esther became Queen. Haman’s plan was to annihilate them all.
Just as God is hidden in the story behind Esther, so too is the spirit of Amalek hidden behind Haman. Though the generations come and go, the spirits and spiritual warfare remain the same. Remember Amalek is the grandson of Esau who did marry Canaanite women; he abandoned his people and the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac. The name Amalek given to Esau’s grandson is not of human origin but it is a name that belongs to a terrible evil spiritual power still at work in the universe. The spirit of Amalek represents doubt, apathy and spiritual blindness. Haman, being under that power, uses the casting of “pur” to determine the ideal time to destroy the Jews. While God gave the Jewish people the practice of casting lots in seeking a decision from Him, the casting of pur is the practice of witchcraft.
God made a point to name the holiday ‘Purim‘ to emphasize this was a victory over witchcraft powers. We need to understand the importance of this so we can be wise and prepare to have victory over those same powers that are still at war with God and all of humanity today, not just God’s people.
We can see from history the emergence of the spirit of Amalek from the Nazi regime. We know that Hitler was the leader of this evil plan to annihilate the Jews as well as anyone he deemed unfit to live such as the lame and the crippled. Remember how Amalek attacked Israel from the rear, targeting the slow and weak? It’s a similar strategy that Hitler used of attacking Israel (the Jews) and the weak and infirmed who fall behind, needing the most help. Many have believed this was just a political war led by a terrible man who Svengali’d the nations but we must ask, how was he able to do this? The truth is that it happened through sorcery and witchcraft. Just like Haman was able to convince King Ahasuerus to decree the annihilation of the Jews in Esther’s time, so too was Hitler the man in his generation that served evil powers. The Nazi symbol is indeed the symbol of Amalek! The symbols of witchcraft are associated with specific demonic powers that have demonic forces attached to them.
A main component of witchcraft is mind control, which was a hallmark of not only Hitler’s regime but of Pharoah in Egypt who also attempted to annihilate the Jews through sorcery, slavery and mind control. If we look at the former Egyptian kingdom we can see they used many symbols and systems that are associated with demonic powers.
These stories are not just for us to remember past tragedies or victories in history, they are also prophetic pictures of what is to come. God impressed upon my heart to write about the spiritual warfare component of this story because we are heading into End Times and these same powers are planning to rise again in the nations very soon. The Bible speaks of “a man of lawlessness” who will be so charming and seem like he will have the solution to world problems but will actually be operating through sorcery, witchcraft and mind control just like Pharaoh, Haman and Hitler. Now is the time to draw close to God and pray for wisdom and discernment for the prophecies warn us of what is to come:
“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.” Daniel 11:31-32
We must have a personal relationship with God to be able to resist the regime that is about to rise to power. Though Jewish people have not been sacrificing animals for more than 2,000 years, right now a third Temple is being planned in Israel with religious communities raising up Kohanim (Levitical priests) to reinstate the daily sacrifice. As we can see from the above passage out of the Book of Daniel, this is a prophecy about to come true. If we look even more closely at the scripture, it warns us of a “setup of an abomination that causes desolation”. This is an idol that will be set up in the third Temple – just like the story of Hanukkah, this man will put up an idol in the Temple, proclaim himself to be god and force people to worship it and him. This is the last evil event to happen that will usher in the return of the Messiah Yeshua who will defeat him, as it is written.
This is a prophecy and a promise from God.
Just like God gave Esther victory over Amalek in her generation, we have an even greater covenant in place with Yeshua that guarantees our victory over evil and protects us from falling prey to the same sorcery that empowered Pharoah, Haman and Hitler.
Yeshua is the Messiah and Savior of the world! He is the One whom God sent to save us all, he came first to the Jew and then to the Gentile; a prophecy fulfilled by the Prophet Isaiah who foretold us,
“He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6
Yeshua means “Salvation”. By faith in Yeshua, we are restored to God. By faith in Yeshua we are completed in Torah. By faith in Yeshua we are saved from evil and given authority over all power of the enemy. By faith in Yeshua we are given the Spirit of God in our hearts to lead us and guide us into all truth. By faith in Yeshua we are saved.
Do you want to know the God of Israel? Do you want discernment and wisdom from God to be prepared for the final battle?
Yeshua is the way! Say this prayer out loud and from your heart:
“Yeshua please come into my heart. I believe you are the Messiah and Savior of the world and I want to follow you. I want to be a partaker of the new covenant, know You intimately and be prepared for what is to come. Please give me your Spirit, teach me your ways and lead me on the path of righteousness. Thank you for saving me God! In Yeshua’s mighty name I pray. Baruch HaShem Adonai! (Praise The Name of The Lord!)
If you just prayed that prayer all of Heaven is now rejoicing. You are called and chosen, part of a royal priesthood and born again by the Spirit of God. Welcome to the Kingdom of God!
SHEMA ISRAEL 