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II Adar 15, 5765 /
Mar 26, 2005
II Adar 13 5771 /
Mar 19, 2011
I Adar 15 5774 / Feb 15, 2014
I Adar 11 5776 / Feb 20,
2016
I Adar 11 5779 / Feb
16, 2019
I Adar 11 5782 / Feb
12, 2022
Zakhor
/ Remember
SCRIPTURES should be read first
Purim - Remember
Purim is the Hebrew word meaning
lots, as in casting lots. This is because lots were cast to determine that all
Jews would be killed on Adar 13 (Esther 3:7 & 13).
Every year on Adar 14, the Book of
Esther is read, and often enacted by children. Whenever the name of Esther or
Mordechai is read, everyone cheers. When the name of Haman or one of his
sons is read, it is drowned out by noisemakers or boos, because we are to banish
their names. Esther 9:18 & 28 instructs us to celebrate this day.
March 25, 2005 is the date to
celebrate Purim (it
starts on the evening prior).
This year, AM 5765 (AD 2004-5), is a leap year with thirteen months. The twelfth
month is Adar I, and this year also has an Adar II. Celebrations usually held in
the twelfth month are held in the thirteenth month. Therefore, Purim is
celebrated on the 14th day of Adar II (the 14th day of Adar I is called Purim
Katan, meaning Little Purim.
Amalek was a grandson of Esau
(Genesis 36:12).
During the exodus from Egypt, Amalek
attacked Israel.
8
Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses
said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I
will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and
Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came
about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his
hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were heavy. Then
they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur
supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were
steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his
people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then Yahweh said to Moses,
"Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will
utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." 15
Moses built an altar and named it Yahweh-Nissi (Yahweh is My Banner); 16
and he said, "Yahweh has sworn; Yahweh will have war against Amalek from
generation to generation" –
Ex6odus 17:8-1.
Yahweh commanded Israel to annihilate
the Amalekites when they came to rest in the Promised Land.
17
"Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt,
18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the
stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God.
19 "Therefore it shall come about when Yahweh your God has given you
rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which Yahweh your God gives
you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from
under heaven; you must not forget
– Deuteronomy 25:17-19.
When Israel was settled in the
Promised Land, Yahweh ordered King Saul to carry out His previous command.
1
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over His people,
over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of Yahweh. 2 "Thus
says Yahweh of hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he
set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3
'Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare
him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel
and donkey'" – I
Samuel 15:1-34.
But King Saul disobeyed. He put his
own judgment ahead of God’s. In the immediate, Saul lost his kingship.
9
But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the
fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them
utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed
– I Samuel 15:9.
In the long term, King Saul’s
decision to spare King Agag meant that Agag would have a son whose descendants
would seek to annihilate Israel.
10
Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son
of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 The king said to
Haman, "The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please"
– Esther 3:10-11.
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In a parallel story, David showed
mercy to Saul’s descendant Shimei. Shimei cursed David and threw stones at him,
but afterwards repented. David spared his life.
5
When King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the
family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out
cursing continually as he came. . . 13 So David and his men went on
the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went
he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him. . .
And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was
about to cross the Jordan. 19 So he said to the king, "Let not my
lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day
when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would take it to
heart. 20 "For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore
behold, I have come today, the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to
meet my lord the king."
21
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, "Should not Shimei be put to death for
this, because he cursed Yahweh’s anointed?" 22 David then said, "What
have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an
adversary to me? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not
know that I am king over Israel today?" 23 The king said to Shimei,
"You shall not die." Thus the king swore to him
– II Samuel 19:5-23.
From Saul, through Shimei, descended
Mordecai and Esther.
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, 6 who had been
taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with
Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.
7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for
she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face,
and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter
– Esther 2:5-7.
While the statuesque (1 Samuel 9:2)
King Saul put his own thoughts ahead of God’s, and disobeyed God’s command to
kill King Agag. As a result, the wicked Haman came on the scene attempting to
destroy Israel. But King David showed mercy to a repentant Shemei, a descendant
of Saul, and the result was the young woman Esther, who was used to eliminate
Haman. And now we celebrate Purim, remembering the results of a proud man’s
disobedience, and a young woman’s faithfulness.
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II Thessalonians 2
God’s declaration of intent to
destroy Amalek is reminiscent of the coming Day of Yahweh.
The Day of Yahweh (Yom Yahweh
– commonly translated The Day of the LORD) is foretold in many passages
of Scripture. [Greek: I Thess 5:2, II Pet 3:10 hamera kuriou; Rev
1:10 kuriakai hamera] The wicked are going to be destroyed from the
earth.
6
Wail, for the Day of Yahweh is near! It will come as destruction from the
Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man's heart
will melt. 8 They will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold
of them; they will writhe like a woman in labor, they will look at one another
in astonishment, their faces aflame. 9 Behold, the Day of Yahweh is
coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and
He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven
and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark
when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. 11 Thus I will
punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put
an end to the arrogance of the proud and abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold and mankind than the
gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the
earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of Yahweh of hosts in the day of
His burning anger –
Isaiah 13:6-13.
3
"For the day is near, even the Day of Yahweh is near; it will be a day of
clouds, a time of doom for the nations –
Ezekiel 30:3.
1
Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble, for the Day of Yahweh is coming; surely it is
near, 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick
darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and
mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again
after it to the years of many generations. 3 A fire consumes before
them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before
them but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war
horses, so they run. 5 With a noise as of chariots they leap on the
tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the
stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle. 6 Before them the
people are in anguish; all faces turn pale. 7 They run like mighty
men, they climb the wall like soldiers; and they each march in line, nor do they
deviate from their paths. 8 They do not crowd each other, they march
everyone in his path; when they burst through the defenses, they do not break
ranks. 9 They rush on the city, they run on the wall; they climb into
the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. 10 Before
them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark and
the stars lose their brightness. 11 Yahweh utters His voice before
His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is he who carries out His
Word. The Day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
12 "Yet even now," declares Yahweh, "Return to Me with all your
heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 and rend your heart
and not your garments." Now return to Yahweh your God, for He is gracious and
compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil
– Joel
2:1-13.
15
"For the Day of Yahweh draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will
be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head. 16
"Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, all the nations will drink
continually. They will drink and swallow and become as if they had never
existed. 17 "But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape, and it
will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess their possessions –
Obadiah 1:15-17.
While the righteous may look forward
to the Great Sabbath, the prophet Amos warned the self-righteous that for them
it would come as a day of calamity – not something to anticipate joyfully.
18
Alas, you who are longing for the Day of Yahweh, for what purpose will the Day
of Yahweh be to you? It will be darkness and not light; 19 as when a
man flees from a lion And a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against
the wall And a snake bites him. 20 Will not the Day of Yahweh be
darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it? 21 I
hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies
– Amos 5:18-21.
Now we must understand, that evil is
going to come. Deception will be very strong, as even now we see its beginnings
in such things as evolution and individual rights to be evil.
But God has chosen us to believe the
truth (II Thessalonians 2:13). Therefore, we have no basis to be proud, but owe
all glory to Him.
As for the righteous – believers, God
is longsuffering toward us, and will bring each one to repentance.
1:1
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the
righteousness of our God and Savior, Yeshua the Messiah
(This is not applied to all people.):
3:9 The Lord
is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the Day of Yahweh
will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the
elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will
be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this
way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12
looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the
heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense
heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens
and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore,
beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in
peace, spotless and blameless
– II Peter 1:1, 3:9-13.
We need not fear evil. We must set
our priorities on serving God in love, and trust Him that, as He says,
everything will work for our ultimate good – even calamities.
Readings:
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who chose us from among all peoples by
giving us Your Torah.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
Reader 1* Amen. 17
"Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt,
18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the
stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God.
19 "Therefore it shall come about when Yahweh your God has given you
rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which Yahweh your God gives
you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from
under heaven; you must not forget.
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who in giving us Yeshua, the Living
Torah, has planted everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
______________________
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who selected good prophets, delighting
in their words which were spoken truthfully.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, Who chose the
Torah, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel,
and the prophets of truth and
righteousness."
Psalm 140
I
Samuel 15:1-34
Reader 2* Amen. 1 Then Samuel said
to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now
therefore, listen to the words of Yahweh. 2 "Thus says Yahweh of
hosts, 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself
against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 'Now go
and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but
put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and
donkey.'"
Reader 3* Amen. 4 Then Saul
summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, 200,000 foot soldiers and
10,000 men of Judah. 5 Saul came to the city of Amalek and set an
ambush in the valley. 6 Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, go
down from among the Amalekites, so that I do not destroy you with them; for you
showed kindness to all the sons of Israel when they came up from Egypt." So the
Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 So Saul defeated the
Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8
He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the
people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared
Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that
was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised
and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Reader 4* Amen. 10 Then the word of
Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 "I regret that I have made Saul
king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My
commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to Yahweh all night. 12
Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying,
"Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned
and proceeded on down to Gilgal." 13 Samuel came to Saul, and Saul
said to him, "Blessed are you of Yahweh! I have carried out the command of
Yahweh." 14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep
in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" 15 Saul said,
"They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of
the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; but the rest we have
utterly destroyed."
Reader 5* Amen. 16 Then Samuel said
to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh said to me last night." And he
said to him, "Speak!" 17 Samuel said, "Is it not true, though you
were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel?
And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, 18 and Yahweh 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 Yahweh, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in
the sight of Yahweh?" 20 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the
voice of Yahweh, and went on the mission on which Yahweh 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 Yahweh your God
at Gilgal."
Reader 6* Amen. 22 Samuel said,
"Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the
voice of Yahweh? 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 Yahweh, He has also rejected you from being king." 24 Then Saul
said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of Yahweh
and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25
"Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship
Yahweh." 26 But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for
you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being
king over Israel."
Reader 7* 27 Amen. As Samuel turned to go, Saul
seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him,
"Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your
neighbor, who is better than you. 29 "Also the Glory of Israel will
not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."
30 Then he said, "I have sinned; but please honor me now before the
elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship
Yahweh your God." 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul
worshiped Yahweh. 32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag, the king of
the Amalekites." And Agag came to him cheerfully. And Agag said, "Surely the
bitterness of death is past." 33 But Samuel said, "As your sword has
made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel
hewed Agag to pieces before Yahweh at Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to
Ramah, but Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 Samuel did
not see Saul again until the day of his death; for Samuel grieved over Saul. And
Yahweh regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
II Thessalonians 2:1-17
Reader 8* Amen. 1 Now we request
you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our
gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your
composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from
us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord has come. 3 Let 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, 4 who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so
that he takes his seat in the Temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling
you these things?
Reader 9* Amen. 6 And you know what
restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the
mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so
until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be
revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an
end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming
is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false
wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so
that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may
be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
Reader 10* Amen. 13 But we should
always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has
chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit
and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our
gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 15
So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord
Yeshua the Messiah Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us
eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen
your hearts in every good work and word.
"Blessed are You, Yahweh
our God, King of the Universe,
Rock of Ages, righteous
throughout all generations.
You are the faithful God,
promising and then performing, speaking and then fulfilling,
for all Your words are true
and righteous.
Faithful are You, Yahweh
our God, and faithful are Your words,
for no word of Yours shall
remain unfulfilled;
You are a faithful and
merciful God and King.
Blessed are You, Yahweh our
God, Who are faithful in fulfilling all Your words."
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