Dear Family in the Messiah Yeshua! Greetings and blessings to you from your brothers and sisters at “Holy Land Ministries,” Israel!
We are rapidly approaching Purim.
The Jewish Holiday of Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Jewish month Adar, and this year it begins at sunset on Wednesday, March 16th, and continues through Thursday, March 17 by the Gregorian calendar.
In Israel, as elsewhere in the world now, the minds and hearts of many are occupied with the tragic events in Ukraine.
It is so difficult to keep peace in our heart and mind when there is so much contradictory, disturbing and terrifying information constantly bombarding us from all sides.
So many in Israel now, among the new Jewish immigrants whom we serve and even some among our local team here, are terribly worried for their loved ones, for friends and families they have left behind in Ukraine.
One of the Biblical instructions and practices for Purim is to read the Scroll of Ester and to study the actual lessons and modern parallels with the ancient events and characters recorded in the Scriptural text.
So what are the parallels and lessons that can be seen today as we reflect on the ancient story in the book of Esther?
One dominant truth becomes very clear as we look at the historical drama described in the book of Esther and at the tragic events taking place now in Ukraine.
As we reflect on the miraculous deliverance of Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire and all the “random” events that preceded it, we can clearly see the Divine pattern and skillfully designed plan carefully brought about through its Designer, though His name is not even mentioned in the entire text of the Scroll. The controller of our reality is the same today,
He has not changed throughout history and He is the only One who controls reality now, using every “sudden” situation for advancing His own purposes.
Many today are also afraid that the war in Ukraine and the abundance of weapons of mass destruction will start a third world war and put an end to all of humanity.
But we are clearly warned that it is not the end yet: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24: 6,7,8 (NKJV)
So what are the instruments and means that are relevant to us today in the time of trial, based on the lesson we learn from the story of Ester? What brought salvation in the desperate situation of G-d’s people in those ancient days?
The major lesson we can study from Ester’s case is that in the time of trouble she had put all her trust in the G-d of Israel and Him Alone. She had no illusions about the king’s capricious character or about any other clever, though often so unreliable tools such as the art of politics or diplomacy. Ester’s only hope was in the G-d of her fathers and His incredible mercy for his suffering children.
Her request to Mordechai shows this really clearly: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” Book of Esther 4:16
This same old “secret” weapon we all have today, nothing has changed in this sense from the days of Esther.
Living out today our testimony as Yeshua’s disciples, we have an even greater challenge and responsibility to use this powerful weapon as we are called to show His light to everyone who seeks the Truth and salvation in this time of darkness. “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation”.Psalm 118:4 NKJV
May He help us all as He helped Esther in the time of trouble to stay faithful to Him and Him Alone.
Let us all use mightily the old weapon of Prayer revealed to us in the book of Esther and firmly confirmed by Messiah’s Commands for all His disciples in the numerous texts of the Scripture. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of G-d in Yeshua HaMashiach (Christ Jesus) for you”. 1Thessalonians 5:16-18
As usual, we would like to share with you the thoughts of the local rabbi in Israel and our dear brother in Yeshua, who helps us better to see the significance of Purim within the Jewish Biblical context.
בס״ד
שרבית הזהב
The Golden Scepter
The primary message which the Holy Writings reveal is that the G-d of Israel gives life. In regard to this message, one finds that there is only one way to receive this life. In other words, the message is extremely narrow and although available to all people, it is indeed exclusive. The good news concerning this message is that G-d provides it freely and all one is required to do is to receive it. This message is of course a religious one and because there are many religions in the world, it is common for individuals to think that each religion also provides life. Although this view is politically correct, it is theologically incorrect. The Bible is full of numerous examples and a clear proclamation that Israel’s Messiah is the world’s only Redeemer and therefore only faith in Him and His redeeming work will provide life, i.e. eternal life in the Kingdom of G-d.
As we approach Purim and read the Scroll of Esther, one finds within this writing a great example of life being provided by only one means. Although this example is only of an earthly life, the principle which this article will address is nevertheless clearly seen. As one reads the Scroll of Esther, it becomes clear that Esther is presented as a typology for Messiah. She must be willing to give her life if the Jewish people are going to be spared from annihilation. It was Mordechai, her uncle, who instructed her to go before the king (her husband) and plead for her people. According to Persian law, individuals, including the queen, cannot go before the king unless he calls for them.
כָּל-עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וְעַם-מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ יֹדְעִים אֲשֶׁר כָּל-אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר יָבוֹא-אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל-הֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִית אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יִקָּרֵא אַחַת דָּתוֹ לְהָמִית לְבַד מֵאֲשֶׁר יוֹשִׁיט-לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת-שַׁרְבִיט הַזָּהָב וְחָיָה וַאֲנִי לֹא נִקְרֵאתִי לָבוֹא אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ זֶה שְׁלוֹשִׁים יוֹם׃
“All the servants of the king and the people of the provinces of the king know that every man and every women who shall come to the king, to the inner courtyard who shall not be called, this alone is the law, to be killed; except whom the king shall extend to him the Golden Scepter and he will live and I have not been called to come to the king this thirty days.”
Esther 4:11
Esther, knowing this very well, and having not been called by the king for thirty days, did not want to risk going before the king without being summoned. Despite Esther’s unwillingness, Mordechai implored her to do so and she agreed, only after three nights and days of the Jews of Shushan fasting for her and this matter.
The Biblical text states that it was on the third day that Esther went before the king. This was against the law of the Persians, but was in obedience to Mordechai, who had taken her after her parents’ death as his own daughter. Hence, Esther was demonstrating submissiveness to authority, i.e. obeying the Torah, כַּבֵּד אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אִמֶּךָ “Honor your father and your mother….” It was certainly as a result of her submissiveness and prayer that נָשְׂאָה חֵן בְּעֵינָיו וַיּוֹשֶׁט הַמֶּלֶךְ לְאֶסְתֵּר אֶת-שַׁרְבִיט הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדוֹ וַתִּקְרַב אֶסְתֵּר וַתִּגַּע בְּרֹאשׁ הַשַּׁרְבִיט׃ she lifted up favor in his eyes and the king extended to Esther the Golden Scepter which was in his hand, and she came near and touched the top of the Scepter.
There are a few Scriptural truths which must be discussed concerning what took place between the king and queen Esther. The first truth is that Esther received favor from the king. It was certainly her submissiveness to authority and the prayer, accompanied with fasting, that played the major role in G-d moving and bringing this about in the king’s heart. The second truth is that both the Golden Scepter and extending it to Esther belong to the king. The Golden Scepter is what the Persian law required the king to possess and it was solely at the king’s discretion whether or not to extend this Scepter. This law was in force and it could not be altered.
When it comes to the Gospel message, it is based upon a Divine Decree which cannot be changed. In the same way that Esther found favor from the king, all who come before G-d, having trusted in and submitted to the Gospel, will also find favor from G-d. There is one additional truth that also has great significance. The reader is told that after the king extended his Golden Scepter, Esther moved forward in order to touch it. This moving to the Scepter and touching it shows her willingness to accept the only means by which she could be in the king’s presence and find the help she and her people needed. In this same manner, one must be moved by faith, in order to move away from his or her thoughts and beliefs and accept what G-d has provided for humanity so one can be saved.
The point which I want to stress is that there is not a multiplicity of ways of finding G-d’s deliverance, but only one way, the Gospel, which focuses solely on the Person and Work of Messiah Yeshua. Today, in the society in which we live, such a belief that Yeshua is the only Savior is seen as a type of religious bigotry and those who will not affirm other religions as providing a legitimate way of salvation are now considered bordering on hate speech.
There is no doubt in my mind that before Israel will experience Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), believers in the Gospel will be harshly persecuted for accepting Messiah Yeshua as the only Savior. We will need to follow the example of Esther and submit and obey to the truth of G-d in order to find the favor of G-d and experience being delivered into the Kingdom of G-d.
May you have a blessed and meaningful Purim.
There is another specific Mitzvah (Command) in the Scroll of Ester concerning the Purim observance. Besides the making of the Purim Feast and that is that we should send meals to the poor:
”as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor”. Esther 9:22 (NKJV)
Dear Friends please pray with us for our ministry to the poor, especially to the sick, elderly and disabled within this category.
As you know we are constantly seeking to serve these needy Israelis through practical help, but most of all to reach them with the Gospel Message of Yeshua HaMachiach.
The observance of the Purim Mitzvah to bless the poor is giving us another wonderful opportunity to show them Love and compassion of our Blessed Messiah.
Dear Friends, we are also asking for your prayers concerning our ongoing ministry to the new Jewish immigrants.
For about the last six years, within this particular project, we are receiving new Jewish immigrants at our shelter in Ashqelon. We are helping them with their practical needs by providing them with free accommodation until they move into their own flats, we also help them to deal with some bureaucratic procedures etc, but most important, – we have a chance to minister to their spiritual needs.
We invite our shelter guests to celebrate Shabbat, (for many it is for the first time in their lives), to experience the incredible meaning and blessing of Shabbat, to study the Torah and prophecies of the G-d of Israel being fulfilled in our days, and to hear the good news of His Blessed Messiah.
For obvious reasons, we are not able to tell all the stories of the people who have come though our shelters, but using this opportunity, we usually share a particular situation of somebody who, in our opinion, needs special prayer support.
Dear Family, this time we are asking your prayers for Rantik .
Rantik is one of the recent guests in our shelter in Ashqelon. Originally Rantik came from Azerbaijan, an Islamic country that once was a part of the former Soviet Union. He is from an old Jewish family, from a group called “mountain Jews”. This particular Jewish group usually keeps more traditions and has more Jewish identity than Jewish people from the other regions of the former Soviet Union. Thus Rantik is more aware of his Jewish heritage than the average Jewish immigrants whom we minister in Israel. And yet, he is also going through serious challenges now, as he is trying to establish his new life in Israel. The fact is that this is not Rantik’s first attempt to settle in Israel.
Many years ago he came to Israel as a new Jewish immigrant, and according his own words, has even prospered here financially. He was young then and had a family. But then left Israel for many more years…
We cannot be sure why it happened. It might be for a variety of reasons which we have no time to discuss in this newsletter. In any case, we think it was a sad choice, but unfortunately, not that rare a situation.
We have met and tried to help people in Rantik’s situation before. It is all possible and can be achieved with the L-rd’s grace and help, but requires considerably more time and effort than is the case of “regular” Jewish immigrants.
So Rantik’s situation and status are different from the majority of the Jewish people whom we serve within this project. He belongs now to the category of “Toshav Hozer” , “Returning Resident”, defining the person who once made “Aliyah” (immigrated to Israel from the diaspora), but then left Israel again.
It practically this means that a person like Rantik has a right to claim Israeli citizenship again, but, of course, he has no government support, not even medical insurance for the first six months, because he has already received all the financial help when he immigrated to Israel the first time. In Rantik’s case that was about twenty years ago.
Unfortunately, during the last few years Rantik has experienced financial collapse; he has lost his property, his family and his health. He is sick with asthma and his physical condition at the moment has deteriorated greatly due to the exacerbation of the disease.
As we have explained earlier, Rantik , as “returning citizen” will be not be able to receive a free medical insurance just like any other Israeli during the next six months after his landing in Israel.
In the meantime we were able to help him with some medical treatment at the private doctor, but it looks that he may need much more help that we would be able to offer. The medical services are extremely expensive in Israel for the people who do not have insurance.
In some ways the story and situation of this poor man reminds us of the story of the prodigal son, to which most of us can identify with to various degrees. At the later stage of his life, this dear Jewish man is again back in Israel, in the land of his fathers, but this time he apparently does not have any of the “earthly portion of his inheritance”. He is an older person now, without financial means to support himself, without family and seriously sick with asthma.
But there is also a bright side to this story, Rantik is realizing deeply that he has no one else to turn accept to the G-d of Israel and his inexhaustible mercy, that brought him back again to the land of Israel. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart -These, O God, You will not despise”. Psalm 51:17 NKJV
Please support Rantik in your prayer , as he is going through this difficult stage in his life.
“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. ” Lukas 15:7
Please pray for the gift of repentance for this precious Jewish man, as he is crying out to G-d and discovering the truth and mercy of His Blessed Messiah. Please pray with us, that in spite of his personal circumstances or perhaps because of them, Rantik will receive the abundance of grace, forgiveness and healing that Messiah alone can pour into his heart.
Dear Family, we are asking for your prayers concerning the work of the new ministry House in Beer Sheva.
We have just opened this house as a new center for the ministry to the poor in Beer Sheva. We are using its facilities for food preparation to feed the poor, for temporary living quarters for struggling families and singles, for Torah study, for the observance of the Torah Holidays and more as the L-rd helps us and guides us.
In this connection we are asking for your prayers especially for Yuri and Ludmila, a married couple, who are responsible for this new ministry in Beer Sheva. Both of them are followers of our Messiah Yeshua and have been His committed disciples for many years. Yuri joined us in 2005 and Ludmila in 2012. They met each other through one of the ministry projects and got married in 2014. Since then they are serving the L-rd together, as a family, which is a tremendous blessing to all of us and to many people around who come in to contact with them.
Everyone who has been in touch with Yuri and Ludmila know about their faith in Yeshua as they themselves are the living testimony of His love and compassion to the needy: “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Yeshua (Christ), the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts”. 2 Cor.3:2-3 NKJV
In the light of all this, Yuri’s and Ludmila’s prayer in their own words is: “that every person who staying with us now, and everyone who enters this ministry place in the future, will live out the presence of our Messiah Yeshua and His saving power as an eternal life changing experience”.
Please pray for the increase of the L-rd’s anointing, strength and wisdom in the life of this dear couple, as they are beginning this exciting task and assuming a new level of responsibility.
Dear Family, we wish you all a blessed Purim!
Holy Land Ministries 