by Reuven and Mary Lou Doron
email: OneNewManMail@aol.com

The church and Israel are entering the final month of the biblical year, the month of Adar. Soon we will celebrate the Passover in mid- April, commemorating our great exodus from slavery, but not before we pass through the grave peril, bold intercession, unwavering faith, and awesome deliverance as told in the book of Esther. Before Passover's new beginning comes the great testing of Purim. This is the season of danger, fasting, confrontation, action, deliverance and eventual celebration. This is the Month of Purim.

The Feast is celebrated on the 13th-15th day of Adar, the twelfth month of the biblical year (March 13-15). It is a joyous celebration of the deliverance of the Jewish people from total annihilation during the reign of the Persian King Xerxes I. With Passover beginning on the 14th of Nisan, the first month of the Biblical year (April 13-19, 2006), Purim comes precisely one month before it, preparing the way.

Prophetic Shadows of Heavenly Realities

The story of Esther is a prophetic picture in types and shadows of the intercession of the Bride of Christ on behalf of God's children and the people of Israel. God's providence shines through this incredible account, empowering us with faith and courage to stand and believe even when all hope is gone. If your life and circumstances bear the heavy yoke of hopelessness and impending calamity, then Purim's message is for you.

This story is rich with powerful and profound prophetic types: Ahasuerus is the sovereign king reigning over a vast kingdom of many peoples, among them a remnant of the people of Israel. Vashti, his queen, represents the "ransom principle," having lost her royal position (and probably her head) to make a way for Esther who will also risk her life. Both queens had incredible beauty and courage, and both defied the king's decree--Vashti, by not appearing when summoned, (Esther 1:12), and Esther, by appearing unsummoned (Esther 4:16) before the same violent and volatile king. This true account is far more intriguing and genuine than the popular soap operas of our day.

Esther, the beautiful and humble maiden of Hebrew descent, is a type of the Bride of Christ, the glorious Church in intercession. Mordecai is seen in the role of the Godly Jewish presence that does not bow down to any god but God, and can lead, train, and exhort the intercessors. His character reminds us that "all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (Titus 2:12) and that there is a price to pay for serving God in this age. Haman, with his plan to annihilate the Jewish people, and through them the Messianic line, demonstrates the ever-present anti-Christ and anti-Jewish diabolical drive.

What's In It for You?

Ahasuerus had been defeated by the Greeks at Salamis in 479 BC. Known for his emotional extremes, he sought consolation in his harem and threw a grand royal party in the palace of Susa. Queen Vashti, whose renowned beauty was part of the program, defied her husband's summons and was consequently deposed and probably executed.

Esther, raised from obscurity like a biblical "Cinderella," won the royal "beauty pageant" and, under Mordecai's wise counsel, negotiated the treacherous and dangerous dynamics of this wicked pagan court. Facing impending genocide by Haman's vindictive scheme, and empowered by a broad prayer and fasting campaign, she gained the king's favor and made powerful intercession on behalf of her people.

It is a tale of danger, treachery, humility, courage, faith, and victory. Like other Godly women, Esther affected great influence by her beauty of character, faith, and humble spirit. Many Godly women today can drink deeply from her character as it is described in (I Peter 3:1-4) saying,

"In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God."

Esther was a woman of valor and action who didn't shrink back from standing against evil and for the truth, yet she did it in the right spirit with fasting and prayer.

It is a tale of integrity and faithfulness as Mordecai took his quiet position protecting the king from an assassination plot without taking any recognition for himself. The unchanging principle of sowing and reaping is proven in his life as his righteous acts and Godly choices produced, in time, the blessed fruit of honor, favor, and high position in the royal court. For some of you who serve unnoticed and unrecognized in obscure places and difficult circumstances, remember, "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." (Galatians 6:9)

It is a tale of divine providence, justice, and vindication. Through fasting and bold intercession, Haman, the arch enemy of God's purposes, was exposed and defeated. Not only has the gallows he prepared for righteous Mordecai become the instrument of his own execution, but the entire spiritual atmosphere in the kingdom changed. According to the king's decree, "The Jews struck all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them" (Esther 9:5), and in addition, "In each and every province, and in each and every city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree arrived, many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them." (Esther 8:17)

The War of the Ages

Haman was of the blood line of the Agagite (Esther 3:1) whose ancestor was none other than Agag, king of Amalek, Israel's ancient and ruthless foe. Mordecai, on the other hand, is traced to Kish (Esther 2:5), a Benjamite out of whose blood line came King Saul.

Concerning the Amalekites who had been hostile to Israel ever since the early years of the exodus from Egypt, God commanded King Saul, saying, "I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel. 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." (1 Samuel 15:2-3)

Saul, however, compromised and did not destroy his enemy. In disobedience to God's Word, he spared the spoils of war and the life of King Agag in a bout of unsanctified mercy and greed. As a result, not only did Saul lose the throne (1 Samuel 15:22-23), but Amalek was allowed posterity, though Agag himself was soon slain by Samuel the prophet. Too often such political, people-pleasing, and apathetic attitudes toward God's commands render His people incapable of carrying out His full purposes, forcing the hand of the true prophetic to do the king's job.

Though Agag was slain, the surviving future Agagite generations continued to be fueled by the same diabolical hatred, and the campaign against the people of God continued on and on. Nearly five hundred years after Saul's compromise we find Mordecai and Haman, both of the blood lines of Saul and Agag, yet again locked in this mortal battle of the ages. In other words, the war will go and on, from generation to generation, until the enemy is utterly destroyed!

Our failure to execute God's judgment over evil, especially over our own sin and compromise, will only perpetuate its destructive impact and invite graver visitations upon our descendants. Unchecked and unrepented sin only escalates and increases over time, and the prophetic admonition is alarming which says that "They sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind." (Hosea 8:7)

No amount of whitewashing, denial, or guilty silence can put an end to this unrelenting flood of death. According to God's word, only confession and repentance break generational curses and harmful genealogical tendencies. If we don't repent of our sins, our children and children's children will pay the price.

The Intercession of the Bride

It was the 13th day of the month of Adar which Haman had selected for the annihilation of the Jewish population of the Persian Empire. Authorizing Haman's request, the king issued a royal decree sealing the fate of his Jewish subjects. Queen Esther, however, who was already providentially positioned in the palace, interceded before the king and saved her people. Her weapons were humility, beauty, fasting, faith and great courage (Esther 4:14-17).

Esther's Hebrew name was Hadassah--meaning a Myrtle tree: a low tree (humility) with shining green leaves adorned with snow white flowers (purity) bordered with purple (royalty) emitting an exquisite perfume--yet her Jewish identity was kept hidden. She is pointing prophetically to the true Church who also is of Hebraic roots though called to a Heavenly position. Regardless of her royal office, however, Esther would not have escaped the fate of her Jewish brethren should Haman's plot have succeeded, just as today the true Church is directly linked to the people of Israel and their fate.

Other than the intercessory ministry of the Lord Jesus Himself, we cannot find in the Word of God a more dramatic, dangerous, or powerful intercession than that of Esther. Among the great intercessors of the Bible, none other portrays so clearly and vividly the position and the ministry of the true Church toward God on behalf of His people Israel. A comprehensive teaching of this prophetic feast is found in our book One New Man available through the Elijah List at: www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=2302 or by clicking on one of the buttons in the ad below.

The Right to Suffer and to Fight

Responding to the beauty, courage, and powerful intercession of his bride, and seeing the true treacherous nature of Haman, the king issued a second royal decree overriding the first one which sanctioned the annihilation of the Jewish people. This second decree now authorized and deputized these very victims to rise up, assemble together, pursue, and destroy their enemies. The king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them and to plunder their spoil. (Esther 8:11)

In fact, the king's first decree, though seemingly fatal, served to expose and flush out the enemies of God's people so that these very enemies themselves might be destroyed at the second decree. The end of the story is in the hand of the Lord, and those of you who have suffered under the enemy's oppression will be given authority to pursue and conquer your foes as you do it God's way.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you." (1 Peter 5:6-10)

Your Vindication Is In Him

Prophetically, the month of Adar is a season of great danger, fierce battle, and eventual victory; a season of fasting, fighting, and ultimately rejoicing. Those who call upon the name of the Lord today, and are led by the wise counsel of His Spirit, are also in a position to enter into bold intercession before the King of Kings. The enemy has pronounced murderous plots against many and has set deadly traps in your path. But God, who is sovereign over all, has promised to pass judgment in favor of the saints.

So great was the victory and deliverance of God's people that "Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. obliging them to celebrate the 14th day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday." (Esther 9:20-22)

The story came to a joyous conclusion with a great victory and deliverance as the "formula" of humility + integrity + fasting + intercession was proven successful. The sovereign king granted the Bride's powerful intercession; the enemy's plans were turned upon himself; and all things worked together for good for those who loved God and remained true to His purposes. And yet, this great intercession still stands to be fulfilled one last time at the end of this age.

A Bride of Hebraic roots, most excellent of maidens, prepared and perfected for royalty, will yet enter the presence of The King of Kings and make a powerful intercession on behalf of His people Israel. The fate of the people will once again rest in the heart of the Bride. Are you willing to join those who celebrate this coming prophetic Purim?

In His grace,

Reuven and Mary Lou Doron
One New Man Call
P.O. Box 164
Hayfield, MN 55940 USA
email: OneNewManMail@aol.com

March 7, 2006