Story of Purim
Purim was the Hebrew feast instituted in celebration of when God delivered the Jews from their enemies (Esther 9:18-32). During the time of Queen Esther, Haman the Agagite set a plot to destroy the Jewish people in one day. To determine when to carry out this plan, they casted lots (known as Pur) and it fell on the thirteenth day of twelfth month, known as Adar (Esther 3:7,13). Haman tricked the king to issue a decree to destroy all the Jews in one day. However, when Esther heard of this plot, she called the Jews to fast for three days.
“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!” Esther 4:15-16 NKJV
On the third day of her fast, Queen Esther rose up and entered the King’s hall, requesting both Haman and the king to join the banquet she prepared on the next day. During the banquet, the Queen exposed Haman’s intent to kill all of the Jews, herself included (Esther 7:3-4). In anger, the king executed Haman. Since any decree written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring cannot be revoked (Esther 8:8), the king issued a second decree where Jews in every city can unite and defend their lives against their attackers. When the thirteenth of Adar came, the Jews overpowered those who came after them. Within the two day period, the Jews defeated 75,000 of their enemies (Esther 9:16). They then commemorated these two days as Purim (named after lots that were cast, the Pur), to celebrate “when the Jews gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned into gladness and their mourning into joy” (Esther 9:22 NLT).
Purim of 2022
The Hebraic date of the thirteenth of Adar falls on the evening of March 16th, 2022 (the Hebraic calendar marks the beginning of the day at sundown [Genesis 1:5]). We believe it will be a time to celebrate God’s deliverance from evil and our enemies, turning our sorrows into gladness. Leading up to this time of celebration, we want to call a city-wide 3 day fast and solemn assembly (March 13th-15th). This will be a time of heartfelt repentance, both individual & corporate, for all the ways we have turned away from God, and any agreement with the enemy, whether intentional or not.
No matter the circumstances, it is God’s goodness that calls us to repentance. When we begin to seek God earnestly in prayer & fasting, He is faithful to encounter us where we are with His goodness and mercy, and begin to change the course of events. As we humbly come together to seek God’s face, to seek to honor Him for who He is, He will begin to move on our behalf. That is the true victory! To that end, we would like to encourage you to join us with your family and community.
The Holy Spirit will be our leader. We only feel led to issue this call and to prepare some material as a guide in holding this solemn assembly. Please join as the Lord leads your family and community to do so. The key thing on God’s heart, we believe, is the restoration of family according to his ways, the raising up of kings & priests according to the Order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7:17).
