Light of the pilgrim heart, Star of the coming day! Arise with morning beams, And chase our griefs away” (E. Denny).
More than 25 centuries have rolled their course since the day Mordecai wrote “that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews” (Est 9:28). Until the present day, the Feast of Purim is kept. Also to this day, the enemies of the Jews still plot their destruction. How we should “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Ps 122:6)! Oh that they might understand that their Champion, soon to be arrayed in garments reddened with the blood of His foes, was once red with His own blood. Jerusalem will not have peace until the Prince of Peace returns. So let’s pray for all those seeking “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 10:6). The “time of Jacob’s trouble” ( Jer 30:7) still lies ahead, and a fearsome time it will be. But it will not be one moment more than necessary to bring those wayward ones to the Good Shepherd who gave “His life for the sheep” ( Jn 10:11). Then with amazement they will say, “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions” (Isa 53:4-5). Soon after will be ushered in the glorious reign of their Savior, illustrated in the elevation of Mordecai, the man used to save Israel. Only Psalm 117 has fewer verses than the last chapter of the book of Esther, yet it anticipates a rule that never comes to an end. As Nebuchadnezzar—of all people—said, “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation” (Dan 4:34). Then Messiah, Mordecai-like, will be “great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen” (Est 10:3).