God and the Gallows

I owe today’s posting to David Brickner from Jews For Jesus and his recent email about Purim (a Jewish holiday that celebrates the God’s providential rescue of the Jewish people because of Esther’s intercession with her husband the king of Persia) You can read all about the events that led to the establishment of the holiday and the actual holiday itself in the Book of Esther found in the ancient Jewish writings (What we now refer to as the Old Testament of the Bible).

This Friday we have the convergence of two important holidays Purim and Good Friday. Both of these events revolved around a gallows a place of death and punishment. There are a number of interesting parallels between each of these events.

Both events took place in the Middle East
Both events were preceded by a triumphal entry into a city.
Both events centered around a plot to kill an innocent man
Both events malignant leaders who co-opted weak rulers
Both gallows were constructed out of wood
Both gallows were designed to kill those were hung on them

There are some dissimilarities, too

Executing Mordechai was part of Hman’s plan to destroy God’s people
Executing Jesus was part of the devil’s plan to destroy God’s Son

Haman’s plot was thwarted by Queen Esther’s denouncement of his plan and
the subsequent hanging of not only Haman but also his sons on the gallows he had
built for Mordechai

The devil’s plot was thwarted not just by the death
of Jesus but also His subsequent resurrection

On Purim, God worked behind the scenes
On Good Friday, God brought salvation
to the entire world to all who would receive it and on Easter Sunday Christ
became the firstborn of the dead, the New Adam and the author of the New
Covenant in His blood.

I’m sure that there are more similarities and contrasts that could be drawn between these two events. What we can say for sure is that both days attest to the fact that God remains constant and He never changes. Whether His activities are hidden or open for all to see, God is a God who saves and can be trusted to save His children.

In the end God always wins and His justice and righteousness will have supremacy in this world when His Kingdom is fully established here on earth.

As we look to the past and how God has overcome evil with good, we can trust Him for the present and for the future, too.

Have a great Easter season

He is risen…

…He is risen indeed!

Dr. Val