Editor's Note
The biblical festivals are not only central to Jewish life and identity, but they also serve as windows into God’s redemptive plan for the nations. At a time when Jewish–Christian relations are often marked by tension and misunderstanding, the global church is called to build bridges of understanding, love, and witness.
This new series explores the holidays of world religions to help us understand and engage meaningfully and missionally with our neighbours of other beliefs in practical ways. In this series, we uncover what we can learn from these festivals that can enrich our biblical understanding, discipleship, and mission. Each article invites the church to deepen faith, reach out to religious communities with humility and love, and participate in God’s reconciling mission to the world.
A sleepless king. A courageous queen. A villain with a vendetta. The Book of Esther reads like a soap opera steeped in Shakespearian tragedy, full of intrigue, irony, suspense, and salvation. Purim, one of the most joyous and lively holidays in the Jewish calendar, celebrates Queen Esther’s courage and God’s hidden hand, bringing this story to life each year. Yet beneath the colorful pageantry lies something far more profound, a revelation of God’s providence when he seems most absent.
Celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Adar (beginning this year at sundown on 2 March and continuing through the following day), Purim is vibrantly observed with feasts, gifts, storytelling, plays, and costume parades. It commemorates one of the darkest threats the Jewish people have ever faced, a plot to annihilate them. This prophetic theme has echoed throughout history. Yet through it all, Purim stands as a testimony to God’s divine intervention and unfailing protection over his people, a truth that believers today can still rejoice in and learn from.
The Story Behind the Celebration
The Book of Esther opens in the opulent court of King Ahasuerus, more commonly known as Xerxes I, who ruled over the vast Persian Empire. When Esther, a young Jewish woman raised by her cousin Mordecai, is chosen to take her place as queen, she conceals her Jewish identity. Meanwhile, Haman, a powerful royal official, becomes enraged when Mordecai refuses to bow before him. His pride festers into genocidal hatred, and he persuades the king to issue an edict ordering the extermination of all Jews in the empire.
When Mordecai learns of the decree, he sends word to Esther, urging her to intercede for her people. Esther’s response is one of the most courageous in Scripture: ‘Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf . . . Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish’ (Esther 4:16).
Through a remarkable series of reversals, Esther exposes Haman’s scheme, and the Jewish people are spared. To ensure this victory would never be forgotten, Mordecai established Purim, from the Hebrew word pur, meaning ‘lot,’ since Haman had cast lots to determine the day of the Jews’ destruction. He decreed that it should be a yearly feast: ‘They were to make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor’ (Esther 9:22).
God’s Hidden Hand
Remarkably, the name of God never appears in the Book of Esther. Yet his presence saturates every page. How else could it be that a Jewish orphan becomes queen of Persia at precisely the moment her people need a mediator? That a king suffers insomnia on the very night he is reminded of Mordecai’s heroism? That Haman’s schemes become the means of his own demise?
the name of God never appears in the Book of Esther. Yet his presence saturates every page.
The rabbis of old saw in Esther the perfect picture of hester panim, the ‘hidden face’ of God. Every twist in the story whispers of his unseen guidance. Purim teaches us to trust that the apparent coincidences of life are often divine appointments. God’s plans are unfolding even when his name is not on the page.
Though Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jews in Susa, we would be remiss to ignore that these were not the exiles who had returned to Israel. These Jewish men and women had remained in the diaspora, disregarding God’s command to return. They lived apart from the promised land and, in many ways, apart from God himself. Perhaps this is why his name never appears on their lips or in the narrative itself.
From Esther to Jesus
For Christians, the story of Esther resonates deeply with the gospel. Like Esther, Jesus risked everything to intercede for his people. Esther entered the king’s court at the risk of her life to plead for mercy. Jesus entered our world and gave his life to purchase mercy for us all. Esther’s words, ‘If I perish, I perish,’ echo the heart of the gospel, where the true Mediator laid down his life willingly so that his people might live. Just as Esther’s courage turned sorrow into joy, Jesus’ sacrifice turns death into life. And just as Purim celebrates a hidden deliverance, the cross reveals a hidden glory: God working salvation through what seemed to be defeat.
The same unseen hand that moved in Persia moves still in history, guiding all things toward the redemption promised in the Messiah.
Purim reminds believers that God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel endures. He has preserved the Jewish people through every empire, exile, and persecution. Like the Jewish people continuing to live in exile, we all have known (or have been) someone who has strayed from God even after seeing his mighty hand. Yet his providence is unmistakable still. He works behind the scenes to protect even those who do not call on him. The same unseen hand that moved in Persia moves still in history, guiding all things toward the redemption promised in the Messiah.
Purim Celebrations
Naturally, Purim is a day of exuberant joy. In Jewish communities around the world, the Megillah (the Scroll of Esther) is read aloud in the synagogue. Every time the name ‘Haman’ is mentioned, the congregation drowns it out with boos, rattles, and stomping, fulfilling the command to ‘blot out the memory of Amalek’ (Exodus 17:14). The reading is followed by a festive meal, the exchange of gifts of food known as mishloach manot, and charitable giving to the poor, called matanot la’evyonim. Costumes, comedy skits known as Purimspiels, and songs fill the day with laughter and celebration.
Even amid the joy, there is a deeper rhythm at work: remembrance and gratitude. The command to ‘proclaim the miracle’ reminds every generation that the survival of the Jewish people has never been the result of luck or coincidence, but of divine providence. Each retelling of the story becomes an act of worship, testifying to the faithfulness of the God who keeps his promises even when his presence seems hidden.
Celebrating with Gospel Eyes
Christians do not have to attend a synagogue or dress in costume to join in the spirit of Purim. Simply reading the Book of Esther aloud as a family or community can open hearts to wonder at God’s providence. Sharing a meal with friends, giving to those in need, or engaging Jewish neighbors in conversation about Purim can all become meaningful acts of faith and friendship, and may even be the way the Lord providentially moves in another’s life.
Esther’s story also offers a bridge for gentle and respectful gospel conversations. The question, ‘What do you think it means that God is not mentioned in Esther yet seems to be everywhere?’ can open dialogue about the mystery of divine providence. So can asking, ‘Have you ever felt like God was silent in your life?’ or ‘How do you see God bringing hope out of hopeless situations?’ Esther’s willingness to risk her life for her people points naturally to the One who gave his life for the salvation of the world.
Purim calls us to courageous obedience.
Finally, Purim calls us to courageous obedience. Esther did not wait for ideal circumstances to act. She stepped into danger, trusting that God had placed her ‘for such a time as this’. This story invites reflection on the ways God has worked behind the scenes in our own lives, turning sorrow into joy and weakness into strength, and calls us to consider where the Lord may be asking the same of us.
Maybe this simply looks like standing with the Jewish people. Haman’s hatred of the Jews is the same spirit that has fueled antisemitism throughout history. As believers who have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel, we are called to stand against hatred and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. In a time when antisemitism is again rising across the globe, Purim offers Christians an opportunity to express solidarity, compassion, and love toward the Jewish community.
God’s Faithfulness Then and Now
At its core, the message of Purim is one of steadfast hope. In a world marked by conflict and fear, Purim reminds us that the God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is still writing his story through his people, and he continues to call his followers, Jew and Gentile alike, to live courageously, proclaim the miracle, and trust the unseen hand that guides history toward redemption.
As Mordecai said to Esther, ‘Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ (Esther 4:14). Perhaps, for such a time as this, the church is called to remember God’s faithfulness to Israel, to bear witness to his providence, and to reflect his light to a fearful world. May the hidden hand of God give us courage to act, faith to trust, and joy to celebrate the salvation he provides through our Redeemer, Jesus the Messiah.