This is the season of Purim and Resurrection. As we are looking into the Book of Esther, which is the story of Purim, it is rich with revelation and prophetic meaning. It has layers of truth, and the deeper you look, the more layers you can uncover.
One of the beautiful portraits from the Book of Esther is the portrait of the Bride of Christ. Esther was chosen to marry King Ahasuerus. His name translates as "I will be silent and poor (humble)", but even more interestingly, from an older source, his name means "lion-king". His city of Shushan means "lily, trumpet, white" from a root word meaning, "exult, rejoice, leap with joy".
As Esther married the king, she carried two identities. Outwardly, publicly, Esther was a Gentile. However, inwardly and truly, she was a Jew. Her Hebrew birth name was Hadassah, meaning "myrtle". According to rabbinical teaching, the myrtle tree releases a fragrant aroma called "Maharsha" when its leaves are crushed. The leaves were also used in brews and teas for medicinal purposes. The myrtle tree is associated with righteousness as it is mentioned in Zech. 1:8-11.
The name Esther is of Persian origin and means "star". The Hebrew word closest to this name is hester, meaning "hidden". What was hidden about Esther? It was her Jewish identity. This hidden Jewish identity made all the difference in foiling the plot of the wicked Haman against the covenant people of God. Esther's uncle, Mordecai, commanded her not to reveal her Jewish heritage, nor her connection to the Jewish people (Est. 2:10,20). So she lived as a Gentile, known only by her Gentile name.
The Bride of Christ is also both Jewish and Gentile. Although most of the Church is identified as being Gentile, its roots, and its Savior are very much Jewish. Our scriptures are Jewish. The Gentile branches may have been grafted in, but the root is Jewish. Not only that, but scripture tells us that those original Jewish branches are going to be restored.
photo above: myrtle branch
One of the beautiful portraits from the Book of Esther is the portrait of the Bride of Christ. Esther was chosen to marry King Ahasuerus. His name translates as "I will be silent and poor (humble)", but even more interestingly, from an older source, his name means "lion-king". His city of Shushan means "lily, trumpet, white" from a root word meaning, "exult, rejoice, leap with joy".
As Esther married the king, she carried two identities. Outwardly, publicly, Esther was a Gentile. However, inwardly and truly, she was a Jew. Her Hebrew birth name was Hadassah, meaning "myrtle". According to rabbinical teaching, the myrtle tree releases a fragrant aroma called "Maharsha" when its leaves are crushed. The leaves were also used in brews and teas for medicinal purposes. The myrtle tree is associated with righteousness as it is mentioned in Zech. 1:8-11.
The name Esther is of Persian origin and means "star". The Hebrew word closest to this name is hester, meaning "hidden". What was hidden about Esther? It was her Jewish identity. This hidden Jewish identity made all the difference in foiling the plot of the wicked Haman against the covenant people of God. Esther's uncle, Mordecai, commanded her not to reveal her Jewish heritage, nor her connection to the Jewish people (Est. 2:10,20). So she lived as a Gentile, known only by her Gentile name.
The Bride of Christ is also both Jewish and Gentile. Although most of the Church is identified as being Gentile, its roots, and its Savior are very much Jewish. Our scriptures are Jewish. The Gentile branches may have been grafted in, but the root is Jewish. Not only that, but scripture tells us that those original Jewish branches are going to be restored.
"For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature,
and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree:
how much more shall these,
which be the natural branches,
be grafted into their own olive tree?"
Rom. 11:24
Rom. 11:24
And
"For if their (the Jews) being cast away is the reconciling of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"
Rom. 11:15
"For if their (the Jews) being cast away is the reconciling of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?"
Rom. 11:15
Queen Esther finally revealed to the king that she was Jewish, as she petitioned the king for her life and for the lives of her people, which were endangered by the plot of Haman (Est. 7:3). While the king originally gave his favor to Esther as a Gentile bride, it is the Jewish bride who came forth from hiding, who broke the plan of the enemy. It is in this moment of her revelation that the king decided the fate of Haman. She was his bride, and he upheld her life, and her royal honor as his wife.
The Esther story has so many things to teach us. One thing it teaches us, the Church in general, is that if we ignore the importance of the Jewish people as part of the Church identity, and the importance of our Jewish roots, we do so at our own peril, and we will not be able to fulfill properly the role that God has purposed for us in an "Esther victory" over the enemy. That victory is His plan of enlargement and deliverance (Est. 4:14).
The Esther story has so many things to teach us. One thing it teaches us, the Church in general, is that if we ignore the importance of the Jewish people as part of the Church identity, and the importance of our Jewish roots, we do so at our own peril, and we will not be able to fulfill properly the role that God has purposed for us in an "Esther victory" over the enemy. That victory is His plan of enlargement and deliverance (Est. 4:14).
Esther is the beautiful Bride of the King. The Bride of Christ is neither Jew nor Gentile (Gal. 3:28, Col. 3:11), but a new creation that requires both identities to be grafted in together, to be made one in His hand, to be all one in Christ Jesus, our King and Bridegroom. It requires the unifying in Him of both identities to become "life from the dead".
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