Nearly every day, news from Iran further illustrates how unstable the country is. For those who are familiar with both the Hebrew scriptures and the Jewish calendar, the timing of what’s looking more and more like the imminent collapse of the Iranian regime appears to echo the turnaround described in Chapter 9 of the Book of Esther.
And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Yehudim had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Yehudim got their enemies in their power. Esther 9:1
The events in the Book of Esther took place in Persia, which is modern day Iran, in the city of Shushan, identified as the current Iranian town of Shush, located in the Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran.
As is well-known by those who are familiar with Hebrew scriptures, Esther was a Jewish queen who thwarted the attempted extermination of the Jews by the evil Haman. Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites, the eternal enemy of the Jews.
He said, “It means, ‘Hand upon the throne of Hashem!’ Hashem will be at war with Amalek throughout the ages.” Exodus 17:16
These events are celebrated during the Jewish holiday of Purim, which begins this year at nightfall on Monday, March 9. The location of the events of the 5th century BCE are shockingly relevant today, as the world is watching modern day Iran wobble.
With the exception of China itself, no other country has been hit as hard as Iran by the spread of the coronavirus.
Iran’s health ministry is believed to be underreporting cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus where over 5800 cases and 145 deaths have been officially reported. According to the BBC, as of March 3, nearly 10% of the Iranian parliament (23 out of 290) have tested positive. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, advisor to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, recently died from the virus. Additionally, adviser to Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, Hussein Sheikh Al-Islam, who supplied Hamas with “anything they asked for” died from coronoavirus on March 5.
Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon is calling the coronavirus situation in Iran “catastrophic,” particularly in the capital city of Tehran. The healthcare system is overwhelmed and patients who should be hospitalized are instead being sent to local pharmacies to get their medications.
Dr. Masoud Mardani, an Iranian infectious disease expert and member of the National Influenza Commission, estimates that nearly 40 percent of Tehran’s 8.7 million residents (approximately 3.5 million people) will be infected by the virus by the end of this month. He further predicts that 100,000 people in Iran will die from the virus due to a lack of proper healthcare.
There are unconfirmed reports that the Iranian regime is trying to cripple Iran’s internet in order to prevent accurate information from being shared with the rest of the world.
On March 6, Iranian military commander Farhad Dabirian was assassinated in Syria.
The government of Iran has temporarily ceased meeting and Iran released 54,000 prisoners who tested negative for Covid-19 in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, western Iran is bracing for floods as the rainy season begins in Iran. Southern Iran is being threatened by swarms of locusts and a 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit the border between Iran and Turkey on Sunday.
In the Book of Esther, the Biblical Haman and the enemies of the Jews plotted to destroy the entire Jewish people.
But he disdained to lay hands on Mordechai alone; having been told who Mordechai‘s people were, Haman plotted to do away with all the Yehudim, Mordechai‘s people, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus. Esther 3:6
Similarly, for many years, the Iranian regime, ruling from the same geographical area, has been threatening to annihilate Israel.
As the Book of Esther records, on the 13th day of the Hebrew month of Adar, the destruction that the enemies of the Jewish people intended to unleash was turned around.
And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Yehudim had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Yehudim got their enemies in their power. Esther 9:1
In Shushan, 800 enemies of the Jews were killed on the 13th of Adar.
In the fortress Shushan the Yehudim killed a total of five hundred men. Esther 9:6
The next day, an additional 300 enemies of the Jews were killed.
and the Yehudim in Shushan mustered again on the fourteenth day of Adar and slew three hundred men in Shushan. But they did not lay hands on the spoil. Esther 9:15
Additionally, ten of Haman’s sons were hung…
the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the foe of the Yehudim. But they did not lay hands on the spoil. Esther 9:10
…and 75,000 additional enemies throughout the rest of the kingdom were also killed.
The rest of the Yehudim, those in the king’s provinces, likewise mustered and fought for their lives. They disposed of their enemies, killing seventy-five thousand of their foes; but they did not lay hands on the spoil. Esther 9:16
All this is coming on the heels of the Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent, bold statement that Israel would be taking stronger and more direct action against Iran.
“The time has come,” said Bennett, “to move from fighting against Iran’s proxy forces to confronting the regime directly.”
This Purim, the world’s eyes are once again on Iran.
Source: Israel in the News
