Many of our most cherished family traditions revolve around meals. Gathering family and friends around food shapes a group of people in a powerful way. This explains the significance of feasts in the Old Testament. These communal gatherings passed down through the ages connect the past, present, and future in a manner that grounds our identity and orientation to the world. Esther features six feasts that mark out significant moments in the narrative. The first three feasts, two by King Ahasuerus, and the third by Queen Vashti, establish the reality of Israel’s exile under foreign powers and sets up the rise of Esther. She, in turn, holds two feasts on consecutive days for the King and Haman which sets up a stunning reversal of fortune for the Jews. Here, in Esther 9-10, we encounter our final feast, Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from destruction by Esther’s brave action. This feast ensures that future generations, when they partake of this meal, remember the faithfulness of God. That the same God who delivered his people in the past ever lives to care for his people in the present. This is Understanding Esther.

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