This Palm Sunday His Passion reveals the promise of “double.” Not only is this year a Jewish leap year with two months of Adar, but as we celebrate the beginning of Holy Week with the Prince of Peace making His way into Jerusalem to fulfill prophecy (See Zechariah 9:9), it is also the festival of Purim!
Purim means “lots” and is a celebration of the time when the evil that was planned against the Jews for their genocide was overturned and reversed! (See the book of Esther). According to the Talmud (a compilation of ancient literature studied and held sacred to the Jews), “When Adar enters, joy increases.”
Purim is the happiest and most joyous day on the calendar for the Jewish people. There’s dancing, kids in costumes (reenacting the story of brave Esther and courageous Mordecai trusting in God to cancel the plans of evil Haman), gifts, parades and more!
But all this celebration points to the humble Lamb of God riding on a donkey the last week of His earthly life to give His life for yours and mine. Jesus, the promised Redeemer came not on a warhorse to condemn the world, but on a fragile colt to save its worst.
During the time of Esther, the devil tried to wipe out God‘s chosen people, only to reap his own demise in the end. Likewise, the prince of this world also thought his plan to destroy the King of Heaven (and those made in His image) was a success. That is, until the shed blood of the Son of God on the cross completely and utterly defeated him.
Jesus stripped Satan and his work in your life by taking your sin, guilt and punishment upon Himself. He Himself bore all that was against us because He has ALWAYS been for us!! In His resurrection, we were raised the righteousness of God in Christ. And now we are the beneficiaries of all that Jesus IS! So we must not forget all His benefits!
”Bless Adonai, my soul, and forget none of his benefits! He redeems your life from the pit, He surrounds you with grace and compassion, He contents you with good as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s. Adonai brings vindication and justice to all who are oppressed.“ Psalm 103:2, 4-6 CJB
I don’t know about you, but the last few months, which were the first three months of the year of great promise, seemed very heavy for me. While overlaid with grace and glory, this first quarter of 2024 has been hard. I’ve even shared with friends that I felt like I was in a whirlwind of busyness, confusion, oppression and emotion.
But we know that it is BECAUSE of the goodness, kindness, favor and destiny Daddy God has planned for and released in our lives that the enemy tries to thwart it. All that we go through and all the thief steals and destroys, now becomes our double reparation.
It’s in these “harsh desert seasons” when Jesus brings us to the end of ourselves and woos us back into complete dependency on Him. It is here, in the valley of trouble, where Jesus comes to us in His gentleness and becomes our freshly-slain Door of Hope. This place of pressure becomes a place where the soil of our heart is made vulnerable and prepared to experience more of His presence and the fruits of His freedom.
Palm Sunday and Purim. A Jewish leap year gifting double Adars (double joy). The Lord is speaking. Although it was one full year from the time Haman issued his decree to kill the Jews, to the time when Mordecai issued his decree for the Jews to defend themselves leaving Haman to hang on his own gallows (a picture of the devil executed on the cross), Adar was the month of fulfillment.
Now is the time for decrees made against you to be broken. Now is the time for divine reversals, when the plans of the enemy are boomeranged back on him. Now is the time for depression and anxiety to be choked out in the atmosphere of joy as supernatural provisions, sudden shifts and times of refreshing enter in.
Beloved, because of the finished work of Christ, the curse has been reversed. You may feel as though you have been in a constant struggle to survive, but His Word declares that when you simply “return to your Stronghold (Jesus) as a prisoner of hope, He will restore double for your trouble.“ (Zechariah 9:12).
So position yourself in your true identity in Him. Let your security be found in His love for you. Rest in His Salvation. Remember who you are, child of God. And rejoice in Jesus as your double portion.
”Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.“ Isaiah 61:7 NKJV
Resting In His Love,
Annalee Reyes