The Feast of Purim, found in the book of Esther, is a celebration of the overturning of a decree of death to the Jews in the ancient Persian Empire. It's amazing to see the correlation between the plot by Hamen and the current regime in Iran which is intent to annhililate Israel and America. There are not the usual public celebrations of the feast going on in Israel today, due to the current situation with missile attacks coming in from Iran, but there is expectation that God will preserve His people, as He did in the days of Esther, Mordecai, and Hamen.

"We want a king like other nations," the people cried out to the prophet Samuel. And God gave them what they asked for, in anointing Saul to be their first King. Take a walk through the history of Israel, Jerusalem, and the Davidic Covenant with Jeffrey D. and Rabbi Ted.

On this day the Jewish religion celebrates Tu B'Shevat, the New Year for Trees. The observance is named for its date, the fifteenth of Shevat, the eleventh month on the Hebrew calendar. While it is based on a passage in Leviticus 19 about the timing of eating the fruit from newly planted trees, in modern days it has become Israel's Arbor Day. Yet God's focus on trees goes profoundly beyond Tu B'Shevat; He uses the analogy of trees to point us to amazing truths about human kind and the life He has planned for all who believe.