Next Sunday (Feb 24th), we will celebrate Purim by reading through the Book of Esther. Haman, the bad guy in the story, turns out to be an Agagite, a descendant of the king of the Amalekites. As we read today, the Israelites were supposed to obliterate the Amalekites by God's fiat. Remember, they were the first to attack the Israelites when they left Egypt. Saul, was finally given the order from God to destroy them and he did not. 1,000 years later, Haman hatches a plot to wipe out the Jews. God had to intervene to save the Jews.
These incidents point out that our sins have long term impacts on others. Sin is not a private affair. Eventually, our irresponsibility will affect others.
Throughout the wanderings, we have seen the importance of family, clan, tribe, and community/nation to God . To love others, we must refrain from sin, no matter how much of a private affair that we think it is.
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