“As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy” (Romans 11:28-31).

GLOSSARY:
Agag = an Amalekite king and an ancestor of the evil Haman, the genocidal enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther
Ahasuerus = the king of Persia
Amolek = Amalek = one of the grandsons of Esau who founded the nation of the Amalekites
Bris Millah = Brit Milah = the Covenant of Circumcision given by God to Abraham and his descendants
Esau = the adversarial brother of Jacob (Yaakov) and the father of Edom
Esther = Jewish woman named “Hadassah” who is chosen by King Ahasuerus to be his queen
Etz = Tree = Wood = Hanging Tree
Germamya of Edom = Germany
Haman = the genocidal enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther who was a descendant of Agag
Hoshanah Rabbah = The seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of Tishrei, on which it is traditionally said that the nations are judged
Purim = a Hebrew word meaning “lots,” used to refer to the Jewish Feast which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the genocidal plot of Haman through the mediation of Esther
Ruach HaQodesh = the Holy Spirit = the Spirit of Prophecy by Which Holy Tradition, both oral and written, is inspired
Shin = the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 300, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther
Shmuel = Samuel
Talmud = the dialogue of debate among the Jewish sages which records Jewish oral traditions from 200 B.C to A.D. 400
Tav = the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 400, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther
Torah = the Law = the Pentateuch = the First Five Books of the Bible
Vav = the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 6, which is traditionally written oversized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther. (When Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having a numerical value of 1 is written oversized, it has the value of 1,000.)
Zayin = the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet, having the numerical value of 7, which is written undersized in the Hebrew text listing the ten sons of Haman in the book of Esther

In the Hebrew text of the book of Esther, no clear name of God appears. Rabbi Kraft says that when Esther refers to King Ahasuerus, the king of Persia is intended, but when she refers to “King” without the name Ahasuerus, God is intended. God has not wholly abandoned the Jewish people. To them were entrusted the oracles of God. The Apostle Paul tells us that, although they may oppose the preaching of the Cross of Christ, they nevertheless, remain beloved to God for the sake of the Patriarchs (Romans 11:28).

To see the oversized Vav (l) and the undersized Zayin (ז), Shin (ש), and Tav (ת) in the last row of the names of Haman's ten children as traditionally written in an Ashkenazi scroll of the book of Esther, click HERE.

Haman, who sought to hang God's people on a Tree, is himself defeated by being hanged on the very Tree he himself had prepared for God's people. "None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirite through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14). "You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross, having disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them by it" (Colossians 2:13-15). "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). ( )