Esther 9:28
And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.
The verse belongs to the account in Esther 9 of Haman's attempt under Medo-Persian rule in the reign of Ahasuerus to destroy all of God's people, a purpose God frustrated. Behind Haman stood Satan, who sought through him to destroy the people through whom the promised Man-child would come. The effort to destroy the Jews was tied to their refusal to yield to human demands about worship, and God delivered them from it. Deliverance came through a counter decree that saved God's people and brought about the overthrow of their enemies, thereby preserving the godly line.
The verse commands that the days of Purim should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, so that the festival and its memorial would not fail or perish from among the Jews and their descendants. The observance commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the plot to destroy them and the events related in the book of Esther.
Purim fell on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar, about a month before Passover, and its observance included reading Esther, feasting and joy, sharing food, and giving gifts to the poor. Those who held the shorter reckoning present Purim as observed for one day, on Adar 14. The continued celebration of Purim centuries later demonstrates the endurance of this commanded memorial. Its continued observance despite the dispersion, persecution, and oppression of the Jews shows the endurance of the memorial and bears witness to the truthfulness of God's word.