Maybe I will check out the movie. Thanks. Actually, I think a Mormon filmmaker has just done the story of Esther, too. And, yes, we'll have to skip Purim if drinking is mandatory. But, frankly, we can act just as silly as anyone else, even when we're stone cold sober.
I took an Old Testament class as an undergrad, and, of course, have dabbled in the Old Testament off and on throughout my life. But I've never, I don't think, appreciated the humanity of the ancient Israelites as much as this time through.
I think of them surrounded by cultures that were either bloodthirsty or morally degenerate, or both, and how much courage it took to be faithful to their religion, and think it isn't too much different today, is it?
"and think it isn't too much different today, is it?"
Nope:
"12 This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael . . . And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers."
And, of course, Joshua's descendants are still being punished for failing to wipe out the Gibeonites.