All through time, God has never ceased to demonstrate his redemptive grace to humans, especially to the people He loves.
As a parallel to the Christmas story which introduces Christ at his birth as the saviour of the world, Primary 4 & 5 pupils of the Ridge School treated parents, students and guests to a beautiful performance titled ‘Hadassah Retold‘ at the 2017 edition of the Ridge School Christmas Concert held on 11th December, 2017.
Set in the Persian Kingdom, Hadassah Retold is a re-enactment of the story the Bible tells of a beautiful jewish young woman who rises to the envious position of Queen in a foreign land where she was supposed to be a captive. When wicked and scheming Haman, an enemy of the Jewish people, sought to annihilate them through a genocide, God used Hadassah’s position and character to protect the people of Israel.
Hadassah, in meekness and humility, trusted in God’s sovereignty with her every action, confident that His will would be done concerning her people—no matter the consequences to herself. With no concern for her personal safety, she acted as an intercessor with the king on behalf of her people, the Israelites, ultimately exposing Haman’s evil plot and saving the Jews from destruction. The drama ended with a well choreographed dance to the ‘Victory’ song by renowned Nigerian musician, Eben.
The Concert was also marked by other interesting performances in dance, in songs and in poetry, all staged by the versatile children of Ridge School.
To climax was the ‘surprise of the night’; the crowd could not put their cameras down as the Primary school staff mounted the stage to treat the audience to a lovely dance to the Electric Boogie tune by Shannon.
Knowledge Nugget: Did you know? Hadassah is a feminine form of the Hebrew word hadas, meaning “myrtle,” a common perennial shrub with evergreen leaves and white, star-shaped flowers. The flowers of the myrtle are used for perfume, and the berries for allspice. Myrtle is referenced symbolically in the Bible as a sign of peace and God’s blessing. Hadassah’s name was perhaps symbolic as well, not only because of her beauty but because her destiny was to procure peace and blessing for God’s people in Persia. Hadassah is also called Esther in the Bible. (Source: gotquestions.org)