Today in God's Word—May 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
May 1, Esther 1
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded... the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. - Esther 1:10-11
Ezra and Nehemiah focused on the Israelites who returned to their homeland to rebuild the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. About 50,000 people returned in the first wave and many less that that in the second and third waves of returning exiles. Many more Israelites remained in Babylon and in the other provinces of the empire where they had been scattered. Esther is a story from the same time period of Nehemiah and Ezra, but it takes place in the Person capital of Susa.
Esther is an unusual Bible book. It's unusual because the name of God is not mentioned in the book at all, but the name of the pagan king appears nearly 200 times. It's also an Old Testament book that is not quoted or referenced in the New Testament. But the book of Esther is a story with all the elements of classic drama. There's a beautiful heroine and her wise mentor. There's a proud and powerful (but weak) king, and his rebellious queen who defied her husband’s orders and suffered the consequences of her refusal. There's an evil adversary plotting to exterminate the heroine's entire race, and a little-known but very important character who played a vital role in the story line.
The story (as you can imagine from the king and queens in it) is not about the everyday life of the common people, but about the lives of people in the royal palace. Our heroes in the drama remind us of Joseph, Moses, Daniel and Nehemiah — godly people with access to foreign rulers who worked for the good of God’s people.
We meet the proud boastful king and his beautiful but uncooperative queen in Chapter 1. Ahasuerus is one of three men with that name in the Bible narrative of this time period. But he is the one who was king over the Perisan empire at its height, when there were 127 provinces (or tax districts) under his control and paying tribute to the Persian ruler. He was a very rich man, living in opulent splendor, and was given to ostentatious displays of his wealth. The event described in Chapter 1 was a week- long feast with unlimited royal wine flowing freely from the open bar. After seven days of feasting and drinking, Ahasuerus was intoxicated when he came up with the idea to bring his beautiful wife into the banquet hall to show her off like one of his treasures or trophies.
But Vashti refused the command to come. She would not display herself to the drunken men at the king's party. The king was furious with her, and asked his advisors what he should do. They told the king he had to make an example out of that rebellious woman. She had to he punished severely so she would not become a role model for their wives and women all across the empire. What if all the women refused to obey their husbands? They advised the king to strip Vashti of her crown, and banish her from Ahasuerus’ court for life. They told the king he could get a better queen than Vashti. It’s a good thing they didn’t recommend the death penalty, because Ahasuerus followed their advice. Vashti was expelled from the royal household. The king sent letters to all his provinces telling what happened to Vashti and why, lest any other women wanted to try what Vashti did in their own homes.
This story reminds us of the shameful subservient status of women in the ancient world. There are still places in the world today where women are still mistreated and treated like property. Jesus raised the standard of how a woman should be treated by his commands
about how men should honor and love their wives.
We can also see in this first look at Ahasuerus the danger of losing control of one's own thinking. Ahasuerus could not control his appetite or his anger. He was a powerful king, but he turned to lesser men with ulterior motives for guidance. He was the king, but he was weak.
And the fate of Vashti reminds us that steadfastly standing for one's principles in the face of the ungodly world’s demands may be costly. The vacancy on the queen’s throne set the stage for the real story of the book of Esther to unfold.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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