Four years! That's how many years have passed between the time Queen Vashti was banished and the time that King Ahasuerus chose a new queen. Esther is finally introduced in Chapter 2. What I want to look at today is how exactly Ester came to be queen and the implications it has for us.
Scripture tells us that Esther was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. She was orphaned and was being raised by her cousin, Mordecai. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah. Esther was her Persian name. She was chosen to go to the king's palace to vie for the attention of King Ahasuerus because she was beautiful. She was placed into the care of Hegai, a eunuch in charge of the concubines and harem of the king. Esther 2:9 tells us "And the young woman pleased him and won his favor." Hegai was so pleased with Esther that he elevated her to the best place in the palace.
Esther spent a whole year in the "beautification process" to win over the king. During this time the ritual was to spend the first six months with oil and myrrh and then another six months with spices and ointments. So, what was the deal with the oil, myrrh, spices and ointments? This was the ultimate in spa days. Can you imagine the facials, massages and mani/pedi's that these women received.
Let's look at some of Esther's qualities as described in Chapter 2:
1. "Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known" (v.10). This tells me that she was trustworthy as well as obedient.
2. "When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised..." (v.15). She was teachable. She was humble.
3. "And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai" (v.22) - Here Mordecai had learned of a plot to kill King Ahasuerus. She proved that she was wise and faithful.
With all of that being said, I believe that we are in preparations for our King. Our King Jesus. The day is coming. Are you going to be prepared? Right there in Esther, she being an example, it tells us how we must prepare. We must be trustworthy and obedient to God's word. We must be teachable and humble. And We must be faithful and wise. Jesus is going to return. It's just a matter of when. We must prepare now to win the King's favor.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word and what it teaches us. Thank you for the opportunities that you give us to be immersed in your Word. I pray that I take what is learned and help to apply it to our lives. Forgive me, Father, for those times when I was not prepared, or I was not willing to be prepared. Help me be prepared for Jesus' return. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Today is THE day! Blogging Through The Bible begins now! I'm so excited. I'm excite to see where God leads me through this journey. I'm excited for the readers of this blog. I sincerely hope that it touches someone's life. So, without further adieu....
What do you do when you are faced with hard decisions? What about peer pressure? Has anyone ever asked you to do something that you just wasn't comfortable doing? Or, have you ever been asked to do something that you knew was just wrong? What was your response? What if it were your husband that asked you to do something that you knew you shouldn't do?
This is what happens in the first chapter of Esther. Let's look at the main characters of this story. King Ahasuerus (aka King Xerxes), is the ruler of an empire reaching from India to Ethiopia including Israel and Judah. Under King Xerxes' reign, the Persian empire had grown to 127 provinces. His military had accomplished great things and they had amassed excessive amounts of wealth. He wanted to add Greece to his his empire, so he gathered all of the nobles and military leaders to plan the invasion. This lead to a party that lasted for 180 days. Even after a party that lasted 180 days, he wanted more. He hosted a feast that would last an additional 7 days. Now that's a party!
On the final feast day, King Ahasuerus summons his wife, Queen Vashti. Vashti means "beautiful woman", "beloved". He wanted to show all of those nobles and military generals how beautiful his wife was. What happens next is what I want to talk about. What is so wrong with a King wanting to show off his Queen? Or a husband wanting to show off his beautiful wife? This is what scripture tells us:
"But Queen Vashti refused to come at the King's command..." Esther 1:12
What? A refusal to the King? Why in the world would someone refuse a King? Why would a wife refuse her husband? This goes back to my initial questions. Go back and read that. These men were coming off of a 187 day party. I'm sure that most, if not all, of the men gathered at the King's palace were intoxicated. Wouldn't you agree? As a woman, would you want to go into a gathering of a bunch of drunken men? What if your husband was the one to ask you to do it? I think she made the right choice, even though she disobeyed her King, her husband.
Because of her refusal, there were consequences. Isn't that the way it is with all of the decisions we make. There are always consequences. Unfortunately, King Ahasuerus takes the advice of those in attendance. They felt that since Queen Vashti refused her husband's commands, that their wives would do the same. So, of course, they felt like there should be punishment garnished upon the Queen. The verdict is recorded in verse 19 and 20 and says, "If it please the king, let royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she."
What strikes me as sad is the King's reaction. There was a lack of forgiveness. He was so full of pride and had such a lack of understanding. He could have shown mercy. He was just callous. I feel sympathetic for her, that she didn't have a husband that didn't understand her reasons for saying NO.
This was a hard decision for Queen Vashti. Do you do as the law says? Or, do you do what your conscience tells you even if it is against the law. Acts 5:29 tells us "...we must obey God rather than men." I'm not saying we should disobey our husbands either. We are to be respectful to our husbands and our conduct be pure. 1 Peter 3:1-2 says "...be subject to your own husbands, so that even if so do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct."
Let's put God first in all of our decisions and the consequences will be so much easier to take.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, your word is truth. There is so much that we can learn from studying your word. We can know you better and know what you have planned out for us by just spending time with you. I thank you for these opportunities. Help me to be more like Queen Vashti, standing up for what is right, making decisions based on your truth. Thank you for your blessings, especially for a husband who would never ask me to do something that he knows would be displeasing to you. Help me through this bible study to be molded into the woman and wife you would have me to be. Forgive me for the times that I have not been that woman, wife, mother. In Jesus' name I do pray, Amen.
