Well, it is indeed approaching the 11th hour and I have been mulling this week’s scripture reading for a few days now. Queen Esther’s monumental moment is yet to come in the reading beginning tomorrow, but for this week, chapter 1 really made me pause.
Hopefully, you have been pondering along with me. Let’s chat about this.
Esther 1
My summary of chapter one. This is the backstory that leads the Jews (God’s Chosen representatives) to meet Esther. The beautiful young lady who would single-handedly rescue the nation from certain death. That is a very big deal. It’s such a big deal that the Jews still celebrate Ether’s bravery each year, it’s called Purim. We’ll talk more about Esther in the weeks to come but back to chapter one.
King Xerses is throwing a party. In fact we join him in the last few days of what has been a very long celebration of his grandeur. The men in his company have an open bar at their disposal and I imagine things are just a little out of control.
The women are having their own party, maybe they are enjoying spa treatments. At any rate, the king decides, that he should summon the queen to impress whatever might remain of the socks off the spectators. She must have been quite an impressive sight!
Queen Vashti does not respond favorably to the request. She said “no”!
WHAT?!
This is all supposition but I think it is safe to say that if she’s been queen for 3 years she has a pretty good idea of the consequences of a refusal. So when she said no, (Esther 1:12) she meant she’d rather die or at least lose her crown and position in the kingdom.
Are you ready to make a stand?
As expected, the King was ticked! But rather than ordering her beheaded, he gathered his counsel (Esther 1:13) to form the best plan of action.
Who do you call when things do not go your way?
The knowledgeable group advised that Queen Vashti be banished from the palace and a replacement found.
Whether she chose to obey the king or disobey the king, she was modeling something to the entire land.
What are you modeling?
I think we can learn something from Esther’s predecessor simply by thinking about those 3 questions.
challenge
- We do not know the details of why Vashti did what she did. Even still the point is that she made a choice that would cost her something great. Soon we will read about Esther making a choice that could cost her life. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, …Joseph & Mary, and Jesus all come to mind when I think about people who have made life-altering choices. All of those people sought and followed God’s will. Often time it cost them something dear and the reward was much greater than they could have imagined. Seeking God’s will gives you the confidence to stand for the things that matter to Him. Even during those times that you need to make a stand and it will be a costly one, you can count on God’s power and provision to see you through just as He has so many times before.
- React or Respond is the way that I like to think of it. Xerxes was angry but he did not react out of his emotion, he called a meeting. He was embarrassed and angry to be sure. But there was something much bigger and more important at stake than how he felt in the moment. We can take a giant cue from Xerses in this unpleasant circumstance. Rather than reacting out of your emotion, take time to seek the wisdom necessary to respond in a godly manner. Wisdom first comes from God. If you need to work out a thoughtful plan, seek wise counsel so you can respond in whatever way is best for all concerned.
- From verse 13 on to the end of the chapter the effect of Vashti’s refusal is what is most important. People are watching! All of the time they are watching and listening to what we say and do. God has wired us to be connected with others. So we are always paying attention to what others are doing. That means people are paying attention to you. The question is what kind of life are you modeling? What priorities are you modeling? What attitudes are you modeling? What values are you modeling? How much of God are you modeling?