Esther Chapter 1

 

The book of Esther is unique in that it doesn=t even mention the name of God once within it=s pages.  Some have argued that it really shouldn=t be included in the Bible because it doesn=t seem to be pious or religious enough.  Yet if you think about the historical background of the book, it makes perfect sense.  It was written about Jews living in a foreign country years after the captivity; far away from the temple and established worship.  Should it be surprising that they were not as outwardly pious or outspoken of their faith?  I happened to actually like this book even without it=s piety because it gives a story of two less than stellar Old Testament believers - Mordecai and Hadassah - otherwise known as Esther.  They weren=t boldly fighting the prophets of Baal or marching around the city of Jericho seven times.  They were simply living their lives in the context of their society; and God was working through them to accomplish His purpose.  Their situation may not have involved conquering kingdoms or marvelous miracles, yet in a hidden and powerful way we can still see the good LORD working through these less than stellar Jews to achieve His purpose.  It seems to be much like the way God works today.

The theme of this sermon series is going to revolve around Esther - the Abeauty@ -  a beautiful and young Jewish lady - who ended up marrying Xerxes - the king of a huge region from India to Cush.  I will tenderly refer to him as Athe beast.@ 

 

Beauty and the Beast: Chauvinist Xerxes vs. Voluptuous Vashti

 

Chapter one introduces us to Athe beast.@  Even apart from this Bible story, the historical records from secular regions show Xerxes to be an eccentric egomaniac of grand proportions.  He was the ruler of the Persians from 485 to 465 B.C.  About five years into his rule he attempted to conquer Greece with hundreds of thousands of men from all throughout his provinces.  In order to get there, he had his men build some bridges to cross the Hellespont - a narrow section of water separating Greece from Turkey.  Unfortunately the weather got nasty and destroyed at least one of the bridges.  In response, and this shows you the type of man Xerxes was - he had the sea whipped.  Over time he ended up losing the war to the much smaller army of Greece due to the terrible tactical decisions and poorer training of the Persians.  

Chapter one of Esther introduces us to this man shortly after his return from defeat.  Perhaps he felt the need to prove to his people or himself that he was still powerful and successful, so he had a huge party for the entire kingdom to come to. 

Esther 1:4‑8 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king=s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest, who were in the citadel of Susa. The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother‑of‑pearl and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king=s liberality. By the king=s command each guest was allowed to drink in his own way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.

Susa was right north of the Persian Gulf right along the border of southern Iraq and Iran.  The picture of the party is magnificent.  I don=t know how they policed such a party where they allowed the guests to drink out of gold and silver goblets.  Perhaps they were all so terrified of Xerxes that they didn=t imagine trying to rob him.  It was a show of extravagance.  Was Vashti his wife any different?  It wouldn=t appear so.  Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. (Es 1:9) They were both partying in their own palaces - having a gay old time. 


Is there anything wrong with such a display?  First of all, think about the arrogance - saying to everyone, Alook at how rich I am!@  180 days is about half of a year that Xerxes showed the display of his wealth.  In 1 Chronicles 21 David arrogantly was misled by Satan into conducting a census of his fighting men.  As a result the LORD put 70,000 of his men to death.  When Belshazzar had a party using the gold and silver from the LORD=s temple, the LORD had a hand write on the wall that Belshazzar=s days were numbered.  Nebuchadnezzar is another example of how the LORD cannot stand it when even unbelievers take credit for His work or let their power go to their head. 

The second problem that we don=t want to overlook was that Aeach guest was allowed to drink in his own way.@  Even bartenders in America are at least supposed to cut people off when they visibly have had too much to drink.  There was no constraint at this party.  It was all designed to encourage indulgence.  God=s Word makes it known that an overindulgence in alcohol is evil behavior.  Proverbs 23:31‑33 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. 

There are people in America who love to live this type of lifestyle.  It=s not wrong to enjoy a party.  Yet this can be something that consumes your life.  AI live for the weekend,@ was a song that was sung by the rock group Triumph years ago.  Since then professional musicians have made a living on producing drinking songs that people love to get soused with.  Jimmy Buffett sang the song, Awasting away again in Margaritaville.@  Kenny Chesney sings the song AKeg in the Closet.@  So many people eagerly plow through their week in anticipation of a Friday night on the lake, where they can sit on the boat and have a twelver of beer and waste the weekend away.  Eagerly people plan to go to the next trip or game to have a great party - and that=s all they talk about and plan for. 

Even if they are not getting drunk, the problem is that their lives revolve around how much fun they can have - as if that were all life was about; getting through the week so that I can party.  Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks.  Life no longer is about service to work or sacrifice for family or spreading the Word - it=s all about me, me and me having fun.  Consider what God=s Word says on the matter.  Luke 8:14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life=s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.  The problem is that these riches and pleasures end up choking out your faith and you don=t mature.  The more you enjoy the more you become a self centered person who only thinks about what next gadget or pleasure you can get.  Instead of thinking about your sin, your Savior and your neighbor; you drown these out with your temporary happiness. Church becomes a drag instead of a comfort.  God=s Word and Jesus become nice things for my children, but something I don=t have time for.   God doesn=t come 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd, but only a necessity at Christian holidays.  Are you living the life of Xerxes?  Do you get more excited about going to a new movie or a party than you do coming to church?  If so, it is high time to repent.  This is something to beware of - especially in our society.

 

Ok, let=s get back to the story.  The alcohol was flowing.  The party was going and almost over.  All of the sudden, Xerxes gets a great idea.  Esther 1:10‑11 reads, AOn the seventh day, (at the height and finish of the party) when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.@  Now, you might look at this and say, Awhat=s the big deal?@  Notice however that it doesn=t say anything about her wearing her royal robes - but only her royal crown.  Is it over speculation to assume that is all she was to wear?  Now remember, this is the queen - the most beautiful of the harem, the cream of the crop from 127 provinces of women.  This has got to be one babe in the physical sense.  Here you have a bunch of drunk nobility and commoners who have seen this woman in her royal gown for years.  It=s sad to say, but most of them had probably dreamed about seeing her naked.  Now, Xerxes offers them what they want!  If she was ONLY to wear her crown, I can=t imagine what the response of the party was!  Here=s a bunch of drunken guys who are going to get to see voluptuous Vashti naked and strut her stuff through the party. 


Husbands, would you imagine doing something like that to your wife?  I would hope and pray not.  But let=s look at some more subtle examples in the way you do look at your wife and treat her.  For instance, are you happy with her physical beauty?  Or do you ridicule her physical appearance because she has gained weight?  Do you tell her how attracted to her you are?  The problem with Xerxes was that he wanted her to show her beauty to all of his drunken buddies.  This violates the husband / wife principle.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:4, AThe wife=s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband=s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.@  Her private parts are not meant for other guys to see.  It=s meant for her husband to see.  It seems strange that a man who really loved his wife and appreciated her would want hundreds to thousands of other men getting to see her hidden beauties as well and then lust after her and look at her in a sexual way.  It is meant to be an expression and privilege that a husband and wife alone have with one another - unless of course Vashti was not his onee and only - which she wasn=t.  If Vashti had done this she would have felt like no more than Xerxes= prostitute.  Instead of treating her like a queen, she wasn=t any more than a piece of flesh to Xerxes.  Wives are much more than that.  They are friends of the husbands, confidants, a source of strength to their husbands when they are feeling down and need support.  They are the queens of the household.

 

So how does Vashti respond?  She refuses!  No way!  Imagine how drunken old Xerxes would have felt at this point.  Here he is in front of all of his buddies, and he - the ruler of 127 provinces - simply requests his wife to come to him - and she refuses.  Not only is he a loser in battle, he can=t even control his wife.  Well, of course, he is outraged.  The alcohol probably didn=t help any.  So he calls the wise men of the various provinces around - guys who Aunderstood the times@ - so they could figure out what to do.  These men judged right and wrong - not by what the unchangeable Word says - but by what the population said - by the flow of the tide of opinion.  They concluded, AThis very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen=s conduct will respond to all the king=s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.@ 

Do you notice what their primary concern is?  Getting respect from the women.  Ladies, if there=s one thing a man wants - it=s respect.  If you give him an option as to whether he=d have love or respect - he=ll say respect.   When you tell a man to Ashut up@ or laugh at him; especially in front of his friends; there is nothing more disrespectful you could do to him.  When you boss him around and tell him what to do - especially in front of other people - most men feel like you are trying to emasculate them.  He loves it and feels a great deal of respect when you respond to his requests and listen to what he asks you to do.  When you ignore his advice or don=t ask for his advice or cater to everyone else except him, he feels disrespected.  He=d much rather have you appreciate the work he does and support him in his life than for you to buy him a card.  That=s just the way a man is made.  You can see it in this lesson. 

So how do the men respond?  Esther 1:19‑22 ATherefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she. Then when the king=s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.@ The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed. He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people=s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household.@  What do they do?  They flex their muscle!  They pass a law!  AWomen, this is the way it=s going to be!  Look at Queen Vashti and learn!   If you don=t respect us, we=ll put you away!  Lock you up!  Got it!@  You can see the same response in far eastern countries yet today with their rules and regulations about clothing women can wear, etc.

I have to kind of laugh and ask, Awas this really a punishment for Vashti?@  Who would want to live with the guy anyway?  Ha.  Another thing that I have to wonder is in their conclusion, Athen all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.@  I have a hard time believing that really worked.  Yet the men thought they could just whip these women into shape with a simple law and make them listen to them from then on in.

I find it sad that so many Christian men use the same approach with their own wives that God has given them.  They eagerly desire and want respect.  So they love to quote the Scriptures - like the reading from Ephesians for today.  It=s their favorite passage.  AWives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.@  With their God given headship they love to lord it over their wives and tell them what to do - treating them like employees instead of their precious ribs.  In a controlling and manipulative way some make rules for their wives about what kind of clothes they can wear and how they can wear their hair.  They become little dictators within their own homes; using anger are threats to force their wives into doing everything they are told.   They think that these laws and rules will some how force their wives to respect them as the Lord tells them to.   It ends up being a fulfillment of God=s curse in the Garden of Eden, AYour desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.@  (Genesis 3:16)

Equally as sad is that within Christianity many women have also balked at their roles at wives because of the behavior of their husbands.  Instead of being patient and kind with their husbands and encouraging them to be loving leaders, many make it difficult if not impossible to be loving in their leadership.  Even when they are asked to do simple and God pleasing things they dig in their heels and refuse to do what their husbands ask them to do.  When every decision is questioned, laughed at, ridiculed or just ignored - Christian men are sometimes coerced to either fade into the background or to try and flex their muscles.  They want to be loving leaders but their wives want nothing to do with it.  Then wives complain about how unloving or angry their husbands are when they are too blind to see that they haven=t given their husbands one ounce of respect. 

So the cycle goes - and this is within Christianity!   Is it any wonder that the divorce rate is just as high among Christians as it is in the world?  How sad is it for our children to witness their own parents treating each other so?  How embarrassing it must be for God to look at the way we treat each other - all with the name of Christian on our backs?  The most recent case of the Baptist minister=s wife shooting her husband in the back is only another example of an embarrassment to the good Lord=s name. 

 

One of the most well known nightmares people have is that they are standing before a crowd naked with all of their blemishes showing.  Even though she was most likely beautiful, it=s hard to imagine how shameful it would have been for Vashti; who was used to being given respect and honor; to have to act like a runway model for that moment.   She chose imprisonment instead.  

Five hundred years later and about five hundred miles to the west - a much worse scenario took place.  A King asked His Prince to walk into His palace practically naked and go on parade before a bunch of religious men.  Instead of being praised for his beauty, he would be whipped so badly that his appearance would not even look like that of a man.  Instead of whistling at him, people would gawk at his appearance; taunt him and laugh at him.  At the climax of the night, this Prince would then be treated worse than a prostitute - like someone who had committed every imaginable sin possible.  Not only would He be stripped of his robes, but He would also be clothed in the filthy sins of the world.  The worst thing would be that the very King who requested His presence would then cast Him out from His presence into the very depths of hell. 

Instead of refusing this embarrassment, our beautiful Prince went on this most embarrassing march; standing before the throne of God=s judgment with nothing but our guilty sins on His sins.  He willingly submitted to this embarrassing death to make us beautiful! 

Philippians 2:6‑8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to deathC even death on a cross!

This Prince is our Groom - Jesus Christ - who decided to go to the Judgment Hall - knowing how embarrassing and painful it would be.  On the cross He disrobed His righteousness for our nakedness, and in exchange gave us His robe of righteousness so that we would not stand before God naked, but clothed in beauty; with nothing to hide.  Through this sacrifice God has written a royal law and decree that cannot be repealed - which has been published throughout the world.  AWhoever believes and is baptized shall be saved.  A man is saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; lest any man should boast.@  Through baptism and faith we who were demanding and unloving husbands and disrespectful wives are now declared by the King to be His beautiful brides.  No one can repeal it.  Each and every one of us are God=s beautiful brides through repentance and faith in Christ.  This is what God - the King - declares.

The interesting thing in this whole story about Xerxes and Vashti is that God was working behind the scenes.  If Vashti had come in her crown and retained her title, Esther would have never entered the scene.  So in a hidden way, God was working through this party and this dysfunctional marriage to bring about His queen at His time - to save His people - the Jews - and savve us - through the birth of His Prince through the offspring of the Jews - the people of Esther.  This is the way God works.

 

Let=s bring chapter one home.  There=s so many things we could mention.  Let=s start with this.  Consider your own marriage first - if you are married.  Maybe your husband has flashes of Xerxes.  Maybe your wife thinks she=s a Vashti.  Maybe there=s not a whole lot of love in your marriage, and this sermon was painfully reflective of problems you are having at home.   Maybe there=s been a painful divorce in your past and a marriage that was filled with sins.  Instead of getting made about it, repent.  Remember first and foremost that there is a lot of love in your Groom - Jesus Christ.  There=s a ton of forgiveness - more than enough for all of your=s and your spouse=s failures.  Let this story make you at least appreciate that your Heavenly Groom is not a Xerxes.  He doesn=t demand you stand before Him naked.  Instead, He clothes you with a beautiful bride in His own blood.  Even if your marriage doesn=t improve, at least it is temporary.  But your marriage to Christ is eternal. 

Secondly, think about what an advantage you have over the Xerxes and Vashtis of the world.  You=ve got a completely different role model to follow, the model of loving submission.  Husbands, you don=t have to force your wives into submission with laws and anger.  You know what to do.  Love them with a sacrificial love.  Feed them. Clothe them.  Care for them - just as Christ cared for you.  Treat them like royalty.  Regard them as precious gifts of your King - even when they don=t act like it or appreciate it.  And wives, you don=t have to fret if your husband is no Christ.  Paul never said he would be.  Respect him anyway, out of love for Christ.  Encourage him to be a man and to be a leader - even if he doesn=t want to.  Tell him how much you appreciate his work.  Tell him how much you admire him.  Look at him and treat him as if he were your King.  Ask what you can do to help him be the man and leader you want him to be.  Support him as Christ calls on all of us to be His hands and feet.

Thirdly, remember the impact factor.  The wise men were afraid of the effect Vashti=s disobedience would have on the other women.  You may not have the influence that they did in their kingdom, yet you are still called to Alet your light shine@ within your kingdom.  That includes in your marriage as well.  So many of our friends, neighbors, and schoolmates parents have no idea about how good marriage can be.  We live in a society that just doesn=t get what this relationship is all about.  They have no compass to live by.  They have no clue what their roles are in marriage.  What a light you can shine by being an example of forgiveness, love, service, and patience with your spouse!  What an example of Christian love you can give to your co-workers, family, and the parents of your children=s classmates by being united in love.

Finally, remember that the good LORD is still here - working behind the scenes.  You couldn=t see Him in Xerxes.  You couldn=t smell him in the alcohol of the party.  You couldn=t find him in the party across the way with Vashti.  Yet behind it all, the LORD was working it out to save many Jewish lives.  The LORD always works in hidden ways - just as He comes to us in Word and sacrament.  No matter how chaotic and troubled life can get, throughout all of your trials and struggles and attempts to do what is right, you finally have to trust that the LORD is working invisibly to the benefit of His kingdom and His people.  Even we who have acted shamefully like Xerxes or Vashti can know that God has our best interest in mind and can work our evil out for good yet today.  It doesn=t excuse our sin, but it comforts us in repentance - to know that God is still in charge.  The story of Esther will make it clear.  Amen.