#Susa — Esther: The Story of Purim

Esther 1:9-12 NLT

At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas— to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.

Today we continue with Part 2 of our new series, “Esther: The Story of Purim”, and our second blog will be about Queen Vashti. There’s not a lot of information about her. What I have extrapolated from the Scriptures is what is presented in this blog. The question we will address is, what kind of woman was Queen Vashti?

Queen Vashti:

While King Xerxes hosted his male guests, in a designated section of the palace, another feast was being held for all of the women by Queen Vashti. Vashti means “beautiful”, and can also mean “that drinks” and “thread” (1&2). She was considered a woman who was beautiful in countenance, highly intelligent, logical, and reasonable. But, like her husband, she also knew how to make others comfortable by use of alcohol.

She would have been held in high esteem by the King, since he elevated her up to be the role model for all the women of Susa. Evidently, he trusted her completely and allowed her to take the women of the city under her wing. She was probably one of his main advisers. Like her husband, she wined and dined her guests. Like threads on a loom, she would weave her conversation to collect data from the wives of the princes to later share and compare notes with her husband. When wives are separated from their husbands, they are not so guarded in their dialogue. Also, for the security of the women, it would be sensible for them to party away from the men who were drinking to excess in order to avoid potentially dangerous confrontations.

Mistake #1- Xerxes demands Vashti to be put on display:

On the last day of the feast for the city of Susa, King Xerxes was crazy drunk. It wasn’t enough that he ruled and reigned over the most powerful and influential men in the world. It wasn’t enough to display his enormous wealth. It wasn’t enough to prove that he was secure in himself by ruling in his unique sophisticated and collegial style. To prove his alpha dominance over all, he decided to put his wife on display. Naturally, she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she belonged to him! So he sent seven very capable eunuchs to order Vashti to pose naked on stage in front of all of these intoxicated men.

Tastefully, Vashti refused to comply:

Vashti refused! She did not want to place herself in harm's way and she probably figured that the king would come to his senses once he was sober. Naturally, she would explain to him how undignified, disrespectful, and dangerous it would be to model herself in front of hundreds of drunken, leering, and unstable men. Of course, when he sobered up and came to his senses, he would agree that she took the correct course of action. Her reaction proves that she had a relationship of mutual respect with her husband and that in the past, he was usually a reasonable man. If she had a fear of retaliation, she would not have refused his request. Unfortunately for her, this would not be the case on this particular day.

Esther 1:13-18

He immediately consulted with his wise advisers, who knew all the Persian laws and customs, for he always asked their advice. The names of these men were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan—seven nobles of Persia and Media. They met with the king regularly and held the highest positions in the empire. “What must be done to Queen Vashti?” the king demanded. “What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king’s orders, properly sent through his eunuchs? ”Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger.

The 7 Nobles of Persia:

Let’s take a look at the men who comprised King Xerxes’ “Think Tank”. He was totally dependent on them to craft and execute the laws of the land.

Carshena means “illustrious” (3). He was evidently known for his past achievement

Shethar means “star” (4). He was someone famous in his field and possibly in the area of astrology.

Admatha means “a testimony to them” (5). This man’s life was a testimony of his belief system and achievements.

Tarshish means “yellow jasper” (6). Yellow jasper was considered a very valuable stone and is considered to contain healing properties. It is probable that this person owned quarries and was a wealthy businessman.

Meres means “lofty” (7). This could refer to someone who is very tall and considers themselves superior to everyone else.

Marsena means “worthy” (8). This is a man who is considered deserving of respect.

Memucan means “dignified” (9). This is someone who is considered distinguished among his peers and has earned the respect of others.

That’s quite a group of men Xerxes had surrounding him. Yes, they were intelligent and probably attended the equivalent of military or ivy league schools. Yes, they were considered “Princes among men”. However, they were also competitive, jealous, misogynistic and self preserving.

Mistake #2- Xerxes follows the advice of his “Think Tank”:

King Xerxes is beyond humiliated because Vashti defies him, so he turns to his princes and nobles for advice. First of all, they were probably disgusted at King Xerxes’ “progressive ways” and it could never be accepted as a good idea to elevate the wife’s position as a confidant and role model. They certainly suspected that Vashti was assisting the king by sharing and comparing conversation between the wives and themselves. Honestly I believe that they could have deescalated the situation by reasoning with Xerxes explaining “how respectful she was towards the king by being so discreet and not sharing herself with the other men”. Sheepishly, he would have dismissed his command as a drunken whim and could have been pacified, even commended for having such a devoted wife! But, they were involved in a power struggle. Vashti was their most dangerous weapon and his most valuable asset. An opportunity to depose her had presented itself and she had to go!

Spinning their story with the angle of “how much women hate their husbands’”, this “Think Tank” provoked King Xerxes' anger. These advisers took advantage of Xerxes emotional melt down and immediately pointed out that his first mistake was to make her “the” leader among the women. Obviously, her vanity prevailed and they were terribly concerned how her example would influence their own wives and alter their own marriage dynamic. Also, the lower classes would no doubt hear how Vashti stood up to her husband the king, thereby giving them the courage to follow her example.

Ranting the sentiment of the time, they weaponized their words to target their prey. What! A woman leading other women? Women thinking for themselves? Women having self respect? A woman defying her husband when they don’t agree? A queen refusing the command of her King? Outrageous! Such disorder cannot exist in the kingdom! The family unit as they knew it would be destroyed forever! This “Think Tank” had decided that Vashti must be punished so severely that no other woman in the kingdom would ever dare defy any of their husband’s orders, no matter how egotistical, disrespectful, or dangerous. Not only will Vashti be deposed, but they twisted her position to be used as an example of what women ought not to do.

Esther 1:19-22

“So if it pleases the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked. It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she. When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!” The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel. He sent letters to all parts of the empire, to each province in its own script and language, proclaiming that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases.

Mistake #3- Banishing Vashti pleases the King… for now:

Offended and inebriated, King Xerxes cared more about the approval of his princes, than he did about his own wife. He especially needed the approval of Memucan, the most dignified and respected of all the Persian princes. He must have felt that if he placated Memucan, the other princes would be satisfied with his judgement. Filled with self righteousness, he followed the guidance of his advisers and wrote a decree that could not be reversed. Vashti was banished from his sight forever, never to be in his presence again. Because of the humiliation she caused the king to suffer, she would suffer double the humiliation by being replaced by someone deemed better than herself. To keep in good standing with the men of his kingdom, King Xerxes sent out dispatches to every province stating in their own distinct dialects that men were the rulers of their households and that any demand that he roared would be instantly obeyed.

The woman, Queen Vashti:

Vashti had won the love and admiration of King Xerxes. He married her and crowned her queen because of her beauty and intelligence. She shared the same philosophy in life that congeniality and wine loosened tongues. His approval of her was demonstrated by her promotion to be the role model for all of the women of the kingdom. Xerxes knew that Vashti was savvy and his most valuable confidant. Unified with the same vision for their kingdom, she would share the information extracted from the wives of his colleagues to prevent the king from being deceived. There was no need for her to curry his favor, she already had it. There was no need to step on others for self promotion, because her throne was at the king’s right hand. King Xerxes’ good standing and preservation was also in her best interest and she faithfully performed her role. In fact, she was so truthful in her response to him, she did not hesitate to refuse his order, indicating that she felt no fear of retaliation, at least up until that point. Vashti must have been absolutely crushed when King Xerxes banished her from his life. This was not the response she expected. She deemed herself as irreplaceable and never dreamed that he would choose the respect of his colleagues over her loyalty to him.

Vashti was a true partner to her husband, used her shrewdness for their benefit, and became the victim of this very flawed man.

Let’s pray:

Father,

I ask for grace never to depend on my own savvy to manipulate circumstances or partner with other people who are manipulative. When others disappoint me, help me forgive them for wrong doing. In Jesus name, Amen.

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