Esther Series

The story of Esther centers around Queen Vashti, King Ahasuerus, Esther, Mordecai, Haman, and the Jewish people. If you are not already familiar with these individuals, they have been briefly introduced to us in the following paragraphs.

Who was Esther?

1. Queen Vashti disobeyed the drunken orders of her husband, King Ahasuerus, so he divorced her. Lonely, he sought a new queen – the most beautiful woman in the land. A young Jewish orphan, Esther, was chosen – but she was careful to keep her Jewish identity secret.

Esther

Predecessor

Vashti

Born Hadassah

Achaemenid Empire

Spouse Ahasuerus

Father Abihail (biological)

Mordecai (adoptive)

Religion Judaism

Mordecai, Esther's uncle, offended a high court official called Haman, who decided to kill not only Mordecai but all the Jews in the Persian empire (the first recorded extermination against the Jews). Esther turned the tables on Mordecai. She pleaded with the King, and Haman was punished – hanged on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai.

2. The Jewish people in Persia were saved. An annual festival (*Purim) commemorated the courage of Esther and the deliverance of the Jews.

* "Purim" is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an *" Achaemenid Persian Empire" official who was planning to kill all the Jews in the empire, as reported in the Book of Esther.

*The Achaemenid Empire: also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire based in Western Asia and founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC.

Christianity is sometimes accused of causing the anti-Semitism that has shamed the modern world. This story shows that prejudice existed long before the birth of Jesus.

Why was Queen Vashti banished?

She refused to comply with the King's command to join him in the Palace at Susa, where the banquet was held. (see no. 1)

How do we meet Esther?

The story of Esther began at a magnificent banquet at the court of the Persian King, Ahasuerus, usually thought to be the emperor Xerxes (486-465BC).

Two banquets – why?

Two separate banquets were being held:

1. One for the King, his councilors, and all the influential men of Susa.

2. Queen Vashti gave the other for the women of the court and nobility.

Having drunk far too much wine, King Ahasuerus sent for his Queen. She was noted for her beauty, and he wished to show her off to the city's men. He ordered her to appear before the men at his banquet.

What was the Queen's reaction?

The Queen of the Persian Empire was chosen from among the empire's seven most ancient and noble families, and Vashti was of ancient and noble lineage.

He was drunk with wine; he sent his beautiful Queen, Vashti, to appear before the men. She refused to come. Humiliated, the King banished her. However, now he was lonely, so a search was made: the loveliest girl would become his new Queen.

She would not have relished the prospect of being paraded in front of a room full of drunken men – it was not a sensible thing for a queen to do. Men and women often dined together in ancient Persia, but as the dinner progressed and more wine was drunk, the wives left the dining area and were replaced by concubines.

She refused to come.

On the seventh day, when the King was merry with wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who attended him to bring Queen Vashti before the King, wearing the royal crown, to show the peoples and the officials her beauty; for she was fair to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come. At this the King was enraged, and his anger burned within him. Read Esther 1:1-22.

Why did Vashti refuse to appear?

Vashti may have thought she was treated as a concubine rather than a wife and Queen. She behaved with haughty dignity when she refused the King's command. However, unfortunately, her answer was given in front of the officers of the empire, and she paid the price for humiliating the King.

What was the King's reaction to his wife's refusal?

Ahasuerus, still half-drunk, acted hastily. On the advice of cowed and inept councilors, he made the situation worse by issuing a public decree that Vashti was to be banished. This drew even more attention to the fact that Vashti had ignored his command and made him look like a fool to all his subjects. At this stage in the story, it becomes evident that this is not a traditional story about a good king. Ahasuerus was a tyrant who was also a fool.

So a theme begins to emerge: unlimited power, exercised without wisdom, is dangerous.

The lonely King

After a while, Ahasuerus found that he was lonely without Vashti, 'the beloved one.' He could not call her back because his word, once spoken, was law. So his courtiers suggested a solution: to find another queen, a young and beautiful woman who would take Vashti's place.