For Such a Time as This: A Queen Says No
Esther 1:9-21
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
07-19-2020
Party Animal
Last week, we began our study of the book of Esther and found ourselves looking in on not one but two huge parties. Xerxes, the king, held a banquet of feasting for six months to display “the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.” (Esther 1:4)
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the party went on every day for 180 days but it was a time of celebration, basically like a world’s fair.
Notice who was there - the military leaders. Xerxes father had tried to invade Greece multiple times and was defeated each time. Xerxes wanted to finish what his daddy started and used this feast to plan his next war campaign against Greece.
After that banquet was over, Xerxes held another party for the common people that last seven days “in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace at Susa.” (Esther 1:5)
The narrator of the book describes in lavish detail the beauty of this garden and the liberality of the king when it came to the serving of wine.
Remember the movie “Animal House?”
This seven day party would have an open bar policy. More on that in a minute.
Although God is never once mentioned in the book of Esther, His fingerprints are all over the story. In fact, in many ways, He’s the main character.
The theological term for this is the providence of God, coming from two words meaning to see ahead.
Remember our theme for this series:
“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” - John Piper
In Esther, we will learn that God is at work in spite of appearances. Often it is behind the scenes, quietly weaving circumstances together in order to bring about His will for our good and His glory.
Mike Cosper, in his book “Faith Among the Faithless: Learning from Esther How to Live in a World Gone Mad” writes that Ester is
“less Veggie Tales and more Game of Thrones, with a lot more sex, murder, and impaling” than was we remember from Sunday school.
So let’s say hello, and goodbye, to Queen Vashti.
A Queen Says No
“Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 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. But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.” (Esther 1:9-12)
The Queen was having girl’s night out with her friends in another part of the palace complex.
Her name was Vashti, when means “best” or “beloved.” We don’t know how long she had been queen but we have a sense that she won’t be queen much longer.
On the seventh day of the feast, with an open bar, the king was in “high spirits with wine.” In other words, he was smashed.
He ordered seven, count them, seven of the eunuch’s to fetch Vashti.
Why? “…in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.”
She had supermodel looks but also had opinions of her own, which is dangerous in Persia.
Vashti was ordered to come, in her royal crown, and probably just in her royal crown, to parade up and down in front of Xerxes and his drunk friends.
The queen said no. What? Really? Yep! She said she would not be a party to Xerxes’ disrespect of her.
The Queen’s refusal to come to the banquet sends Xerxes into orbit. The text says that he “became furious and burned with anger.” These words can also be translated “to kindle or to ignite.” Xerxes was hot!
Xerxes anger was legendary. Once while on a campaign against Greece, a bridge was built across a body of water. A storm came and destroyed the bridge. Xerxes had his attendants beat the water 300 times with a whip and throw a set of chains into the water that dare defy him. Oh yeah, and he had the builders of thee bridge
beheaded.
Xerxes might have been “all-powerful,” but he couldn’t even control his own queen. And, as we will see going forward in the story, he is easily manipulated by his advisors.
There is No More Queen!
Incapable of making his own decisions, the king asked the wise men what to do:
“Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom. According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.” (Esther 1:13-15)
There was a group of advisors that had unlimited access to the king who “understood the times.” This group basically functioned as a cabinet for Xerxes.
It’s interesting to note that the wise men of Persia believed that they made better decisions while drunk because it allowed them to be closer to the spirit world.
If they made a decision while drunk, they would wait until the next day they sobered up to confirm the decision.
If they were sober when they made a decision, they would get drunk to confirm the decision.
Not exactly what Solomon taught his son:
"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” (Prov 13:20)
Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Then one of the seven spoke up:
Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’ This 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. (Esther 1:16-18)
Did you catch the “alls?” Vashti has done wrong against not only the king but ALL the nobles and ALL the provinces of the King.
This was a humiliating experience for Xerxes. What better way to deal with the issue than broadcast it to the entire nation?!
There was a play that was very popular at this time in which a group of women band together and refuse to be intimate with their husbands - basically a sex strike.
Memukan may have been thinking about that play. Maybe he had a wife that he felt like “needed to learn her place.”
Memukan continued:
Therefore, 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.” (Esther 1:19-21)
He had a proposal. Vashti, (notice he didn’t say Queen Vashti), was done. She would be deposed.
We don’t know if that meant she would be executed or sent back to the harem. Regardless, her decision to stand up and say no cost her dearly.
Notice carefully what he says next. “Let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.”
In other words, more obedient and less headstrong.
This was a ridiculous edict. You can’t force people to respect you.
I had a professor who lost it in class. He actually turned the lectern over and launched into a rant about how the class didn’t respect him.
One of my classmates spoke for the entire class when he would imitate this teacher with the cry, “Respect me!”
If you have to command people to respect you, it’s not really respect is it?
But the king, remember he was very, very drunk thought this was a great idea:
“The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue.” (Esther 1:21-22)
The Persian empire basically had a version of the Pony Express. They were able to get this edict out to even the far reaches of the empire within about three months.
It was translated into the languages of the different groups that the Persians had conquered.
What did it proclaim?
“That each man be be ruler over his household, using his native tongue.”
If the couple spoke two different languages, which wasn’t uncommon, then the man’s language should be used in the house.
And…he was the supreme ruler of his dominion.
We will stop there but next week we will be introduced to two more characters - Mordecai and, our leading lady, Esther.
Observations
I want to make some observations based on the text. These are not the main point of our verses but worth noting before we get to the primary application.
The Destructive Nature of Drunkenness
Brad Paisley has a song called “Alcohol” that in the first person:
I can make anybody pretty
I can make you believe any lie
I can make you pick a fight
With somebody twice
Your size
Well I've been known to cause a few breakups
And I've been known to cause a few births
I can make you new friends
Or get you fired from work.
I've influenced kings and world leaders
I helped Hemingway write like he did
And I'll bet you a drink or two that I can make you
Put that lampshade on your head
Well, here it is. The Baptist preacher is finally going to start preaching against booze. Some of you may be thinking, “Well, it’s about time!”
While the Brad Paisley song is humorous, it is very important that we think Biblically about subjects like this.
In Scripture, wine, along with grain and oil, were viewed as a blessing from God:
“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.” Psalm 104:14-15)
Paul told Timothy to:
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” (I Timothy 5:23)
The first miracle that Jesus performed was at a wedding where He changed water into wine…not grape juice. (See John 2)
In fact, the Bible never prohibits the drinking of alcohol.
But it does strongly encourage us to approach it with caution and, as with all things, moderation.
If you have a beer with your pizza or wine with your dinner, don’t try to hide from me because I could care less.
I heard the story of a pastor who went on a job interview with a church and was invited out to one of the elder’s houses for dinner. After the meal, he elder and the pastor sat in his study and talked about the possibility of him taking the position at that church.
As they talked, the elder pulled out a bottle of 100 year old Scotch and poured them both a small glass.
My friend completely freaked out. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if this was a test. He went so far as to wonder if he was actually being filmed. He finally figured out that pulling out 100 year old Scotch was the elders way of telling him that he had his vote.
With that said, the Scriptures do have a lot to say about drunkenness.
Solomon, the wisest man ever to live wrote:
"Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” (Prov 20:1)
We are going to watch Xerxes be led astray by alcohol multiple times in the story of Esther.
Isaiah wrote that getting drunk will cause you to forget the Lord:
“Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, pipes and timbrels and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands.” (Isaiah 5:11-12)
If you remember when we studied the “deeds of the flesh” in Galatians 5, then you will recall that “drunkenness and orgies” were part of the list. And orgies weren’t sexual in nature. These were basically “kegger” parties.
Proverbs 23 is very blunt about the effects of alcohol:
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
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 will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35)
A couple of years ago, I did a deep dive reading project on the music of the 60s. I read bios of Jimi, Janice, the Beatles, but the one that I read the most about was The Doors. I became fascinated with Jim Morrison, the self proclaimed “Lizard King.”
Jim was a poet. If he had never been in the Doors, he would probably still be alive living in France. But the rock star lifestyle was defined by wild excess and as they say, "Jim took the drink and then the drink took him.”
Near the end of his life, he was a raging, mean-spirited drunk that destroyed the relationships around him. He was an alcoholic and this was before AA and treatment centers. The members of the Doors watched helplessly as Jim descended into addiction.
But you don’t have to be a rock star to be an alcoholic. Two of my uncles died of alcoholism and I’ve explained to my sons that we have a genetic predisposition to misuse chemicals, including alcohol.
In my early 20s, I remember being very drunk and stopping to look at myself in a mirror. I actually said out loud, “I love being drunk. And that’s not a good thing. This is a danger zone Jeff. Time to stop this stupidity.”
We have a friend whose son is permanently disabled because another man, in a drunken rage, picked him up and slammed him down and broke his neck.
We all know people who lives have been negatively impacted by alcohol.
Scripture specifically says that leaders should be careful in this area:
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of the afflicted.” (Proverbs 31:4-5)
A commentator asked two good questions about the impact that alcohol had on Xerxes:
“First, would Xerxes have commanded Vashti to be brought be before his guest - rather like a piece of furniture - if he had been completely sober? Secondly, if he had been sober, would he have become so angry?”
With Xerxes - a big ego + a terrible temper + a lot of alcohol = disaster for Vashti.
And we will discover in the next chapter that Xerxes seemed to regret his decision.
But always remember there is hope. I have a friend who received his 25 year sobriety coin from AA recently.
The 12 steps were put together by Bill W., a Christ Follower, and every step is based on a Biblical principle.
Paul made it clear it is about what is in control of your life:
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5:18-20)
Tony Merida writes:
“It is never God’s will for a Christian to be drunk; it is sin. Drunkenness leads to other sins because it makes a person lose control. In contrast, the Holy Spirit makes us self controlled and filled with a deep sense of joy.”
Bryan Chappell writes:
“We are commanded to empty our lives of not just excess wine…but anything that would hold us under its influence.”
Make Me a Samich!
My research this week took me on a very interesting detour.
There are feminist theologians that hold Vashti up as a Old Testament super hero who put the powerful male king in his place.
One commentator wrote:
“What woman, possessing even a common share of prudence and modesty, could agree to expose herself to the view of a group of drunk guys? Her courage was equal to her modesty, she would resist the royal mandate…hail noble woman!”
On the other side of the spectrum, there were commentators that bemoaned the fact that Vashti was disobedient and disrespectful to her husband, the king.
I love how the Veggietales story of Esther makes this understandable for children.
Because of Vashti refusal to obey her husband, an edict was sent out to the far reaches of the empire commanding husbands to be ruler over their households.
I’ve known husbands who still feel this edict applies to them. They bring the Bible out and beat their wives over the head with it and tell them they are to submit them, no matter what.
So did Vashti sin by saying no? Is every man supposed to banish his wife if she won’t make him a sammich at 3:00 am?
Let’s turn our attention to Ephesians 5:
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24)
See, there it is Maxine! Right in the Bible. Wives submit to your husbands. Let’s pray.
Wait…there is a pattern. As Christ is the head of the Church and the Church submits to the leading of Christ, wives should submit to their husbands.
If the guys in here are elbowing their wives and saying, “Are you listening?” Then let’s continue for you:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Eph 5:25-27)
Guys, we are tasked with loving our wives as Christ loved the church. What did Jesus do for the Church? He gave Himself up for her.
We often to look to famous couples and assume because they are rich and well known that they “have it made.” If you have been following the sad saga of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s marriage, you know that both of them need Jesus desperately.
During the time when Promise Keepers was very popular, I remember watching an interview with a woman who said, “I will never submit to a man…ever!”
A woman standing near her piped up and said, “If your husband takes seriously the call to love you as Jesus loves the Church, submitting to that kind of leadership isn’t hard at all!”
Now does that mean you have to do anything that a husband says, even if it is sinful?
“Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” (Col 3:18)
I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this verse:
“Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master.” (Col 3:18, The Message)
For many women this is hard because of pain that men have caused them in the past.
Maxine’s mother taught her that you can trust no man and you certainly didn’t submit to any man.
She had to learn to submit to me. But I had to learn to love her well so she could trust me.
Back to Providence
If you were a Jew living in the Persian empire, you might have not even noticed, or cared, about a marital spat in the palace at Susa.
You might have glanced at the story in the Persian Enquirer while standing in line at the store but you wouldn’t have had any clue that God was at work behind the scenes to protect you are your family.
If fact, as Jews, you may be wondering if God wasn’t done with your people completely.
But the story of Esther answers this question in a subtle, but certain, way. Yes, God was still working for their good and His glory to protect His people that would produce the coming Messiah.
But God would do His work in the book of Esther in silence, behind the scenes. It would be easy for them to wonder if He was still on their side.
We call this hiddenness of God His providence.
Tony Evans described providence this way:
“There are many times in our lives when God is nowhere to be found. There are many times when we look for God, but He cannot be located. There are many times when it seems like God is letting things happen to you and me that He wouldn’t allow if He loved us and cared about us. But there is a term for God’s invisibility, when He cannot be located. That term is His providence, His unseen hand at work.”
God is good and we can trust Him. Especially when life takes a tragic turn.
This past week, Pastor and church planter John Powell stopped to help a motorist who had been rear ended and their car caught fire. Another man stopped as well and they were trying to help when a semi went out of control and was headed straight for them. John pushed the other guy out of the way and was then hit and killed by the semi.
Do you want to know my first response to this story and this picture? It’s not pretty.
"Really God? That’s part of your good plan? That is devastating for his family and his church."
But then I was reminded of a Charles Spurgeon quote:
“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
Let’s go back to the story I began this series with - the story of me on my knees in that little chapel in Florida, crying and asking why.
I had lived in the corn fields for nearly twenty years and I was so excited to ride my bike to the beach. Why would He send us back to the gray-skied 8 months of winter that is the frozen tundra of Illinois?
For nearly two years, I couldn’t have answered that question. I truly didn’t have a clue.
But then Les Stevens called me and asked me to do pulpit fill for a little Baptist church in Chenoa.
That was almost two years ago.
If God had not brought us back from Florida, we would have never know the joy of pastoring this little church with a big heart.
Landon Dowden writes:
“God did not cause or stop Xerxes drunkenness, which led to the king’s desire not to honor his wife. God did not cause or stop his angry reaction, which led to seeking bad counsel. God did cause or stop the king’s decision based on foolish counsel or his disastrous decree. But a drunk king and a defiant queen would be used in the Lord’s definite providence. Neither the good not the bad actions of pagans prevent God from accomplishing His plan…” the deliverance of the Jews from genocide.
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Prov 16:9)
We will see a lot of coincidences in Easter. Coincidence is just God’s way of remaining anonymous.
I’m so thankful that Jesus has more grace toward us than Xerxes did toward Vashti. With Vashti it was one strike and she was out. Jesus covered all our sins and can even use those sins to bring about His will for our lives!
Alicia grew in our youth group but after high school she got lost along the way and got into drugs, doing them and selling them.
2 years ago today my life literally flashed before my eyes. I remember hearing a big BOOM, thinking my dog knocked over my landlords China cabinet.
I stormed out of the room about to snap then all I hear was “GET ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK”, looking at my son (11 at the time) on my right on the ground and TASK FORCE with their guns drawn on my left, my heart dropped!
All I could think about was my baby, I wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be okay, even though I didn’t know that it would be okay.
Long story short, that raid went from the worst experience I’d ever been through too the best thing that could have ever happened to me! God saved me from myself that day! Not only was I selling drugs, but I was doing cocaine like it was nobody’s business! I’m so grateful that the Lord saved me and had better plans for me! Today I am thanking Him for His amazing grace! My life has never been the same since!
In John 15, Jesus says I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing. Just as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you.
I’m so glad we have a Savior who loves us just as we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way. After all, Christ’s main purpose is to return to us the glory of God we were meant to reflect in this world.
I AM REDEEMED!
Alicia will be sharing her testimony this coming Wednesday night at Pontiac Bible Church, the church she grew up in!
Ending Song: He Will Hold Me Fast
