LOSING YOUR POSITION – YOUR
DECISIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
The scripture, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’ comes to mind.
The scripture, ‘Obedience is better than sacrifice’ comes to mind.
Through the centuries
students of the Book of Esther have been left to do with Vashti’s refusal
exactly what we’ll ourselves will do: wonder why. Before I give you my explanations,
I want to give a few for creative thought. Remember Vashti was issued a command
from the king.
Consider these historically
persistent explanations for her refusal:
- She refused the indignity of appearing before a gathering comprised only of men and intoxicated ones at that.
- “Vashti, being the granddaughter of King Nebuchadnezzar, considered herself to be the legitimate heir to the throne rather than Ahasuerus, whom she deemed to be a usurper.
- She simply had no respect for Xerxes as a king or a man.
- The command was for her to appear unclothed, wearing only the royal crown.
- Brace yourself for this one: she refused to appear because “Gabriel (the angelic messenger) had come and caused a tail to grow on her.” This might make finding the right outfit to wear in public a bit of a problem!!!
There’s any of a number of
reasons that the queen might find a possible affront to her dignity. Here’s a
few I came up with for refusing: she knew the king had had too much to drink;
she didn’t want to be put on display; and my personal favorite – she had her
own party to attend to.
There were no good choices,
Vashti was in a lose-lose situation. If we think long and hard enough we can
relate on some level. Most of us have had crises when being loyal – or agreeable
– to someone we cared about could cost us considerable dignity.
Whatever the queen’s reason
for refusing, the King’s reaction was immediate. If he had a mouthful of wine
when the eunuchs delivered the news, all seven of them likely ended up wearing
it.
Make no mistake ladies, the
Bible teaches wives to honor their husbands but read Ephesians carefully. Make
note in your journals all the ways the New Testament segment paints a different
picture than Esther 1:19-22
We don’t know what happened
to Vashti. Some scholars and rabbis believe that the death penalty was inherent
in the banishment. All we know for certain is that she was never again in the presence
of the king. Oddly, she received permanently what she desired temporarily.
As the first week of our
study comes to a close, we say good-by to Queen Vashti as quickly as we said hello.
Her whirlwind “once upon a time” on the sacred page was brief but monumental. Ironically,
without Vashti, we’d have no Esther.
I agree with you that without Vashti, there would have been no Esther. We all have our roles in life. Vashti's role, like that of our dear friend Judas, was not glamorous or one that children will want to portray while pretending, but their roles were vital to the ordained outcomes. Vashti had to be in a disagreeable mood at the time she was called to come before the king. If she wasn't the story would have been very different. We certainly cannot sit in judgement of her because in her disobedience, she was in obedience to God's will and plan.
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly correct about Vashti; we can speculate about Vashti's decision not to appear before the king (her disobedience). And we don't know what was going on at her all-girls party either! According to the laws of the Medes and Persians at the time, once a decree is passed it can not be revoked. God always has a plan and nothing happens by accident, the story started and ended according to His plan for His people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and leaving this beautiful comment! Blessings to you and yours!