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Esther Chapter 1
The King's Banquets
- Esther 1:1 Now it
came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which
reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and
seven and twenty provinces:)
- 2 That in those
days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom,
which was in Shushan the palace,
There is a lot of controversy over who
this king was. Some say this was Darius Hystapas. Others say he was
Xerxes also called Artaxerxes. There is another who says that Esther
was the wife of Darius the Mede and the mother of Cyrus. So there is
division over the actual genealogy. This period was between the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
I don't want to get into the exact
time, place or king too much since this story is about how God used
a young Jewish woman and her uncle to save the Jewish people from
being destroyed by a wicked man called Haman.
Satan himself is behind anyone who
tries to destroy the Jewish people. Because through the Jews God
ordained and planned to send His own Son, Jesus into the world, born
into human flesh through a Jewish woman we call Mary but actually
her name was Mariam. I guess Satan thought if he could destroy all
the Jews, then Christ Jesus could not come and fulfill God's plan of
salvation. God's plan was to save the lost and make a way for all
who believe to be cleansed of sin and granted eternal life. So we
see that the book of Esther is important to show God's eternal
purpose for the tribe of Judah to be prepared for the 1st coming of
Jesus into the world.
- Esther 1:3 In the
third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes
and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and
princes of the provinces, being before him:
- 4 When he shewed the
riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent
majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.
- 5 And when these
days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people
that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and
small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's
palace;
This king liked to show off his wealth
and greatness before many. Shushan the palace was in the vison of
Daniel where he saw the destruction of Babylon by the Medes and
Persians who was pictured in his vision as two horns, one being
higher than the other. Also in the vision the ram represented
Alexander the Great of the Grecian Empire that defeated the kingdoms
of the Medes and Persians. At the time of Esther the part of
Daniel's vision was in the kingdom of the Medes and Persians that
conquered Babylon.
- Esther 1:6 Where
were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of
fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the
beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue,
and white, and black, marble.
- 7 And they gave them
drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from
another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of
the king.
- 8 And the drinking
was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had
appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do
according to every man's pleasure.
- 9 Also Vashti the
queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which
belonged to king Ahasuerus.
Vashti the queen made a feast for the
women. Apparently women and men did not feast together during this
time which was an ancient way or custom to doing things. I wonder
what the feminists of today would make of that. Vashti though seems
to be doing her part by making a feast for the women so I see
nothing wrong in her way of doing things. I personally do not blame
her for what happens next.
Queen Vashti's Refusal
- Esther 1:10 On the
seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he
commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar,
and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence
of Ahasuerus the king,
- 11 To bring Vashti
the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the
people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.
Again we see that this king even though
God uses him later for good, is now full of pride and had these
great feasts which lasted a great length of time to show off his
greatness. Now he wanted to show off his beautiful wife. His heart
was merry with wine. This is one reason that wine and strong drinks
is something I avoid like the plague. It causes our behavior to
change and be open to evil influences and passions that are not
good. I've seen it ruin so many lives even among those I'm
acquainted with and some I was told about from my dad. It ruined marriages and caused two of them to even die
horrible deaths in the end. I want nothing to do with it. It sounds
like the king was a little drunk here.
Vashti wasn't one to show off and
wanted nothing to do with this display. Women even queens had no
rights in the past kingdoms of history. In fact before Jesus came
the first time women were considered equal to servants and in some
cultures even slaves.
Jesus was one that elevated women to a
higher place. His salvation, His gospel, His sending the gifts of
the Holy Spirit to those that believed in Him, was given to women as
well as men. In fact God used a woman to bring His Son into the
world in the first place. He chose a woman to be the first to
discover His resurrection from the dead. If it wasn't for Jesus,
women would not have the rights they experience today.
If the Lord tarries though, I wonder if
women will lose their rights as free citizens because having rights
can be rights to do good or evil. The right to an abortion is evil
and they just might lose all their rights one day if God brings
judgment and the return of Jesus does not come first. Unfortunately
losing a woman's right to do good may disappear with it. Just my
speculation here but when we have freedom, we need to use that
freedom for good not evil or we will lose the freedoms we cherish.
How do I know? I read history and the bible. No one gets away with
evil forever. Where is Hitler today? Did he last forever? Did he
rule all the earth like he planned. It was all for nothing. He was
like Haman. He was out to destroy the Jewish people. He ended up
committing suicide rather than face capture.
- Esther 1:13 Then the
king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the
king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment:
- 14 And the next unto
him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena,
and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw
the king's face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)
- 15 What shall we do
unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not
performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the
chamberlains?
- 16 And Memucan
answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath
not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes,
and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king
Ahasuerus.
- 17 For this deed of
the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall
despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported,
The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in
before him, but she came not.
- 18 Likewise shall
the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's
princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall
there arise too much contempt and wrath.
- 19 If it please the
king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be
written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be
not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and
let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better
than she.
- 20 And when the
king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout
all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to
their husbands honour, both to great and small.
- 21 And the saying
pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to
the word of Memucan:
- 22 For he sent
letters into all the king's provinces, into every province
according to the writing thereof, and to every people after
their language, that every man should bear rule in his own
house, and that it should be published according to the language
of every people.
The king gave into fear that his advisors
stirred up within him. The fear was that if the queen got by with
this action, all the women would rebel against the rule of their
husbands and do the same. They advised him to remove her from being
queen and take another in her place.
As a reader of history and also God's
word, I see that the spirit of fear is present many times that
causes those in power to kill who they assume is their opponents.
Dictators in history were evil because of fear.
Today the news media promotes fear to
get people to do what the higher ups want done. During the covid
scare, I saw and heard people yelling at others who came in stores
without masks. I read of people on Social media who wished death
upon those that refused to take the vaccines they came out with. It
was fear that caused some to stay in their homes, refuse to go to
public gatherings, stores and such. Governors, mayors in some states
tried to make vaccines mandatory and take way someone's right to
refuse to comply with their orders. It reminded me of things I read
in history.
The thing I noticed during that time is
that those that did not give into fear but trusted the Lord survived
covid even though some got the disease. Many that refused to take
the vaccine are still alive and well. Fear is dangerous. We lose our
ability to trust God and it opens the door to turning against and
even hating those that disagree with us.
We do not have to live in fear. The
doesn't mean that we tempt fate and purposely put ourselves in
danger but it does mean that we use what we call critical thinking
skills and not be giving into the fear and hype of the news media.
For this king his news media was his advisors. -DC
LOVE PEOPLE PLEASE. LOVE GOD AND TRUST IN
HIM.
Esther Chapter 2
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