Sibu

Bible study

It felt natural for me to study the book of Esther right after studying Ezra and Nehemiah. After learning about the Israelites’ return from exile, I wanted to know how those who did not return to Jerusalem survived. The book of Esther is about the Israelites, the Jewish community, who were still living in exile in Babylonia. This is the group that did not return to Jerusalem, as mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah.

The main characters in Esther 1–2 were as follows:

King Ahasuerus, King of Persia, “which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces” (Esther 1:1).

Queen Vashti, Queen Vashti was apparently the granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar, who was the ruler of Babylon. Queen Vashti’s father, Belshazzar, apparently died when she was a young girl. According to the Jewish archived texts, King Darius felt pity for her and married her off to his son, Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes in other translations.

Mordecai, a Jew who lived in the palace. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. This is the man who raised Hadassah, Esther, who was his uncle’s daughter. Technically, Mordecai was Esther’s cousin.

Hadassah, Esther, a Jew, though this was not known by anyone except Mordecai. Her name was changed to Esther to conceal her Hebrew heritage. Esther was an orphan.

Hegai, Hege, the king’s chamberlain and the custodian of the house of women in the palace.

Bigthan and Teresh, two more chamberlains who wanted to kill the king.

Haman, Haman was an Agagite and the son of Hammedatha. Haman was likely a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites, long-time enemies of the Israelites. God had told King Saul to destroy the Amalekites centuries earlier (1 Samuel 15:3), but Saul did not destroy all of them. His disobedience led to the loss of his kingdom. Several scholars believe this was the cause of Haman’s hatred for Mordecai, but Scripture tells us otherwise. The hatred was because Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. The hatred was fuelled by the discovery that Mordecai was Jewish.

In the book of Esther, God is never mentioned, but that does not mean He is absent. It gives me so much comfort because there are times when we walk through certain trials in our lives and feel like God is absent, until everything works out. Several times in my life, I have thought, “Oh my God, it was You the entire time.”

If you are reading this and are living through the darkest time in your life, take courage, God is there.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.”

In the first chapter, we see a king who, in his third year of reign, throws a lavish party for almost six months. King Ahasuerus was a powerful man who ruled over 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia. He invited everyone in Shusha to his banquet, and alcohol was served as anyone pleased. Persian kings were widely known for showing off the riches and splendour of their kingdoms, and that was the whole purpose of this feast.

As soon as the six-month banquet was over, King Ahasuerus hosted a seven-day feast. The dinner was attended by both the rich and the poor of Shusha. A separate banquet was also hosted by Queen Vashti for the women. It is unclear from the Bible why she did that, but it has been suggested that she was in competition with the king. She may also have wanted to show off.

In ancient Babylonia, women were not permitted to celebrate together with the men. Women were viewed as objects and had no rights. Women were to be in the company of men only when they were summoned by those men.

As stated in verse 10, King Ahasuerus is drunk and sends his men to summon Queen Vashti. As opposed to inviting his wife to celebrate with them, the king invited her to be objectified by his guests. The king wanted Queen Vashti to present her beauty to his guests because she was a very beautiful woman.

What a terrible feeling to have a husband who does not see beyond your physical looks. Sadly, this narrative still exists today. Even today, there are powerful men who prefer to marry women for their physical beauty and discard them once that beauty begins to fade with age. Often, men who have achieved very little success in their lives are determined to marry a beautiful woman in order to find happiness. They hope that this will elevate their social status in the community.

People like to be envied. Social media is one of the biggest tools people use to display fairy-tale lives they do not actually lead. The generation we belong to is known for taking the happiest pictures, yet living the saddest lives.

Vashti did not want to be involved in such an act, but sadly, her refusal to comply with the king’s command ultimately led to her downfall as queen of Persia. Whether her actions were justified or not, what mattered most to the king, and what angered him the most, was that his wife had disobeyed him publicly.

A wife’s public disobedience can be particularly damaging to a man’s ego, and we know how dangerous a man can become when his ego is bruised. Now imagine a powerful king, surrounded by his guests, humiliated in public by his own wife, a queen whom he had married, according to the account I have read, because his father had taken pity on her. His pride had been wounded, and Vashti would ultimately pay the price for it.

Queen Vashti’s disobedience was treated as an unlawful act, and unlawful acts do not remain unpunished. The king sought counsel from men who knew the law, and they advised him to banish Queen Vashti to avoid setting a precedent for other women of Persia. It was believed that disobedience by wives towards their husbands would become the norm if Queen Vashti was not punished for what she did.

A law was enacted that required all women in Persia to honour their husbands, regardless of their social status. Vashti was banished from the royal house and the king’s presence, and her royal estate was to be given to someone better than her.

This has taught me that a person who lacks sound character should never be comfortable in any position simply because they hold the required qualifications. You can be easily disposed of and replaced. However, a person’s character can qualify them to be in high places they never imagined they would be.

Queen Vashti was royalty by blood; she was a beauty and probably a powerhouse amongst the women. Sadly, her poor character (in that era) made her disposable. Her poor character turned her into a nobody.

In chapter 2, Ahasuerus has calmed down and possibly misses his queen. He remembered Vashti and what she had done, and how she was punished for it. Did he regret how he handled the situation? We are not told.

His servants suggested that the king appoint administrators in all the provinces of his kingdom to bring forth beautiful young virgins to the citadel in Shusha, under the custody of Hegai, who oversaw the women, the king’s concubines. The king would then choose a young woman who pleased him to replace Queen Vashti.

Hegai was pleased by Esther’s beauty, and she earned his favour. She was given seven maids, and their purification items were placed in the most prominent place of the palace. They were also moved there.

I have heard many sermons where a lot of people romanticise this whole situation. As an exile, Esther had no rights. She did not volunteer to come to the palace because that would have been a risk, considering that she was a Jew. Esther probably lived in fear while at the palace because she knew that she could be killed if her identity was revealed.

Her uncle had charged her with silence about her Jewish identity, and he walked before the courts every day to check on Esther because he knew that she was at risk. It was unlawful for Jews to marry Gentiles. What is so beautiful about what I just mentioned? I believe Esther had some knowledge of the Jewish laws passed on to her by her uncle, who was brought from Jerusalem into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.

The maidens had to undergo preparations for at least 12 months before appearing before the king. Physical beauty was indeed very significant to King Ahasuerus. We are told that the young women used to go into the king’s house every night and return in the morning to the house where they were kept in custody.

I don’t think the king sat and talked to these girls the whole night. You are welcome to make your own conclusion.

It was Esther’s turn to spend the night with the king. In the 10th month of her purification, she asked for nothing, probably because she was too nervous. All this occurred in the seventh year of Ahasuerus’s reign, which is almost four years after Queen Vashti was banished.

Ahasuerus was pleased with Esther, and she won his favour. As her uncle commanded, she kept silent about her identity even after she was crowned queen of Persia. As can be seen from Esther’s character, she was raised to be an obedient young woman.

By warning the king of the plot to kill him and stating that she had learned of it from Mordecai, Esther gained even more favour with the king.

The two women acted according to their circumstances. Neither Esther nor Vashti was heroic or villainous. As for Esther, she just wanted to survive, while Vashti wanted to preserve her dignity.

Disobedience led to one of these women’s downfall, but obedience led to the other’s rise to power.

Stay blessed!