Transcript

A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel. They were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories when the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. ”But why?” they asked, as they moved off.

”Because,” he said ”I can’t stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”

One commentator wrote the following: “Esther could be compared to a chess game. God and Satan, as invisible players, moved real kings, queens, and nobles. When Satan put Haman into place, it was as if he announced ‘Check.’

“God then positioned Esther and Mordecai in order to put Satan into ‘Checkmate!’”

Esther is one of two books of the Bible named after women, with Ruth being the other.

It’s fascinating to note with this book that nowhere in the entire narrative is the name of God even once mentioned. It is the only book of the Bible in which there is no explicit mention of God. But while God is not mentioned, His unseen hand is clearly at work behind the scenes throughout the entire record.

As it’s been said, “Though absent by name from the pages of this particular book of Jewish history, God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event, until He ultimately and finally brings everything to a marvelous climax as He proves Himself Lord of His people, the Jews.”

God had told Israel in the days of Moses that if they forsook Him, He would hide His face from her in the place of her exile (Deut. 31:16-18). And the majority of the Jews were still in exile in Persia at the time of this book.

God’s name being excluded from the Book is for the purpose of demonstrating and underscoring His vow. But the Book of Esther also demonstrates that even when Israel forgot God, God did not forget Israel and He acted covertly through His providence to protect her because of His faithfulness to Israel and His covenants with her.

Psalm 121:4,5 states: “Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper.” Jehovah was Israel’s keeper, and in the events of Esther He worked behind the scenes to bring about the Jews’ dramatic rescue.

Esther 1:1-9: “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:) That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,

“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:

“When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.

“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;

“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.

“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.

“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. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.”

The Babylonians sacked and burned Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and took the remaining Jews in the land captive in 586 B.C.

Years later, the Persian empire conquered the Babylonians, in 539 B.C., and they remained the world power until 331 B.C. The Jews living in the Babylonian empire had, therefore, come under the dominion of the Persians.

A remnant of Jews had been allowed to return to Jerusalem around 539 B.C., but most had remained dispersed from their homeland. There were three returns back to Jerusalem in 539, 458, and 444 B.C., led by Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah respectively.

Between the eighty-year gap of the first and second returns, or between 539-458 B.C., is when the events of Esther took place. The book of Esther covers a period of 10 years, during the years 483-473 B.C.

As the book begins, it mentions “the days of Ahasuerus.” This Persian king Ahasuerus is well known to history, though more commonly under the name Xerxes.

He inherited the vast Persian Empire from his father, Darius I, who is mentioned in other places in Scripture, such as Ezra 4:24: “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

Darius’s son, Ahasuerus, ruled from 486 to 465 B.C., and was a powerful king.

This is demonstrated by the vastness of his kingdom described in verse 1, that he “reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces.”

India marked the eastern edge of the kingdom and Ethiopia was the western edge. From that time period in history, India correlates to western Pakistan, and Ethiopia to Sudan and northern Ethiopia.

Interestingly, at one of Xerxes’ capitals, Persepolis, a foundation tablet was excavated in which the emperor boasted that his empire extended to India and Kush, or Ethiopia.

The Persian empire covered all and parts of modern-day Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

Within this region from India to Ethiopia, Ahasuerus ruled over 127 provinces, of which Judah was one, as Nehemiah 1:3 tells us.

The Persian empire was divided into these smaller geographical areas and governmental units called provinces, and there were 127 of them.

There was no more powerful man on earth during this time than King Ahasuerus, which explains the apprehension by Esther later in the book in approaching the King, and the courage it took to make her special request to him.

Ahasuerus is one of 5 main characters in the book of Esther through which God worked to carry out His will: King Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti, Mordecai, Esther, and Haman.

Verse 2 tells us that King Ahasuerus was in his palace in Shushan, sitting “on the throne of his kingdom.” This city was the capital of the Persian empire and was located in the southwestern region of modern Iran approximately 150 miles north of the head of the Persian Gulf and about 200 miles east of the city of Babylon.

The word “palace” in verse 2 refers to a citadel. It was a fortified palace complex in the center of the capital city, built on its acropolis, elevated 120 feet higher than the city.

This palace complex, being built on higher ground, offered protection for the king but also exalted the importance of the king, because if you lived in Shushan you had to look up to see where the king lived.

Daniel was transported to Shushan in a vision in Daniel 8:2. And Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, son of Xerxes, in the palace in Shushan (Neh. 1:1).

Verse 3 tells us that Ahasuerus, in the third year of his reign in 483 B.C., called for and held a great “feast,” or banquet.

The banquet was for three groups of people: first, “all his princes and his servants,” who served with him in the palace; second, “the power of Persia and Media,” or the high-ranking military officers of the empire; and third, “the nobles and princes of the provinces,” or political rulers, governors, lords.

The fact that verse 1 tells us that there were 127 provinces demonstrates the large number of people who would have come for the banquet thrown by Ahasuerus.

All these powerful people in the empire came to revere the most powerful person in the empire, King Ahasuerus.

It’s interesting to point out that the order of the empire in verse 3 is “Persia and Media.”

During the first years of the Medio-Persian alliance, Media was the dominant force. Thus, in the Book of Daniel, the order was “the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 5:28).

But over time, the seat of power shifted to the Persians within the alliance, and thus, in Esther, it is “Persia and Media.” It shows how even the word order in God’s Word is meant to convey truth to us.

Verse 4 tells us the reason for the feast being called and also how long it lasted.

It was called by King Ahasuerus to show off “the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty.”

In other words, it was to impress and wow his guests with the wealth, power, glory, and majesty of the Persian empire, and he spared no expense in doing so. The feast was for the purpose of flexing the empire’s muscles and reveling in the greatness of Persia.

And the feast lasted for “a hundred and fourscore days,” or 180 days, or six months!

Having taxes and tribute coming in from every part of the known world, it took half a year to show off all the luxury, treasures, and riches of Persia.

Now all these rulers likely could not be away from their provinces, people, and positions of authority for half a year without weakening the empire.

A probable explanation is that they were not all there at once but that there was a feast that lasted 6 months, with a rotation of these leaders going to the banquet at different times during the 180 days. People came and went and perhaps returned during that time.

Verse 5 tells us that when the 180-day feast was completed, the king flung open the doors for a seven-day feast, not just for nobility only now, but for all who dwelt in Shushan, both “great and small,” from the least to the greatest, rich and poor alike.

The king wanted to impress his subjects in Shushan with a great display of his wealth, power, majesty, and generosity.

Thousands came to the palace for the week-long feast. And what follows in verses 6-8 is the author, who was there, writing firsthand of what he saw as he was at this seven-day feast. And these verses paint a picture of lavish luxury.

This banquet was an outdoor event held “in the court of the garden of the king’s palace,” or in the king’s palace garden, which was an open structure lined with columns and a large outdoor banqueting hall. It was a garden party, you could say.

The décor is described as having fine white, green, and blue linen curtains, being hung by purple linen cords from rings made of silver fastened to marble pillars.

There were “beds” or couches of gold and silver sitting upon a mosaic pavement of costly, precious stones and marble: red, blue, white, and black in color.

People drank from golden vessels and goblets of many assorted kinds and were given, not just common wine, but “royal wine,” costly wine from the royal cellar which the king himself drank. So the guests got to drink the king’s wine in the king’s cups!

And this royal wine was given freely in “abundance,” according to the “state” or generosity of the king.

Verse 8 tells us that according to the “law” or edict, command of the monarch, the special rule for the feast was that no one be compelled to drink, and at the same time, no limitations were to be put on anyone as to how much they felt like drinking.

The guests could drink as much or as little as they pleased. And the king’s servants and stewards were ordered to serve each man whatever he desired.

Meanwhile, while this outdoor banquet was going on for the men in the garden, the wife of King Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti, was holding her own separate indoor banquet for the women in another part of the king’s palace.

Esther 1:10-12: “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,

“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.

“But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.”

On the last day of the seven-day feast, when the king was “merry with wine,” or when he was in a drunken state controlled by wine, he desired Queen Vashti to make an appearance at the feast in the palace garden among the men.

So he turned to his “seven chamberlains,” which were eunuchs who served in the king’s presence and were in charge of the royal harem.

And the king commanded these seven men to tell Vashti to appear before him wearing her crown so that he might impress the people with the beauty of his queen.

He commanded this as a sort of grand finale to the feast. He wanted her to appear in all her beauty and glory wearing her crown to bring praise to the king.

The king was not asking Vashti to do this; he was commanding her. But Vashti refused to come. To command his wife, the queen, to get dressed up and to parade her in front of a crowd of drunken men was unbecoming of a husband and a King, and it demeaned her and the dignity of her place as Queen. He was treating her like an object, not a person.

There was also a power struggle in this, as the queen didn’t want to demean herself in front of the banquet of women by obeying this degrading command by her husband.

Upon hearing of Vashti’s refusal, the king was offended and his pride was hurt as a man. During the closing ceremonies of this six-month extravaganza, the king’s own wife snubs him, and he feels embarrassed and humiliated before all of his guests and subjects.

Suddenly the king is not as powerful and glorious as he appears to be. Someone actually disobeys him, and in public, no less. King Ahasuerus commanded people from India to Ethiopia in 127 provinces across a vast empire. Yet, he commands his wife, and she defies him and refuses.

And at this point, Ahasuerus was no longer “merry.” The king was used to getting whatever he desired whenever he desired it.

Therefore, her response made him burn hot with anger and rage. And the king of a world empire then felt he had to do something to save both his ego and his reputation. Queen Vashti was, therefore, in a very dangerous position.

Esther 1:13-22: “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:

“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;)

“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?

“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.

“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. 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.

“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.

“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. And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:

“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.”

Concerned about the repercussions of Vashti’s disobedience, King Ahasuerus turned to those closest to him, to his wise men and his advisors for advice.

Verse 13 says that he spoke to “the wise men, which knew the times,” or were literally astrologers who gave counsel by their observation of the stars.

Monarchs in that day depended on such men to give them counsel in personal, governmental, and military matters.

And since it was “the king’s manner,” or custom to consult experts in matters of law and justice before he acted on a matter, he also consulted his trusted seven-man counsel of advisors, who “saw the king’s face,” or had special access into the king’s presence and spoke personally and met regularly with him.

These seven men, the “seven princes of Persia and Media,” also “sat the first in the kingdom,” or were ranked highest in the kingdom, next to the king.

These seven princes are named, so they are not confused with the names of the seven chamberlains mentioned earlier.

The king asked these men what should be done legally “according to law” because Vashti did not obey his direct order to appear before him (v. 15).

In verse 16, Memucan, acting as a spokesman for the other six advisors, tells the king that the queen had not only “done wrong” to just the king, but also to all the princes, or nobles, and all the people throughout his kingdom.

Memucan’s reasoning was that as word spread to the women of his kingdom that Vashti did not obey and come when commanded by the king, this would influence the women of the kingdom to “despise” or defy and disobey their husbands (v. 17) and a rebellion of wives against husbands was sure to follow.

This is a good example of overreacting, as Memucan’s reasoning basically is that before long, all the women of the empire would be doing exactly what Vashti did, every single husband would be disrespected by their wife, and the whole empire would be filled with marital discord.

In verse 18, speaking of their own home lives, Memucan tells the king, today our wives might even start doing this, using Vashti’s example to defy us. And he says, “Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath,” too much strife and anger.

Memucan’s solution in verse 19 is for there to be an immediate and drastic action taken against the queen.

Speaking respectfully to the king, Memucan said, “If it please the king,” and he recommended a royal decree that would be the law of the land, included among the laws of the Persians and Medes so that it could not be “altered,” or changed or revoked.

The Persians considered their laws to be so perfect, they could not be repealed or revised. And the fact that “the laws of the Persians and the Medes” could not be altered or reversed plays an important role in the chain of events in the Book of Esther.

Memucan advised the king that since Vashti did not appear before the king, a royal command should be given that Vashti be forbidden from ever again appearing before the king, and that she be deposed and removed as queen and her position to be given to “another that is better than she” of the king’s choosing.

The queen was to be removed from her position of prominence and honor, and she could never be restored to her royal position.

They felt that such an act would put fear in the hearts of all women in the empire and would surely generate more respect for their husbands.

Memucan’s counsel was that this decree be published and proclaimed throughout the entire kingdom, adding the flattery that his empire was “great” and vast.

This should be done, according to Memucan, so that all women from the greatest to the least, the richest to the poorest, should honor and reverence their husbands.

This action was supposed to enhance the position of husbands throughout the empire. Memucan’s advice pleases the king and the other princes as well.

The king agreed to publicize the failure in his own marriage, and an unenforceable law was passed that commanded husbands to bear rule in their own houses.

The decree was carried out (v. 21). Queen Vashti was thus deposed and banished from his presence, and her position was to be given to someone else, and letters were then sent throughout the 127 provinces, each in their own specific languages.

The letters were sent by the world-renowned, pony-express-type Persian postal system. Historical reports tell us that there was a supply station every 20 miles with riders and horses to carry letters and the king’s decrees to the empire.

Under grace, God’s working is similar to the days of Esther, in that He works in the lives of people in subtle, quiet, behind-the-scenes, but powerful ways.

This is not because God is hiding His face from us due to our disobedience and forsaking Him like with Israel, but instead, living in this dispensation of grace, we are called to walk by faith, not by sight.

Though we don’t see Him and we wonder about God’s providence in our lives, the book of Esther teaches and reminds us that God is always there and always at work, always working all things together for good.

The 6-month long feast, the refusal of Vashti, the reaction and pride of Ahasuerus, and the removal of Vashti as queen are all being used by God.

The Jews living in Persia were completely oblivious to the significance that Vashti’s removal would have for their future and very existence.

And as Charles Swindoll wrote: “Let’s keep the long view in all this. In the midst of what is happening in the king’s banquet hall, God’s heart remains attached to His people—this remnant of Jews carried away from Zion and living in exile in Persia.

“To keep His promise of preservation, He must protect them from extinction, and the means to do that are at hand; the events have been set in motion to make it possible.

“A vacancy has opened up at the very top, in the king’s household, and God has someone waiting in the wings to fill that vacancy.”