Esther 1:1-12…. We are going to be following the steps of a godly girl in a heathen country, and see how she fared in facing evil head on and in doing so , was able to deliver her people…
God’s people had left Him out of their lives and had turned to follow heathen ways. Because of this, God allowed them to be taken captive to this strange land with another language and different customs. But there among the people of the king’s court, were those who had come from the land of Israel as captives, and who had risen to positions of authority. A man called Daniel was one of these, and we see how God intervened in his life as he lived in this place. God does not allow His plans for His people to be thwarted and He only allows evil to go so far.
Our story starts, not with the character of the one we are going to study, but with a vastly different type of woman!
The scene is set in the opulence of an Eastern king’s court. The splendours and splurgings of King Ahasuerus are graphically described in this chapter. The beauty of his palace and the richness and length of his feast is beyond our imagination. He called together all his officials and princes and put on a tremendous banquet for them. After that was over, he then put on another feast which was supplied with wine in abundance.
At the same time, Queen Vashti put on a feast for the women of the court. After a whole week of feasting and drinking had gone on, the king decided to call for the queen to come and show her beauty to the men of the court. There are several ways that we can look at Vashti’s reaction to this royal command…..she may have arrogantly refused the king’s command or it may have been from the modesty of not appearing before a drunken crowd of men. Whatever it was, she refused the king’s command and paid for it dearly.
Vashti the queen refused to bring, Her homage to her lord and king; Whate’er her reason, we do not know, The king then said she had to go!