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“A Providential Prologue • 3.10.19
• Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
Text
• Esther 1:1-4 : "Now it
came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over
one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia), in those days when King Ahasuerus
sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel, that in the third year of his reign
he made a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and
Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him—when he showed the riches of his
glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one
hundred and eighty days in all." : Forty years prior to Nehemiah's time, we land back in the land
of Persia and in the reign of Ahasuerus, known to historians as Xerxes I.
- We'll learn more about him as we
go along, but you'll notice first the vast extent of his Kingdom. 127
provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia, a 2,600 mile reach, is under his
control!
- We find him situated in Shushan,
which was the King's winter palace. Persia was living in the height of it's
power, geo-politically and this, in just the third year of his reign.
- Beyond the extent of his
Kingdom, we note the event which garners our author's attention. He is
throwing a party for all of the powers that be. The rich, the royal, all came
to enjoy his opulence.
- His intent was to show off all of
his riches, which took him nearly half of a year to expose! Once the grand
party was complete, it was time for a final local party. Verse 5.
• Esther 1:5-9 : "And when these days were completed,
the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in
Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the
king’s palace. There
were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple
on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a
mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. And they served drinks in golden
vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in
abundance, according to the generosity of the king. In accordance with the law, the
drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers of
his household, that they should do according to each man’s pleasure. Queen Vashti also made a feast for the
women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus." : Ahasuerus was not a man that wanted
to get back to business! He wants the party to continue and where better than
in his royal garden.
- The Kings of the East were known for
magnificent gardens and Xerxes was right near the front of the line in terms of
beauty! For those with a decorative eye, this will endlessly impress.
- The colors and the fabrics, the stone work
and the various types of building material, spoke of an empire that knew no
limitation. Could you imagine drinking from your own unique golden chalice?
- And, we don't quite get this from the NKJV,
but the idea here is that this was an open bar situation for seven days! You
were free to drink as much or as little as you wanted.
- Meanwhile, at the same time that Ahasuerus
was holding court, his Queen held a feast for the women nearby. Vashti, whose
name means "beautiful," came from a long line of royal blood.
- History tells us that she was the daughter of
the Babylonian King Belshazzar and thus, the granddaughter of King
Nebuchadnezzar.
- Many of these ancient royal marriages were
more politically engineered treaty pieces and that not every marriage was a
happy one. It seems that this one might have fit into that category.
- This eventually leads to the King's embarrassment
beginning in verse 10.
• Esther 1:10-12 : "On the seventh day, when the heart
of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha,
Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King
Ahasuerus, to bring
Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her
beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at
the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and
his anger burned within him." : The NKJV is polite in it's description, but, at the close of this
week, the King was completely inebriated!
- It was in that drunken stupor that he
conceived of this ill-fated finale to parade his Queen, his final great
treasure, before his similarly sauced friends.
- He sends out these seven eunuchs, men who
were specially "unequipped" to serve in the King's household to bring
the Queen into his presence.
- The NLT says that he wanted "the
nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty." She was his true
trophy bride, wearing her beautiful crown that further cemented his glory.
- I suppose it would have been a nice effect,
but the Queen flatly refused to come! Read those words again: Queen Vashti
refused to honor the King's command in his own city!
- Believe it or not, this one moment defines
the rest of the book and perhaps, even the rest of human history! Before I
explain that, what do you think caused her to deny her King's command?
- Some scholars believe that the King wanted
her to present herself wearing the royal crown and nothing else, but that isn't
really substantiated by the text.
- She may have simply found the idea of
parading beauty as an insult to her personhood. Nobody will ever know on this
side of eternity. Whatever the motive, this was certainly outrageous!
- One can only imagine the effort of the
eunuchs who had one job, but whatever energy they expended, the answer was the
same!
- Can you imagine the thoughts of these seven
eunuchs as they were returning to report the bad news to the King? "Has
anyone ever refused to honor their King's command?"
- When they delivered the news to King, the
response was exactly as you'd expect! He was provoked to wrath and a fire was
kindled within his heart!
- On this planet, there are few that can say
that they have enraged a great man such as this! Having embarrassed the
King, Vashti is now about to experience exile! Verse 13.
• Esther 1:13-20 : "Then the king said to the wise men
who understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew
law and justice, those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish,
Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had
access to the king’s presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom): 'What shall we do to Queen Vashti,
according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus
brought to her by the eunuchs?' And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: 'Queen
Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the
people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behavior will
become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their
eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in
before him, but she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to
all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen.
Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath. If it pleases the king, let a royal
decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and
the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more
before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who
is better than she. When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed
throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their
husbands, both great and small.'" : Xerxes needs to deal with this issue, but seems to want to do so
in a measured and lawful way. This is not necessarily his "m.o."
- It's reported that a man once asked Xerxes to
excuse one of his three sons from military service. He cut that man in half and
the military marched between the pieces!
- Xerxes was not one given to much nuance, but
this is delicate. You cannot simply kill a Queen with royal blood, but you
cannot also allow her to dictate her own will.
- His close confidants and provincial Persian
leaders, Memucan being the chief spokesman, advise him to send a strong message,
lest her example spread to the entire Kingdom, ie., their wives!
- "Soon, all of our women will refuse to
parade around naked in just their crowns! This is a mess that cannot be
tolerated!" The King needed to send a message that this would not be
tolerated!
- Their advice was that she be deposed from her
position, a fate usually worse than death for someone accustomed to royal life.
She was to be made an example of for all Persian women. V. 21.
• Esther 1:21,22 : "And the reply pleased the king and
the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. Then he sent letters to all the
king’s provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in
their own language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak
in the language of his own people." : This answer from his cabinet was just what the Doctor ordered.
Memucan was hardly done when Ahasuerus sent out his letter in every language
and tongue.
- Persia is actually credited with having the
earliest version of the "Pony Express." Couriers would ride horses
from station to station, exchanging horses, until they reached their
destination!
- This message quickly came into every
household, in every language represented. Chapter 2.
• Esther 2:1-4 : "After these things, when the wrath of
King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had
been decreed against her. Then the king’s servants
who attended him said: 'Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; and
let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they
may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the
women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of
the women. And let beauty preparations be given them. Then
let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.' This thing pleased the king, and he
did so." :
Historically, a few years have passed. The King has been distracted by the
battles of Artemisium and Thermopylae.
- He is continuing what his Father
Darius began by seeking to annex Greece. In the middle of this, he's thinking
about Vashti, but his decree against her could not be altered.
- This is when his attendants
proposed to host the Persian version of the Bachelor! Let her be a young virgin
from any province in the Kingdom.
- Eventually, the winners will be
brought to the capital city. Once there, they'll be placed under the hand of
the King's most trusted servant, his eunuch, his chamberlain, the keeper of the
women! - Ultimately, if anyone knew the
King's tastes and preferences for companionship, Hegai would have been the
source.
- After being given the best that
money could buy in terms of beauty treatments, the King would then be in the
best position to choose a new Queen! Ahasuerus couldn't agree more! Verse 5.
• Esther 2:5-7 : "In Shushan
the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair,
the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. Kish had been carried
away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jeconiah king
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And Mordecai had brought up
Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor
mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother
died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter." : The exile of Vashti has led us
to the entrance of Esther!
- Why would the Bible detail the
sordid story of a heathen King and his suddenly modest Queen? What would that
have to do with us? Here it is.
- Persia had succeeded Medo-Persia,
which had succeeded Babylon, which had taken the nation of Israel, the nation
that will birth the Messiah, into captivity!
- Many of her people are still
living there despite the invitation of King Cyrus to return and rebuild the
Temple. God still has many people living in Persia at this time and he has a
plan for them.
- He has justly punished them for
their lack of covenant faithfulness, but He is not abandoning them! In fact,
these very people within the land, will make the events of Nehemiah a
possibility!
- You might say that these Jewish
people had been disobedient in remaining behind.
- Biblically, I would counter that
only those whose "spirits God moved" returned. Either way, if even a
matter of disobedience, God is now about to use even that for His glory!
- Right there, right in the very
city that Ahasuerus was living, lived this Jewish man Mordecai, whose name
means "little man." In the scheme of things, he's insignificant.
- He's small in the eyes of Persia
and he's small in the eyes of Israel. In fact, he is a man from a tribe that
was almost completely wiped out before Israel was taken into captivity!
- During the last few chapters of
the book of Judges and nearly a thousand years prior to this, the tribe
of Benjamin allowed a wicked thing to take place within her borders.
- This led to a civil war that left
the tribe with roughly 600 men! With such a small number, there was a great
fear of losing the tribe to extinction! That wasn't God's plan!
- Eventually, two men named Saul rose
from the tribe of Benjamin, one being the first King of Israel, the second
being the most prolific theologian of the early church!
- Between the two men stands
another Benjamite that has been a fixture in Babylon since Jeconiah's reign. He
was a Benjamite born in Babylon, even named after a Babylonian god!
- He is there and he is not alone. You
and I can hardly imagine the responsibility that was written into the law for the
Jews regarding their family, especially given their circumstances.
- Hadassah, or "myrtle,"
was born several years into Jewish captivity, but had lost her parents along
the way. Captive life was no picnic and now, this lovely young woman was left
alone.
- Mordecai made sure that she never
felt that way. He treated her with the same care that he would have treated his
own daughter. This little man was this young woman's guardian! Verse 8.
• Esther 2:8-14 : "So it was, when the king’s command
and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at Shushan the citadel,
under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace,
into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. Now the young woman pleased him,
and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to
her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided
for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to
the best place in the house of the women. Esther had not revealed her people or
family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the
women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King
Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the
regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation
apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and
preparations for beautifying women. Thus prepared,
each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to
take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to
the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch
who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king
delighted in her and called for her by name." : As cute as this sounds, understand
that this constitutes a human tragedy. Women were forcibly removed from their
homes and given to the King.
- Once they are brought in and used for "royal
purposes," they become concubines of the King for life! Esther has no
guarantee initially of any kind of future beside this.
- If she had any fear about this, it's immediately
muted as she garners the notice of Hegai who moves her to the head of the line
because she was a pleasant woman to be around.
- Hegai was immediately drawn to her which lead
to him favoring her with great privilege in beauty treatments and placement in
the house! This was her lot for 6 months!
- She and her maids were given the best place
in the house. Meanwhile, Mordecai was worried sick, sticking around to hear
what had happened with her.
- All the while, the wheels of fortune continue
their spin. Night after night, the King is introduced to the latest prospect.
Each woman is allowed an item to help her cause.
- From there, it was a waiting game to see if
the King made a call back. Verse 15.
• Esther 2:15-18 : "Now when the turn came for Esther
the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his
daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s
eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the
sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in
the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his
reign. The king
loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in
his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head
and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all
his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and
gave gifts according to the generosity of a king." : Esther has been in royal custody for
months now and her number comes up.
- It's interesting that her family history is
so prevalent in this section. She's just a number to the King, but she's
someone's daughter and niece!
- Other women went in with scented candles,
lingerie, prepared ointments. Esther didn't bring anything but what Hegai
advised her to bring.
- In essence, Hegai wants the King to see her
for who she is! She's so beautiful and charming that she doesn't need any
additional "help."
- As she proceeded to meet with Ahasuerus, the
entire palace that witnessed her arrival noted how special she was. By this
time, they had seen it all and nothing compared to this one!
- She was favored by all that saw her and soon
the King felt the same way.
- He loved her more than all the other women
combined! Grace and favor covered her more than all of the other virgins, so he
made her the Queen and gave her a great feast!
Conclusion
- God isn't
mentioned once in this entire chapter and He won't receive a mention in this
entire book, but He allows natural circumstances to play out in His people's
favor, for His own glory!
- This is
called "providence" and we'll see it throughout this book! At this
juncture however, can you see the this part of the story as the prologue and
indeed as the inverse to God's own story?
- Xerxes took
on the Persian title "Emperor" which scholars translate, "King
Of Kings." His power extends beyond imagination. His riches are beyond
calculation.
- His Queen is
His most precious possession. He wants to display her beauty because it is His
government's work to have beautified her!
- Unlike
Xerxes, who took women from their homes, the true King of Kings, left His home
and gave up His own life to secure her, that she might be covered in grace and
favor!
- Instead of
forcing His people into disgrace, He suffered all disgrace to bring us to
Himself!
- That is who
we are today! We who have been shown unlimited grace and favor, are the bride
of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ! Let's pray!
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