Esther 4 English Standard Version Esther Agrees to Help the Jews 4 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. Mordecai heard Haman's edict read in the citadel of Susa, and when he heard it, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes (an outward sign of a soul that was greatly troubled). He went into the middle of the city and wept bitterly with a loud cry. He even went up to the king's gate to mourn but was not allowed inside as no one wearing sackcloth was allowed into the king's presence. Jews all across the empire in every province responded in a similar manner by mourning publicly when they heard the news of the edict--not only mourning, but mourning accompanied by weeping, fasting, and prayers of lament--often with the mourners wearing sackcloth and sprinkling ashes on their heads like Mordecai had done.
Esther heard about Mordecai mourning outside the king's gate from her eunuchs, and she was greatly distressed. She tried sending clothes to Mordecai so that he could take off his sackcloth and enter the palace, but he refused. When she couldn't get Mordecai to change clothes so that he could come in, she sent one of the king's eunuchs that attended to her out to speak to Mordecai to learn what was going on. Mordecai told this eunuch named Hathach all that had happened, including the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews (while the king opened up the royal treasuries last time, Haman had promised to reimburse the royal treasuries with a payment of 10,000 talents of silver so that Haman was personally paying for the cost of the elimination of the Jews). Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the decree that he could read it to Esther and explain it to her. The eunuch was also to pass along the message the Mordecai commanded Esther to go before the king and plead for him and his people since he could not himself appear before the king (notice that they are still hiding the fact that these are Esther's people and that she is a Jew from the king and Haman). Esther sends Hathach back with a message to say that it is well-known that no one--man or woman, not even the queen herself--can appear before the king uninvited, with the exception of if the king extends his scepter to them. If the king does not extend his scepter to someone who comes into his presence uninvited, then it is the death penalty for them. It is at this point the Mordecai sends the message back that I quoted at the end of yesterday's journal article, and I think it's one of the most important passages in the entire book. I'll quote it in its entirety here again. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Mordecai knows that the LORD will save them, but Plan A is for Esther, a Jew who had been placed in the position of queen, to use her position to speak to the king about this matter. If she will not, then the LORD will certainly judge her and her household (including her uncle Mordecai, who was like a father to her). Esther receives the message loud and clear and asks Mordecai to gather all the Jews in Susa to fast and pray for her for three days. She would ask all of the women who attended to her to do the same--though they probably would not understand why they were fasting other than that the queen was fasting, and they were honoring her by fasting with her. She said that after the three days, she would go into the king's presence, and if she perished, she perished. It would be up to the LORD to save her. She needed to be strong and very courageous, just like the LORD told Joshua. "Do not be dismayed, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9). Mordecai left and did everything that Esther asked. We'll see what happens to Esther when she goes before the king next time. Esther 3 English Standard Version Haman Plots Against the Jews 3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. At some time after Mordecai revealed the plot to the king, Haman the Agagite was promoted to be the highest official in the Persian empire (much like how Daniel had been, only we'll see that Haman is the polar opposite of Daniel). At the command of the king, because of the exalted position that the king had given to Haman, all the other servants were to bow down before Haman, but Mordecai would not bow down before him. Does this remind you a little bit of Hanniah, Mishael and Azariah (we know them as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--their Babylonian names) that would not bow down and worship the king's image in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3? Everyone asked Mordecai why he violated the king's command? The answer is simple--he had a higher commandment from a higher King--"Worship the LORD your God and serve Him only." He would not listen to them when they tried to tell him that God would understand and that he just needed to compromise, and that he could bow on the outside without bowing his heart on the inside. All these same kinds of worldly wisdom that we get offered today, Mordecai heard and didn't listen to. He knew the LORD's command, and he was going to obey it. The answer that got back to Haman and the king was that Mordecai refused to obey the king's command because he was a Jew. It doesn't appear that his specific objection or moral dilemma was presented, only that a statement was made to the effect that Jews don't respect or obey the king's commands.
Haman then looked for Mordecai the next time he was going in and out of the gates of the citadel and noticed Mordecai did not bow down, just as it was reported to him. He was filled with rage to the point where he wanted to kill Mordecai, but he was devious and knew not to lay his own hands on Mordecai, because that would make him guilty of murder. Also, Haman wasn't satisfied to kill Mordecai alone, but he now wanted to kill all the Jews in all of the provinces of the entire empire--everywhere where King Ahasuerus reigned. Starting in the first day of the first month of the Jewish calendar and day after day for all twelve months of the year (from Nissan to Adar), a Pur (a type of lot) was cast before Haman to try to determine the best date on which Haman should carry out his plan to try to exterminate the Jewish people. Through what would appear to be a random outcome, but an outcome that was controlled completely by the LORD, as we see in Proverbs 16:33. Though the date is not given here, this is the date of the holiday called Purim that is celebrated by the Jewish people. While it was the date set for their destruction, we can see that they are still alive and well, and we'll see as we go throughout the book exactly how it is that they escape destruction. Let's now get to Haman's plan. He goes before the king to tell the king that there lived in the empire a people who are scattered among the other people. These people are not like the others in the kingdom--they have their own laws and customs that differ greatly from those of the other peoples, and they do not keep the king's laws. Haman argues that it does not profit the king to keep these people (the Jews) around if they will not assimilate into the culture and treat the king's commands as equal to or greater than the commands of the God they worship and serve (remember that the LORD alone is their king, even when they had "kings" of Israel and Judah, they were only called "princes," because the LORD was King). Haman suggested that an edict go forth from the king to all the provinces to let them know that these people--the Jews--were to be exterminated by order of the king. Haman also asked for 10,000 talents of silver with which to pay the mercenaries that would carry out this order. The king issued the edict and gave Haman the money from the royal treasury. The king gave Haman his signet ring that was used to sign official documents so as to say, "I pre-approve everything you want to do in this matter." The king also gave Haman all the men he needed to accomplish his purposes. The edict was issued on the 13th day of the first month (the 13th of Nissan). It was issued in the native language of every province, and it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and signed with his signet ring so that anyone who saw it would assume that the king, not Haman, had issued the edict. The instructions sent to all the leaders of all the provinces were to kill and annihilate all the Jews--young and old, male and female on the 13th day of the twelfth month (the 13th of Adar). This was the date chosen by lot by Haman and those who cast the Pur before him, but it was the date of the LORD's choosing. Notice that the date is almost exactly one month before Passover. Now the Jews prepare their hearts and minds for Passover--the greatest story of deliverance ultimately fulfilled in Christ, our Passover Lamb who saved and redeemed us from our enslavement to sin and death, with the feast of Purim that shows that even in the moments where we don't see God, He is actively working to save and preserve His people and accomplish His plans and purposes. The provinces had nearly a year to get ready and Haman wanted to strike fear in the hearts of the Jews as they would hear the edict and know that the date set for their execution had been set. Would they try to run? Would they try to rebel? How would these people who said they put their trust and hope in the LORD respond to the outright threat of genocide? The edict was first read in the citadel of Susa. While the king and Haman sat down to drink and party to celebrate their success in this matter, the city of Susa was in a state of confusion. Certainly, some tried to figure out what the Jews had done to become enemies of the state. I'm sure some Jews wondered if they were going to make it to the 13th of Adar or if their neighbors would turn on them early. Haman and the king have no idea that Queen Esther is a Jew. Remember, she's kept her identity secret. We'll talk next time about how Mordecai convinces Esther that she needs to do something to speak up for her people in probably one of the most memorable passages of this entire book, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” We'll look at this conversation between Mordecai and Esther next time. Esther 2:19-23 English Standard Version Mordecai Discovers a Plot 19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king. Remember that Mordecai is outside the gate of place where Esther is being kept. We've already been told that Esther was favored and received grace and would be selected as queen, but we're going to have a little bit of a "meanwhile, outside the palace gates" situation here if we were watching this as a play or a TV show as there would have to be set change. We were just focusing on Esther's story arc that was going on inside the harem and the palace, but Mordecai is outside and is perfectly positioned to hear Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, were on guard duty. While they were standing guard, they were talking about all the things that made them angry about the king and how he ruled--in fact, they were so angry that they were making a plot to kill him!
Mordecai new that he could get word to Queen Esther and that if she reported this assassination attempt to the king, it would only strengthen her position in his eyes, but Esther gave credit where credit was due to Mordecai (though she did reveal her relation to him or her identity as a Jew). The fact that Esther mentioned Mordecai's name will be important later in the story as the king will have this event in his official records. The men who planned to assassinate the king were hanged from the gallows and the events of this plot and Mordecai's and Esther's parts in revealing the plot to the king were recorded in the royal chronicles. We'll have another set change and be introduced to the villain of the story next time. It would be fair to compare this man to Hitler, but that wouldn't even go far enough, because the genocide this man intended to exterminate the Jewish people far exceeded anything that Hitler had planned. Also, remember that this is before the birth of Christ and Satan's intent here is to keep the promises of God's salvation from coming by killing His covenant people through whom Messiah was supposed to come. Satan supposes that if he can exterminate the Jews (specifically those of the tribe of Judah, but he'll be happy to kill all of them) there will be no Messiah to defeat him, and his kingdom of darkness will reign supreme, and he will have beaten God. That is the spiritual battle that is going on behind the scenes when we study Haman's plot next time. Esther 2:1-18 English Standard Version Esther Chosen Queen 2 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king's young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so. 5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. 12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women-- 13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. 15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when 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, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity. After the king's anger abated, he remembered what had been done to him by Vashti and the edict he had given concerning her. While the text doesn't say so directly, it was obvious to his attendants that he was lonely and desired both marriage, companionship, and a partner in helping to bear the heavy burden of being king--he wanted someone to be queen, not just a concubine. His attendants suggested there be a royal beauty pageant of sorts, though participation doesn't really seem voluntary. All the young women (the Hebrew word assumes that young girl is a virgin, so this one word carries both the idea of being young and being pure) should be brought to the harem at Susa (the citadel) and have a royal makeover in preparation to be presented before the king. Whichever beautiful young lady pleased him the most, that one would become his wife and queen of the Persian Empire in place of Vashti. This advice pleased the king, and he ordered his made it happen.
We're now introduced to one of the main characters in the book--an older Jewish man named Mordecai. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, part of King Saul's family (Saul's father was Kish, and Mordecai is a direct descendant of Kish himself). He had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and his men when they captured Jerusalem, and he now lived in Susa with his niece. Her Jewish name Hadassah, but like most Jews in Exile, she also had another name that she was known by that didn't sound so Jewish, and that name was Esther (the name of this book). Why have two names? There have been times and places in Jewish history where just having a name that sounded Jewish was enough to get you beaten, arrested, put in a concentration camp, and maybe even executed. You may think that I'm talking about the Holocaust, and I am, but you'll also see that things weren't that different in the time of Esther. Antisemitism was maybe even worse at that time than it was among the Nazis, but I don't want to give away too much of the story. Suffice to say that Mordecai had good reason to be concerned for his niece that was in his care (he was her guardian after her parents died, and he cared for her as if she was his own daugther) and giving her the name "Esther" was probably one of the ways that he kept her safe from some of the persecution. We get the idea that Mordecai probably looked and sounded Jewish and that's probably why he didn't bother trying to hide his identity. However, Esther was raised in Persia and all indications are that no one knew she was Jewish. Before she was taken with the other young women to be evaluated by the king's eunuch and presented to the king, Mordecai told her not to reveal that she was Jewish. He knew enough to know the climate of the culture and that the fact that she was one of the Jewish Exiles would possibly hurt her chances of being evaluated fairly. For now, she would have to keep her identity a secret (this is quite the opposite of Daniel and his three friends who were in a similar situation and immediately revealed that they were Jewish. The LORD is going to bless Esther's obedience to Mordecai, but we can see by comparing the two situations that the LORD would have been able to defend her and still put her into the position He desired for her even if she had made her ethnicity and religious beliefs known). Esther is immediately made the first cut and is given a makeover, a provision of food from the king's table, and seven women from the king's palace to help train her in how to act before king (the probably had been Vashti's attendants that knew all the ins and outs about exactly what to say and do to earn the king's favor). Esther quickly advanced through each round, and Mordecai waited outside the gate each day to hear news on how his niece was progressing (we'll practically see him living there outside the gates from this point forward so that he can stay as close as he can to Esther). A full year had passed before any of the candidates were brought before the king. Each one was brought to him one by one after they had had six months of beauty treatments. Apparently, this was standard practice. When the king called for one of the women, they would take whatever they wanted to from their possessions in the first harem they were in (the one where the virgins stayed under the care of Hegai), for they were not going to return there again after that night for they would no longer be virgins. That night, they would become one of the king's concubines. In the morning, they would go to a second harem for the concubines under the care of Shaashgaz. It would be up to the king if he ever called for her again. I'd imagine there were many women that lost their virginity with the king and remained as his concubines but were never called upon again. Esther took nothing with her other than what Hegai told her to take. It was the tenth month of the seventh year of the king's reign when Esther came before him. He loved Esther more than any of the other women, and she won his grace and favor. The king decided that she was the one who would be made queen in Vashti's place, and he put the crown on her head and threw a feast with all of his officials to celebrate (all I can say about that is "Here we go again"). The part about "remission of taxes" could also mean that he "declared a holiday" among all the provinces (basically he had the whole empire celebrate Esther with him). He also gave gifts to Esther that were paid for from the royal treasuries because she had his grace and favor. While the LORD is not directly mentioned anywhere in the book of Esther (that makes this book unique) we see the fingerprints of HIs sovereignty all over this story. Esther is advancing in the same king of way that Daniel and his three friends advanced in their tests. In those passages in Daniel, we are told directly that the LORD made Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah gain favor in the eyes of those evaluating them, and in the eyes of the king. The same is true here for Esther, even if the text doesn't directly say so--the readers are to infer God's sovereign hand at work. In fact, that is theme of this book--how God is at work "behind the scenes" to work out His good will and pleasure. I won't get more specific about what exactly that good will and pleasure is right now, but God is the one directing this "play" even if we don't see Him on stage. Esther 1:10-22 English Standard Version Queen Vashti's Refusal 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 Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. 13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. The party didn't last long before the king's heart was no longer satisfied by the constant flow of alcohol. He had planned to party with all his officials for 180 days (six months), but after only a week, he summoned the queen to join him, even though she was hosting her own party for her servants and attendants. Why? Probably because the drunk king has had his tongue loosened and he's been bragging to his officials about how he has the most beautiful wife. Those would be the best reasons and what makes sense because the request is to have all the eunuchs find her and bring her in her royal robes and with her crown upon her head. She was being summoned to a state function primarily to be eye-candy for the drunk king and his drunk officials. In case you think I'm assigning motives to the king that aren't in the text, take a look at verse 11 which gives the reason the queen was being summoned, "...in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at." She has enough sense and dignity to refuse his "request," though it really wasn't a request. In his drunken state, he is so enraged by the embarrassment of her refusing him that his anger burns hot within him.
The king consults with his wise men in what to do. Certainly, he feels the need to punish the queen, and he asks his seven closest advisors what is written in the Law about such an event. It would seem there was nothing written about the queen refusing the king's request (now he calls it a command, though it was simply an invitation at first), and the officials try to come up with logic that is consistent with what they think the king wants to hear. They urge him (foolishly, in my opinion, but it was the work of the LORD to use this for His purposes) to write a law that could not be altered that Vashti was never again to appear in his presence and that her position as queen would be given to another. It was essentially a divorce without any legal divorce proceedings. She was dead to him at that point. The decree was made, and the order was given for all women to give honor to their husbands, for the king and the officials feared that Vashti's actions would bring about a rebellion among the women to not honor and obey their husbands (especially the other government officials). The order was for all women of high and low status in the kingdom. It didn't matter if they were the wife of a government official, the wife of a freeman or the wife of a slave. Women were ordered to obey the voice of their husbands as a slave orders the voice of his or her master. The letter with the order was sent to every province in the language of that province so there would be no confusion. While we see the foolishness that came out of the king's hedonistic worldview and what happens when women are seen only as objects to try to make their husbands happy and as eye-candy for them and their friends, this event is the first Act in a play that the LORD has written and directed. He's orchestrating events so that He can place key characters in key roles at exactly the right time so that as events that are unexpected to us unfold, He has already made preparations and prepared the answers before the questions are even asked. Esther 1:1-9 English Standard Version The King's Banquets 1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. A chronology of the book of Esther might be helpful as we study it, so here's a link to the that from the ESV Study Bible resources: Chronology in Esther | ESV.org. Identifying the exact Persian king we're talking about here and whether these events are in-between the groups of exiles in Ezra or post-Ezra but pre-Nehemiah vary from source to source. What matters is that Esther and her uncle Mordecai live in citadel of Susa where King Ahasuerus kept his royal throne. He ruled over a huge kingdom from India to the East and Ethiopia to the South (what the Bible calls Ethiopia is what we would probably call Sudan). There were more than 127 provinces, each of which were either large city-states or small countries that were either vassal states of the Persian empire or had been conquered by the Persian empire or had been conquered by the Babylonians or Assyrians and now the Persians had conquered both of them and taken over their empires. We're easily in the second phase of Daniel's vision where the lion of Babylon has been defeated and the bear that was raised up on one side that represented the Medo-Persian Empire (since the Persians where stronger than the Medes, it was an unbalanced alliance. Things are looking pretty good for the Persians at the moment, but there is trouble within the royal palace.
The king likes to party and get drunk. He was throwing a party that was going to last 180 days (six months of partying and drinking). This is excessive and probably a dereliction of duties. I can't imagine partying for six months and being able to watch over the empire and be in your right mind to be able to take care of issues. However, he was a hedonist who had given official orders to all those who worked in his palace to have no inhibitions and to do whatever they felt like. We almost feel like this king is another Solomon, but without the wisdom of Solomon. He has all these gaudy riches and a giant empire, and a beautiful wife, and yet none of it makes him happy. He tried to surround himself with parities and drink to excess, but that doesn't make him happy. The queen would not attend his feast--she held her own feast for herself and her attendants, and likely she invited the wives of the nobles that the king had invited. I'd imagine her party was much more subdued, but they were probably also drinking, which is going to make from some terrible decision making on the parts of both of them for our next section we will talk about tomorrow when the king calls for the queen to come to his party. Nehemiah 13 English Standard Version Nehemiah's Final Reforms 13 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. 4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. 10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service. 15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love. 23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?” 28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. This is it! The final chapter in the book of Nehemiah! Once again, the people commemorate a special day with the reading of the Law of the LORD. Each time they read it; they are convicted about something new. Before, they were convicted about their intermarriage with forbidden people, but now they have heard that they are not to allow the Ammonites or Moabites into the assembly of God (they are not to be welcomed as citizens and they are to be denied access to the altar of the LORD--first when it was at the Tabernacle, then at Solomon's Temple, and now at the Second Temple). We know the LORD made an exception in this rule for Ruth who forsook her identity as a Moabite to follow Naomi and take care of her, and she married Boaz and became the father of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, king of Israel. However, the people see that they have let those who are still clinging to their identity as pagans and enemies of God, those who tried to destroy the people of God through sexual sin and idolatry as they were entering the promised Land, and have never ceased their campaign to try to kill God's people and take the Land He had promised to them, into the assembly against the command of the LORD. Upon hearing this command, the Israelites separated themselves from all people of foreign descent.
How far had the disobedience gone against this specific command? Well, Eliab the priest, who was over the chambers (probably storerooms) of the house of God, and who was related to Tobiah through marriage, built living quarters for Tobiah in one of the rooms that was supposed to be used for storing the tithes and offerings. Tobiah belonged to one of the forbidden, foreign peoples--he was an Ammonite (see Nehemiah 2:10). Not only had they let him into the Temple, but they had let him live in the Temple. They had built the wall, but then invited the enemy to come live among them within the most precious, sacred, and holy place in the city. Because of this rebellion, the provisions that were to be provided to the priests and the Levites were not there (that was the purpose of the storeroom that had been cleared out for Tobiah to live in). Of course, Nehemiah was angry when he heard about this, and he threw Tobiah out and cleansed the storeroom, and brought everything back in that was supposed to be stored there. Nehemiah also found out that the contributions to the priests and the Levites were being withheld from them, so Nehemiah confronted the officials who were supposed to be overseeing this. Nehemiah made each of the officials go to their designated collection stations, and all of Judah was ordered to bring in the tithes and offerings that were commanded of them so that the house of the LORD and those working in His service would not be neglected. Then treasurers were appointed over the storehouses to make sure that the appropriate tithes and offerings had been collected--unfortunately when people's hearts fail to do what is right willingly, the law has to step in and make a bureaucratic system to make sure people are doing what they are supposed to do and enforce the laws the people should be obeying (I would assume the treasurers were about the equivalent of IRS agents and were probably not liked very much--however, they were not there to scam and cheat the people like the Roman tax collectors later). Nehemiah did everything he could to appoint people of good character to these positions and he asked the LORD to see and remember that it was his intention to make sure that the LORD and His servants (the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, and the other Temple servants) were all taken care of and provided for. Next came the issue of working on the Sabbath day--what was to be a death-penalty offense. There were people working their winepresses and people bringing all kinds of loads of goods and wares to the gates of Jerusalem to be sold (and for them to buy and trade with others who were at the gates to do business). Nehemiah confronted the officials behind this and reminded them that it was because of their failure to observe the LORD's Sabbaths that they were sent into Exile. Did they want to go back into exile again? That seemed to be the direction they were headed in if they did not repent and put an end to this wickedness of profaning the Sabbath day. Nehemiah used his authority as governor to enforce the Sabbath by commanding that from twilight on the beginning of the Sabbath (what we would call Friday evening) to dusk at the end of the Sabbath (what we would call Saturday evening), the gates of the city would be closed, barred, and secured by an armed guard. The merchants still tried to gain entry and encamped outside the city gates, but Nehemiah told them to go away and stop camping outside the walls unless they wanted Nehemiah (the governor) to arrest them and prosecute them for violating the Sabbath day (again, it was a death penalty offense not only for the Jews, but for all who lived in the Land, as they all knew of this Law, just the Gentiles chose to disobey it because they did not worship the LORD or obey His commandments). The Levites were told to consecrate themselves and come forward to be gatekeepers to enforce the Sabbath day. They were zealous for the LORD and His Sabbath, and they should not let anyone through the city gates to do business on the Sabbath. Even after all the other times that we have seen Nehemia take up the issue of being married to descendants of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, there were still Jews with wives from these foreign nations who had children with these women, and the children spoke the language of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab (meaning they probably also were culturally like the people of these nations, and probably worshiped their gods and goddesses). If they could not speak the language of the people of Judah, there was no way for them to understand the Law of the LORD that was read to them year after year, nor could they understand the laws and reforms being instituted by Nehemiah or the other government officials. Nehemiah confronted these men, and while I don't know that I agree with his tactics of beating some of them and pulling out the hair of others (something that would not only be painful, but would publicly shame them), I get that Nehemiah is passionate about getting the people to swear to obey the LORD so that they don't come under even greater judgment. However, I see Nehemiah unwilling to enforce the death penalty in cases of high-handed rebellion as was his duty and responsibility. This certainly would have put the fear of the LORD into the people that were casually and flippantly rebelling against the LORD and His commands. Maybe he felt there were too few people, and he couldn't afford to execute any of them for these offenses. Maybe he thought they hadn't been told or warned enough times? I don't really know. All I know is by this point they have been told at least three times and have sworn oaths that they seem to not intend to keep at least three times (which is another death-penalty offense). Nehemiah reminded the people that marrying foreign women and having children with them was what was the downfall of King Solomon. His heart became so ensnared by these relationships that he built places for his wives to worship their foreign gods so that every grove and high place was turned into a place of idolatrous worship, and he led the people of Israel into spiritual bondage that they were just now starting to escape from. Nehemiah never wanted to see them return to that time of spiritual darkness. One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite--the other main enemy of Nehemiah in this book. Nehemiah chased this man away from him as well, for he was angry that even the priesthood and the Levites were polluted by these evil men. Nehemiah did everything he could as governor to cleanse the city and the people and to bring about reforms that would keep the Law before the people and would encourage them to obey it and would use the power of the government to enforce the Law when the people did not willingly obey it. He made sure that the priests and the Levites were taken care of, and that the priests and Levites had their schedules so they knew when to serve so that nothing would go undone or be overlooked--even something as simple as making sure wood was gathered for the fire on the altar so that the fire would never go out was taken care of by way of a schedule, and Nehemiah made sure the people made the offerings of firstfruits of their fields, vineyards, groves, flocks, herds, wine, oil, and spices. He did his best to govern the people as a theocracy even though they were still subjects of a pagan king, and the spiritual leaders who should have been the examples for the people to follow were corrupt themselves. In all this, Nehemiah asks the LORD to remember him favorably and to remember the words and deeds of his enemies in the day of their judgment. With that act of laying everything in the hands of the LORD, he "signs off," and we assume that the returns back to the king and his previous position. This book may have even been his official report to the king. There's one more book during this period of the Persian Empire, and that's Esther. I was hoping to get to it during the Feast of Purim, but I missed it by a little bit (that feast just ended). However, the message of that book is still timely for what is going on in current events. It is a unique book in that the name of the LORD is not mentioned even once in the entire book, yet His fingerprints are all over it as we see Him orchestrating events in a way that His sovereignty is undeniable. We'll take a look at that book next. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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