This week we’re going to move on to verses 9 – 12 where we see
King Ahasuerus’ authority challenged … by a woman … his wife … the Queen and
even worse, she did it publicly!
Before delving into this week’s verses though, let’s take a
closer look at King Ahasuerus’s wife. In the book of Esther, she’s known as Vashti.
According to Herodotus, the Greeks knew her as Amestri and considered her to be evil and wicked. Different Bible scholars whose work I read tend to agree that Vashti was Amestri. This piqued my interest, so I did some digging and found the following story, among other not so enduring accounts of her behavior.
It seems that Amestri/Vashti made a beautiful mantle for her
husband Ahasuerus/Xerxes of which he was proud of and considered a treasure. He wore it most everywhere. According to Herodotus, Ahasuerus had a lady
friend that was not his wife, and the book says that he promised her anything
she wanted … her own army, her own palace, etc.
The thing she wanted and requested was not something he wanted to give though, but having
given his vow, he had no choice. She
asked for his cherished mantle. He
offered her anything and everything else, but no, she wanted the mantle, so he
handed it over. Of course, she paraded
around in it and Amestri/Vashti learned that her husband had not only been
unfaithful but had given the lady friend the beautiful mantle she had made for
him. Instead of going after the lady
friend though, she went after the lady friend’s mother, who happened to be
Ahasuerus’ brother’s wife. Amestri/Vashti
was convinced that the mother was behind the request for the mantle for spite (Can
we say ‘bad blood’ in the royal family.). Amestri/Vashti, in revenge, ordered the mother’s
body mutilated in a very graphic way.
Hmmm, this was not the image I had of Queen Vashti, how about
you?
Let’s get back to the banquet …
While the king is partying and giving the second banquet,
Queen Vashti is giving a banquet of her own.
Verse 9: Queen
Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King
Ahasuerus.
This banquet was separate and apart from the King’s and in a
different location in the palace.
Verse 10: On the seventh day, when the heart of
the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha,
Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served the presence of King
Ahasuerus,
On the last day of the king’s second banquet, when he was
‘merry with wine’ … meaning he was intoxicated and drunk, he gave a command to
seven eunuchs who served in his presence.
This command set in motion a chain reaction that changed the king’s
life, the queen’s life, and a young girl’s life forever.
Verse 11:
to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown in order to
display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful.
According to research, it was highly probable that the men
were bragging about how beautiful the women in their provinces were when the
King declared that none was as beautiful as Queen Vashti. Again, according to research, it seems that the King
wanted to prove his claim that his wife was indeed the most beautiful beyond
compare, hence the command.
Some sources said that he wanted her to come dressed in her
royal robe and crown and others said that he wanted her to appear before them
undressed with her only attire being her crown.
At any rate, the king wanted all his drunken guests to feast upon the beauty of … and envy yet another of his possessions, his wife, the Queen.
Let’s think about this for a moment … a room full of drunken
men and a beautiful woman. I don’t see
how anything good could come from such!
Verse 12:
But Queen Vashti refused to come at the King’s command delivered by the
eunuchs. Then the king became very
angry, and his wrath burned with him.
Herodotus along with a commentary I read, said that Queen
Vashti was very pregnant at this time or had just given birth to Artaxerxes,
the King’s son. (Artaxerxes will
proceed King Ahasuerus on the throne. File this little tidbit away in your
mind, because it’s going to be important later in relation to Queen Vashti’s
permanent banishment.)
The King had to have been heartless to command such a
thing! Would he have done the same had
he not been intoxicated?
One source I read said that Queen Vashti sent three different messages back to the King, trying to get him to see reason before her refusal came in the third.
The Queen surely knew of her husband’s temperament
and that her death or maybe dismemberment could be her punishment, but she
refused to go anyway. (Remember what King Ahasuerus did to Pythias’ son!)
One would have to say that Queen Vashti was a strong-minded,
independent-thinking woman who was not afraid to go against the wishes of her
husband, the king or else she was very, very foolish.
The King, being in a drunken state, was embarrassed and his
pride took a hit. He was angry, really
angry!
Bible Markings and Notes: In the margin next to verse 12, I wrote, ‘History
says that the Queen was very pregnant at this time or had just given birth.’
Let’s leave the King ‘stewing’ until next week and take a closer
look at verses 9 -12 and see if we can find God working behind the scenes.
Look at verse 12: With the king’s temperament, he could have
easily had Vashti killed or worse, but he didn’t. God’s providence was looking out for baby
Artaxerxes who, as king, would later have a tolerant policy towards the Jews. This tolerance enabled
him to play a key role in the rebuilding of the temple and the wall of
Jerusalem. (See the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah)
Oh, the things that go on behind the scenes when God is involved! We should be encouraged that He is working behind the scenes in our lives as well, especially in the really hard things that don't make sense.
What are your thoughts on this week’s lesson?
Next week, in verses 13-18, we’re going to see what the king
does after being backed into a corner with his colleague’s watching!
Don't forget to leave a comment and if you're enjoying this class, please share the link with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well.
Until the next class ...
patsy @ From This Heart Of Mine
(c) 2023 by Patsy Norwood ~ All Rights Reserved.
I have read the same two commentaries about the reasons she refused to appear before the king. But I had not heard about her past and evil spirit.
ReplyDeleteShayla, I was quite surprised! I kept checking and double-checking the name connection from the different sources to make sure I wasn't missing something.
DeleteSo we have a king who is drunk along with men who would encourage him in anything. A group of drunk men then and now would be no different. Foolishness would come easy. I doubt there were any robes involved in showing her off.
ReplyDeleteWe have a queen looking to get back at the king for a past wrong. Women don't forget being wronged by a man and she must have been waiting for her chance to get her revenge. Likely the women at the banquet were on her side as well and surely the wine had flowed freely there, too. This kind of side taking and revengeful behavior among females starts early. Even middle school girls can behave in this manner.
The sinful, revengeful side of human beings is all set up to accomplish God's plan.
Lana, I had never considered the possibility of Vashti's refusal coming from a 'revenge' point of view, but you're right! It would also be in agreement with her previous behavior toward the mother of her husband's lady friend.
DeleteI love your 'God's providence' conclusion, God can use even the ugliest of human behavior to bring about His will, can't He? Great comment!
After studying the verses I, too, wanted to know more about Vashti and read some commentaries about her and the situation she found herself in. While "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" re: the King giving the mantle she made to the "other woman", there were several reasons why she refused to appear, a major one, according to one commentary, is that women did appear before a group of men according to Persian law. This coupled with a few other events gave her reason to refuse the King's command to appear. According to one commentary the attendees of his last banquet were drunk, as was the King, and wanted her to appear wearing nothing but the crown on her head. If the King were not drunk himself and egged on by the crowd to do this he conceivably would not have made such a foolish and inappropriate request of his wife -- or would he have? It's all very interesting, especially the different views in the commentaries. Cookie
ReplyDeleteCookie, I found many of the same things you did in my research including that women didn't appear before a group of men according to Persian law. One has to wonder if the king would have made different choices if he could have known the outcome.
DeleteThis is all very interesting and will help us understand Esther's position when she enters the story. Great comment!