Esther 1:1-22
1This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the
Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from
India to Cush: 2At that time King Xerxes reigned from
his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3and in the third
year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and
officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the
princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
4For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his
kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
Esther 1:1-22
5When these days were over, the king gave a banquet,
lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s
palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest,
who were in the citadel of Susa. 6The garden had
hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of
white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble
pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a
mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl
and other costly stones.
Esther 1:1-22
7Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different
from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in
keeping with the king’s liberality. 8By the king’s
command each guest was allowed to drink in his own
way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to
serve each man what he wished. 9Queen Vashti also
gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of
King Xerxes.
Esther 1:1-22
10On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high
spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs
who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha,
Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas—11to bring before him
Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to
display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was
lovely to look at. 12But when the attendants delivered
the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come.
Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
Esther 1:1-22
13Since it was customary for the king to consult experts
in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise
men who understood the times 14and were closest to the
king—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres,
Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and
Media who had special access to the king and were
highest in the kingdom.
Esther 1:1-22
15“According to law, what must be done to Queen
Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of
King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”
Esther 1:1-22
16Then
Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the
nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the
king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the
provinces of King Xerxes. 17For the queen’s conduct will
become known to all the women, and so they will despise
their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen
Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’
18This very day the Persian and Median women of the
nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will
respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will
be no end of disrespect and discord.
Esther 1:1-22
19“Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal
decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and
Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never
again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the
king give her royal position to someone else who is
better than she. 20Then when the king’s edict is
proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women
will respect their husbands, from the least to the
greatest.”
Esther 1:1-22
21The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice,
so the king did as Memucan proposed. 22He sent
dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province
in its own script and to each people in its own language,
proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man
should be ruler over his own household.
King Xerxes most stupid words:
“Hold my wine goblet and watch this!”
1. The King and His Glory
1. The King and His Glory
Esther 1:1-4
1This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the
Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from
India to Cush: 2At that time King Xerxes reigned from
his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3and in the third
year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and
officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the
princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.
4For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his
kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
~ Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (Francesco Hayez, 1867)
Cyrus the Great
• Reigned from 559-530BC
• Conquers Babylonian
Empire
• Founder of Persian Empire
• In 539 BC, he issued a
decree allowing Jews to
return to homeland
• Ezra and Nehemiah are the
responders to this decree
Cyrus the Great monument at Sydney Olympic Park
Xerxes I
• Reigned from 485-465BC
• 5th King of the new Persian
Empire started by Cyrus
• Led an unsuccessful
invasion of Greece
• Always at war with Greece,
and Persian Empire never
conquers the Greek
mainland (The Movie 300!)
Xerxes I of Persia, from Hadish Palace at Persepolis.
Darius I
(The Great)
• Reigned from 522-486BC
• 4th King of the new Persian
Empire started by Cyrus
• Serious defeat in an
attempt to take Athens in
490 B.C.
DariusI of Persia, from Persepolis.
2. “Dude, Great Party!”
Esther 1:5-9
5When these days were over, the king gave a banquet,
lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s
palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest,
who were in the citadel of Susa. 6The garden had
hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of
white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble
pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a
mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl
and other costly stones.
2. “Dude, Great Party!”
Esther 1:5-9
7Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different
from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in
keeping with the king’s liberality. 8By the king’s
command each guest was allowed to drink in his own
way, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to
serve each man what he wished. 9Queen Vashti also
gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of
King Xerxes.
Esther 1:8 literally says:
“And the drinking was
according to the rule:
let there be no restraining.”
~ Bush, F. W. (1998). Vol. 9: Ruth, Esther. Word Biblical Commentary, page 348.
“The banquet held “in the third year” of Xerxes’
reign (1:3) corresponds well with the great war
council of 483 B.C., held to plan for the Persian
invasion of Greece. Xerxes was mustering the
nobles, officials, military leaders, princes, and
governors of the provinces in Susa to rally
support for his military campaign against the
Greeks. The vast expanse of the Persian empire,
from modern Pakistan in the east to modern
Turkey in the west, encompassed many people
groups with different languages, ethnic origins, and
religions. Maintaining their support and loyalty
over such a diverse and far-flung empire was no
small feat. During the 180 days of the council,
Xerxes displayed his wealth and glory to
consolidate the leaders of the many provinces of the
empire under his authority and to gain their loyalty
to his cause.”
~ Karen Jobes, Esther. The NIV Application Commentary page 60.
“For this cause I have now summoned you together, that I
may impart to you my purpose. It is my intent to bridge the
Hellespont and lead my army through Europe to Hellas
[Greece], that I may punish the Athenians for what they have
done to the Persians and to my father. You saw that Darius
my father was minded to make an expedition against these
men. But he is dead, and it was not granted him to punish
them; and I, on his and all the Persians’ behalf, will never
rest till I have taken and burnt Athens.… As for you, this is
how you shall best please me: when I declare the time for
your coming, everyone of you must appear, and with a good
will; and whosoever comes with his army best equipped
shall receive from me such gifts as are reckoned most
precious among us.”
~
Loeb Classical Library: Herodotus 7.8.
3. “Hold my beer and watch this…”
Esther 1:10-12
10On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high
spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs
who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha,
Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas—11to bring before him
Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to
display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was
lovely to look at. 12But when the attendants delivered
the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come.
Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
“Moreover it is their [the Persians] custom to
deliberate about the gravest matters when they
are drunk; and what they approve in their
counsels is proposed to them the next day by the
master of the house where they deliberate, when
they are now sober and if being sober they still
approve it, they act thereon, but if not, they cast it
aside. And when they have taken counsel about a
matter when sober, they decide upon it when
they are drunk.”
~
Loeb Classical Library: Herodotus 1.133.
Was Queen Vashti wrong in not
“displaying” her beauty?
“The third case for divorce is that in which one of the
parties deprives and avoids the other, refusing to fulfil
the conjugal duty or to live with the other person.…
Here it is time for the husband to say, “If you will not,
another will; the maid will come if the wife will not.”
Only first the husband should admonish and warn his
wife two or three times, and let the situation be known
to others so that her stubbornness becomes a matter of
common knowledge and is rebuked before the
congregation. If she still refuses, get rid of her; take an
Esther and let Vashti go, as King Ahasuerus did.”
~ Walther I. Brandt, ed., Luthers Works: The Christian in Society, vol. 45
(Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1962), page 3334.
“Vashti is one of
the nobler women
of humanity.”
~ Abraham Kuyper, Women of the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1936), page 143.
4. Vashti’s gonna Vanish
Esther 1:13-22
13Since it was customary for the king to consult experts
in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise
men who understood the times 14and were closest to the
king—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres,
Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and
Media who had special access to the king and were
highest in the kingdom.
4. Vashti’s gonna Vanish
Esther 1:13-22
15“According to law, what must be done to Queen
Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of
King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”
4. Vashti’s gonna Vanish
Esther 1:13-22
16Then
Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the
nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the
king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the
provinces of King Xerxes. 17For the queen’s conduct will
become known to all the women, and so they will despise
their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen
Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’
18This very day the Persian and Median women of the
nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will
respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will
be no end of disrespect and discord.
4. Vashti’s gonna Vanish
Esther 1:13-22
19“Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal
decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and
Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never
again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the
king give her royal position to someone else who is
better than she. 20Then when the king’s edict is
proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women
will respect their husbands, from the least to the
greatest.”
4. Vashti’s gonna Vanish
Esther 1:13-22
21The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice,
so the king did as Memucan proposed. 22He sent
dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province
in its own script and to each people in its own language,
proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man
should be ruler over his own household.
Themes that Develop
in the rest of the Bible
Themes that Develop
in the rest of the Bible
Marriage Roles
Themes that Develop
in the rest of the Bible
Marriage Roles
Absolute Power
Marriage Roles
Marriage Roles
Genesis 2:18, 24-25
18The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be
alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
24For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and they will become one
flesh. 25The man and his wife were both naked, and they
felt no shame.
Marriage Roles
Genesis 3:16
16To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your
pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to
children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he
will rule over you.”
Marriage Roles
Ephesians 5:22-33
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For
the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head
of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now
as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should
submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her
by the washing with water through the word, 27and to
present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain
or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Marriage Roles
Ephesians 5:22-33
28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives
as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves
himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but
he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
30for we are members of his body. 31“For this reason a
man will leave his father and mother and be united to
his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a
profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and
the church. 33However, each one of you also must love
his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect
her husband.
“I believe in a wife submitting to her husband, but I
don’t believe the husband ever has the right to demand
it. In fact, I know that when I am worthy of submission,
my wife submits; and when I am unworthy of it, she
does not. My responsibility as a husband
is to be worthy.”
~ Scot McKnight, 1 Peter, New International Version Application Commentary, pages 191-192.
Absolute Power
Absolute Power
1 Kings 10:9
“Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in
you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of
the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king,
to maintain justice and righteousness.”
1 Kings 11:1, 5-6
1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women
besides Pharaoh’s daughter…
4As
Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after
other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the
LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
5He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6So
Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not
follow the LORD completely, as David
his father had done.
2 Samuel 11:1-2
1In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,
David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole
Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and
besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2One evening David got up from his bed and walked
around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a
woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful…
What about King Jesus?
What about King Jesus?
Matthew 4:8-10
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and
showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
splendor. 9“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will
bow down and worship me.”
10Jesus
said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is
written: ‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.’”
What about King Jesus?
Matthew 20:25-28
25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so
with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants
to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many.”
The Lord of all Lords
And
King of all Kings:
The Lord of all Lords
And
King of all Kings:
1. Will never say, “Hold my beer and watch this!”
The Lord of all Lords
And
King of all Kings:
1. Will never say, “Hold my beer and watch this!”
2. Is called to use his Kingship to actually serve us!!
Gospel Application
Gospel Application
Do you trust the
Absolute Power in your life?