The First Feminist

“On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.  But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.”  Esther 1:10-12

The book of Esther is like reading a novel written by a modern-day famous author, but this novel is a real event that occurred during the time when there were still Jewish captives living in Persia.  To set the scene for this passage, Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes I, was the king who ruled Persia from B.C. 486 to B.C. 465, and during his reign, he gave a feast for the princes and nobles of the 127 provinces over which Ahasuerus reigned.  After that feast, he gave another one for the common folks in Shushan, the city wherein we find the king’s palace.  Shushan is believed to have been located about 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf near the border between present-day Iraq and Iran.  The time of this feast was about 60 or so years after the first Jewish captives were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, who captured the Jews and took them to Babylon.  Babylon was eventually defeated by Persia, and thus the Jews became the captives of Persia, and some of them decided to remain in Persia.

The purpose for this account in scripture is to show God’s providential care of His people no matter where they are in the world or under what conditions.  The account also gives the origin of the Feast of Purim which celebrates the deliverance of the Jews at that time.  God’s name is not found in the book, but His influence and power are all over it throughout every verse.  Because God is omniscient, He knows the end from the beginning.  Nothing takes Him by surprise.  He placed Esther in her generation, under captivity, and gave her courage to fulfill His plan to rescue His people once again.  Matthew Henry wrote, “This shows how God serves His own purposes even by the sins and follies of men, which He would not permit if He knew not how to bring good out of them”.  We mortal humans don’t have the ability to see into the future nor do we have the capacity to understand why God does what He does.  Our faithful duty is to trust Him.

The first feast lasted about six months.  One of the main features of the feast was a tour of the luxurious palace and its treasures.  Ahasuerus was a man who fed his ego by boasting of his wealth.  This lengthy feast did come to an end, but the feasting had not ended.  The king made a seven-day feast that was held in the garden court by the palace.  This feast was for the citizens of Shushan, but the king spared no expense to treat them like royalty.  There were elaborate decorations throughout the garden, wine served in abundance in gold and silver vessels.  No one was forced to drink, but those who chose to do so did so very liberally, thus many were intoxicated, including Ahasuerus.

Vashti was the wife and queen of Ahasuerus.  She had a separate feast for the women in the royal house of the king.  Apparently, men and women did not party together.  In ancient days, women were seen as second-class citizens with little rights.  They were more like property, mostly to bear children, particularly sons.  Men could have many wives and concubines.  King Ahasuerus had a harem, called “the house of women”, but there is no record in scripture that he had any children by Vashti or any other of the women.

On the last day of the week-long feast, the king was intoxicated and commanded his chamberlains, who were officers of the palace, to bring Vashti, wearing the royal crown, before his guests to show her off for she was a very beautiful woman.  Persian women did not usually appear in a public setting like this one.  The queen couldn’t even approach the king unless she was summoned, but now she was summoned.  The king sent seven men to bring her to the feast.  Why did it take seven men?  Did the king expect her to refuse?  This was embarrassing and intimidating to her, and she did refuse.  We have to give her some credit for standing up for herself.  Had it been the king alone who summoned her, she could not have refused.  But, in her mind, this was different.  However, if she had complied and come before all of these guests, even if it was not normal, she would not have damaged her reputation, but rather would have been looked upon as a loyal and obedient queen.  A husband who truly loved and respected his wife would not have asked her to do such a thing, but folks didn’t always marry for love in those days.  Besides, he was drunk.  This was an unusual situation, but God used it to fulfill His purposes.

The king was furious.  Not only did Vashti disobey him, but she also made him look bad before all of his guests.  I am sure that this incident was the talk of the town.  Ahasuerus had a huge ego and was not the kind of man who could let something like this go.  He called seven other men who were his advisors and asked them what could be done to Vashti according to the law because she did not honor his command.  At least the king did not desire to go outside of the law to punish Vashti.  One of his advisors said that not only was he dishonored, but all the men throughout the kingdom would have to deal with defiant wives.  Once the word spread, there would be no stopping it.  Life would never be the same.

To be continued next time.