The book of Esther is
unique in many ways; the most important aspect of its uniqueness is, however,
that God is not directly mentioned, but we are shown His power and
strength. There seems to be two main
themes throughout the book: the providence of God concerning His chosen people
and the power of God to rule in the kingdoms of men. It could also be argued with justification
that the manipulation and wickedness of the unrighteous will receive their just
reward if they do not repent, which would be illustrated with the events
surrounding Haman’s demise.
In other Biblical
texts, we are told pointblank that God has His hand in bringing about specific
events. For instance, we are told multiple
times in Genesis that God is providing for Joseph or that He is placing Joseph
in particular circumstances in order to bring about a specific end result. In Genesis 39:2, we are told that the “Lord
was with Joseph, and he was a successful man…”
Also, we are told that those around Joseph recognized this fact: “And
his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to
prosper in his hand” (Genesis 39:3).
This concept is expressed numerous times, either explicitly or alluded
to, throughout the account of Joseph’s life.
By contrast, we are shown the providence of God in the book of Esther
and are intended to come to the conclusion that God is the only logical
explanation for how and what happens.
Unfortunately, when we
get to the book of Esther, the discussion is often dominated by one topic: the
assumed virtue of Queen Vashti in chapter 1.
In the first chapter, Vashti is ordered by King Ahasuerus to present
herself before a party including all of his officials and servants, and many
people assume that Queen Vashti was asked to appear in inappropriate attire or
no attire at all (perhaps this conclusion derives from Esther 1:11 where we are
told that Ahasuerus commanded that Vashti be brought before the party wearing
her royal crown; since we are not explicitly told that she would be wearing
other attire, some may assume that she was wearing nothing but her crown). While it is possible, is it a necessary conclusion?
And, perhaps more importantly, is that the point that is being made in chapters
1 and 2?
The authority of the
government was an extremely important aspect of the Medo-Perisan Empire; what
the king said was meant to be followed to the letter. Secular history proves this point and we have
additional passages in the Bible that further emphasizes this point. Consider what we are told in Daniel 6:8,
“Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be
changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” When Darius discovers that his signing of
decree was actually a plot to legally assassinate Daniel, he is furious because
he knows and understands that even he, as king, cannot change the decree. It
was signed, sealed, and delivered. This
is an important point; in Esther 1, we are told that under Ahasuerus, the
Empire stretched from India to Ethiopia.
For an empire of this magnitude, “authority” is fragile and arguably an
illusion. As a result, any form of
rebellion not addressed would have been detrimental to the empire as a whole,
and even more so when it is the queen who is being rebellious. If even the queen does not obey the king and gets away with it, then why should anyone
else adhere to his authority? Further, the text actually tells us that this is
the reason for which Vashti is removed from her prominent position:
“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.” (Esther 1:12)
“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…” (1:13)
“What shall we do to Queen Vashti,
according to the law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus
brought to her by the eunuchs?” (1:15)
And so we see that it
is the rebellion that is the root of
the problem, not the reasons for
which she rebelled (which we are not told in the text and can only
surmise). Further, the text informs us
that there was a great fear that others would hear of Vashti’s rebellion and
would follow her example: “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’” (1:17). They even
fear that there will be “excessive contempt and wrath” (1:18) if Vashti is not
punished for her rebellion.
There is a principle of
authority being established here: if those in high places do not heed the
authority of the one in power, then others will follow their example and reject
the authority. A similar principle is
established for us on a higher level in Leviticus 10:3. Following Nadab and Abihu’s rejection of God’s
authority concerning what fire to use to burn the incense, God says the
following to Aaron (via Moses): “By those who come near Me, I must be regarded
as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.” Obviously, God’s authority is much more
powerful than man’s authority, it is not fragile, and it certainly isn’t an
illusion, but the principle is applicable in both instances. If those in positions of leadership rebel
against the authority of the one in power, others will follow.
In spite of this show
of authority by the Medo-Persian Empire[1], one of the overall themes
for the book of Esther is that God rules supreme. While all of the events in the book are
intended to show the power of the empire, all they really do is show that God
can bring about whatever result He intends.
This is alluded to by Mordecai in Esther 4:14 where he says to Esther, “For
if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise
for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will
perish. Yet who knows whether you have
come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther was there for the express
purpose of being the salvation of the Jews from Haman’s plot, much like Joseph
rose to power to save his family in the end and to make them prosper.
This is not a concept
unique to the book of Esther; rather we learn it not only through logical
deduction, but also through being explicitly told that God rules over the
kingdoms of men. For example, in Daniel
5:21, we are told that King Nebuchadnezzar was “driven from the sons of men,” suffered many
afflictions such as eating grass like oxen and dwelling among donkeys in order
to teach him humility and to show him that “the Most High God rules in the
kingdom of men, and appoints over it whom He chooses.” We are shown that through the example of
Nebuchadnezzar, Joseph (Egypt), and Esther (Medo-Persian Empire).
Authority is obviously a concept that is extremely
important throughout the Bible; we learn of the power of God’s authority over
everything, even the most powerful earthly empires. If we assume Vashti to be virtuous because
she did not comply, then we must either assume that Esther was not virtuous and
did comply with inappropriate requests, or that the king never asked her to do
so. Do we want to make such a deduction
concerning Esther? In Esther 1:19, the advisors of the king recommend that Vashti
be dethroned and that the king “give her royal position to another who is
better than she.” The inference is that
to be better than Vashti, the succeeding queen must be willing to comply. Is the insinuation that Esther would comply
to an inappropriate request?
The book of Esther is an amazing book with a great
many in-depth concepts that deserve to be studied through and applied. Rather than letting the book be overshadowed
by assumptions and leaps of logic, we need to dig in and see what actually is
in the book, locate the themes, and allow those themes to give us hope as
Christians. Shouldn’t we be encouraged
to know that even if we don’t currently understand why things happen that God
is in control? That He has a purpose? That the governments of earth are only
granted as much power as God allows them to have and that they have no bearing
on our eternal soul? That, in essence, is the overall purpose of the book of
Esther.
[1] This concept is further illustrated
by the decree for all young, beautiful virgins to be brought before the king so
that he may choose another queen and the fact that the command was adhered to
even by the Hebrew subjects in Esther 2.
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