QUEEN VASHTI DETHRONED It came to pass that king Ahasuerus held a banquet to show off the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty, in which he practiced his looseness, and drank too much wine to lose his reason (10), and his wife, on account of that he got furious, his anger burned within him (12), and received the counsel of the wicked (16);… But the amazing hand of God turned those evil practices into a tool to realize the salvation of His people, through dethroning queen Vashti, and enthroning Esther instead of her. In other words, while the devil was provoking Haman to annihilate the Jews, God prepared Esther for their salvation. 1- The banquet of king Ahasuerus 1 - 9 2- The king demands the attendance of queen Vashti 10 - 12 3- Queen Vashti dethroned 13 - 22 1- THE BANQUET OF KING AHASUERUS: As the kingdom of Media and Persia became great and defeated the kingdom of Babylon, the Jews who were taken into captivity to Babylon, became under the authority of Media and Persia. The dominion of that kingdom extended from India to Ethiopia, covering over 127 provinces (1); including the land of Egypt, which was occupied by emperor Xerxes, after his father’s failure to overcome it. Ahasuerus, as we already said (1), refers to king Xerxes son of Darius; And as more than one king carried the name ‘Ahasuerus’, some scholars believe that it was not the name of a certain king, as much as it was a title given to the kings of Persia; the way the kings of Egypt carried the title ‘Pharaoh’. To show off the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the splendor of his majesty (4), the king held two great banquets: the first one lasted 180 days; probably one daily banquet for each of his provinces, or that period included the preparation for the two banquets. The second banquet was a collective feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, held in the gardens of the king’s palace (5). He probably held those two banquets to declare his intention to wage against the Greeks; as, according to Herodot, the Persian kings used to make their decisions in such banquets. The author narrates accurate details of that banquet, saying that it was held in Shushan the citadel (or Susa), the capital of ‘Elam’, before 3000 years B.C. which was the seat of king ‘Chedorlaomer’ (Genesis 14: 1), then taken over by the kings of Persia and Media, who made it their winter capital, beside Babel and Wakbatanah. … It seems that the first banquet was held for the rulers inside the palace; whereas the second banquet, held for all the people, who were present in the court (seemingly separate from the city itself 9: 12, 13), was held in the garden of the palace, where tabernacles to shade against the heat of the sun: of white, green, and crimson fabric (the Persian royal colors), hanged by white linen cords through rings of silver on marble pillars. The recliners for the guests, were adorned with gold and silver, on a ground of black marble, and the most prominent item for their entertainment, was the abundant flow of royal wine, according to the generosity of the king, served in golden vessels (7) 3 Queen Vashti also held a feast for the women in her quarters in the royal palace (9). 2- THE KING DEMANDS THE ATTENDANCE OF QUEEN VASHTI: “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 in the presence of king Ahasuerus, to bring queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold” (10, 11). Here, the word ‘eunuch’ does not mean the literal sense of the word, but it was a title given to the court officials in Persia and Egypt; as for example the captain of the guard ‘Potiphar’ was called ‘the eunuch of Pharaoh’ (Genesis 39: 1); so were the cupbearer of the king and his baker (Genesis 40: 2). The seven eunuchs here, were therefore royal officials who had the honor to serve the king. The king was so merry with wine, that he uttered perverse things, according to the oracle of the wise Solomon: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things” (Proverb 23: 31, 32).; and, “It is not for kings,… to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink, lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted” (Proverb 31: 4, 5). If in Jesus Christ we have become kings (Revelations 1: 6; 5: 10), It would not be befitting of us to get drunk with the love and pleasures of the world, lest we would forget the law of heaven, and lose our royal stature. It would not be befitting of us to show off the beauty of our inner ‘Vashti’ to others; Namely, to parade our works of righteousness and virtues to get human glory, instead of keeping our (queen) within us, and not having her beauty shown, except to her Groom, the Lord Jesus. If God has set man as a spiritual king; it would not be befitting of him to bring his queen forth to show off her beauty to strangers; but to keep her in her own quarters to hold a special banquet for women to make them happy, and to let them submit to her…. In other words, to let our bodies (the queen) live with the spirit of submission to our soul (the king), hidden within her royal behavior, to remain holy in the Lord, partaking of the royal glory and honor of the soul. That way, the apostle Paul loved his ‘Vashti’, namely his royal body in the Lord, and let her stay in the women’s quarters, saying: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9: 27). “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church” (Ephesians 5: 29); namely, as a King toward His queen; For the soul to recognize her leading position by the Holy Spirit; and for the body to recognize its position as a helper to the soul, and a partner in conquest; lest man would be wholly deprived of the eternal royal glory. The king intended to show off the beauty of the queen, “for she was beautiful to behold” (11); not perceiving that by so doing, she would lose her splendor and distort her image. Hence our Lord Jesus Christ, to confirm our commitment not to show off our inner (queen), says: “When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6: 4). … ‘Vashti’ would 4 remain in the women’s quarters, when we present worship to God, not with the intention of showing off before men, but of closing off our inner doors, and entering into our secret place, where we encounter our unseen Groom; As according to St. John Chrysostom: [Being Himself unseen, God intends for your prayer to be unseen as well1]; And, [God intends for you to close off the doors of the mind, rather than to close off the seen doors2]. 3- QUEEN VASHTI DETHRONED: Having refused to come at the king’s command, “the king was furious” (12). He moved from great love and admiration of his wife the queen, to have instead fire burning within him toward her. The king sought the counsel of the wise men who understood the times, and know law and justice (he probably means the diviners and magicians) (13). It so seems that there was some animosity between the queen and Memucan, one of those counselors, who said before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes and all the people who are in the provinces of king Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes’” (16, 17). And he counseled the king to dethrone her and give her royal position to another who is better than she. Memucan counted Vashti’s behavior as a breaking up of the law of nature, and that of the family, which would make man lose his authority over his wife, and the wife despise her husband in her eyes; assuming that it is the law that support the dominion of man over his wife, and not perceiving that the wise leadership of man within his household, does not draw its strength from laws and commands, as much as from the spirit of the giving love; according to the words of the apostle Paul, saying: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it; … Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself” (Ephesians 5: 25, 33). Memucan says: “Each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people” (22). Meaning that in case man marries a wife of another race, the household is committed to speak in the language of the man, and not in that of the woman. That was a portrait of the family life in the minds of the men of Persia at that time; who did not perceive that the language to prevail on the members of a household should be that of love, capable of captivating all of them. As there is no conflict of authority between husband and wife, it would be befitting to have between them a longing toward giving, working with inner love, and a perception of the unity of heart and mind. Having loved Vashti only for the sake of her beauty, family position, and wealth; Ahasuerus, in his wrath sought the counsel of others concerning her refusal to come at his command…. We, on the other hand, receive our partner from the hand of God, to grant us the spirit of unity in Him, sanctifying the family bond, never to be loosed. As according to the scholar Tertullian: [How can I describe the happiness of matrimony, set by the church, held fast by the Holy Sacrament, crowned by blessing, proclaimed by the angels, and blessed by God3?!]. 1 In Matt. Hom. 19: 4. 2 Ibid 19: 3. 3 To His Wife 2: 9.
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