Scene 1.
The Kings Drinking Party
The backdrop: The court of the garden of the king's palace. White, green, and blue hangings were fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble. The beds were of gold and silver, on a pavement of red and white, and pearl, and black marble. Esther 1:5-6.
The word beds here refers to the couches in the dining room used to recline on while eating. We find this word again, used in the same way, in 7:8.
In the third year of his reign, Xerxes made a feast. Est 1:3 They provided drink in vessels of gold, the vessels being different from one another, and royal wine in abundance, ... according to every man's pleasure. 1:7-8. The king had said, "The drinks are on the house".
On the seventh day ... the heart of the king was merry with wine. Drinking excessively can lead to all kinds of trouble, as it did for Xerxes in this situation. It robs its victims of self-respect and manliness, and sends them to wallow in the mire with swinish obscenity. What they would not dream of stooping to in their sober moments, they revel in with shameless ostentation when their brains are clouded with intoxicating drink. Husbands, who are gentle and considerate at other times, are then transformed into brutes, who can take pleasure in trampling on their wives. It is no excuse to plead that the drunkard is a madman unaccountable for his actions; he is accountable for having put himself in his degraded condition. Expositors Bible commentary.
Queen Vashti
Xerxes, to his eunuchs: bring Vashti the queen ... wearing nothing except the royal crown, in order to show the people and the princes her beauty. For she was beautiful to look on. 1:10-11.
Proper women were not allowed to be seen in public gatherings with men. If Queen Vashti would have obeyed the king's command, by joining the party, even fully dressed, she would have debased herself lower than the level of a prostitute. Some Jewish writings suggest that the king wanted the queen to appear in the nude except for the royal crown. Gill's Bible Commentary.
Queen Vashti to the king's eunuchs: I refuse to come at the king's command. 1:12.
She well knew that this act of disobedience would cost her her crown, if not her life also: but her virtue and honor were at stake. Clarke's Bible commentary.
This next quote is just too meaningful not to repeat here: all women should honour Vashti as the vindicator of their dues. ... The very existence of the home, the basis of society itself, depends on those more profound and inalienable rights that touch the character of pure womanliness. The first of a woman’s rights is the right to her own person. But this right is ignored in Oriental civilisation. The sweet English word "home" is unknown in the court of such a king as Ahasuerus (Xerxes). Expositors Bible commentary.
This act of disobedience on the queen's part put the king into a legal position to execute her.
The king to his advisers: What shall we do with Queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the command of the King. 1:15.
Advisers to the king: If she isn't punished for her disobedience, all the women will rise up against their husbands. Make an unchangeable law that will ban her from ever again entering the presence of the king.
The spineless, thoughtless king made the nationwide proclamation, as he was advised, which, legally, could not be undone. However, when his anger assuaged and his natural hormones "kicked in" he found himself in a bind. His favourite bedtime partner was no longer available to him. He remembered Vashti; her beauty, and was grieved ... that she was removed from him. Josephus says that he passionately loved her, and could not bear parting with her, and therefore was grieved that he had brought himself into such difficulties. Gill's Bible Commentary.
What is the king to do?
In his drunken stupor, King Xerxes had "shot himself in the foot"; he had divorced his beautiful, loving wife, and according to the law he enacted, she could never again come into his presence.
When he finally recovered from his drunken debauchery he again went to his advisers for guidance as to what to do for his "loneliness".
Advisers to the king: Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king and let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.
Xerxes: "This is a good idea, let's do it." Esther 2:2+4.
Queen Esther
This process would take more than a year. After the ladies had been chosen to enter "the contest" to be the next queen, some of them might be a long time in transit to the palace in Shushan. After that, they would need one year to purify themselves so that they would be fit to enter the king's presence. That year of purification would also prove that they were not pregnant at the time they were first chosen.
In the meantime, the king took his army and went to fight Greece. He was soundly beaten, the Persian army was completely removed from Europe, and Xerxes came home to "lick his wounds".
Here, Mordecai and his cousin, Hadassah, that is, Esther, are introduced. Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took Esther for his own daughter. 2:7. The name Esther is a Persian word for Aster, which means star.
Mordecai to Esther: According to the law of the land you are required to report as a candidate for "the contest". Don't tell anybody that you are a Jew. There are far too many folks who hate people of our race! 2:10.
Esther was among the young women who lived in the "ladies residence" for a year. After that year was finished each of the ladies spent one night with the king. If the king was not especially pleased with her, she would never again enter his presence.
Esther, however, pleased him. The king loved Esther above all the women, and she rose in grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins. And he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17.
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