Hidden in Plain View: The Esther You Never Knew

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh ( this
is Achashverosh that reigned, from India even to
Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty seven provinces),

How far did King Achashverosh reign?
All the way from Ethiopia to India: a huge area-- and this was before telecommunications!

2 That in those days, when the King Achashverosh sat
on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the
palace,
3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his
princes and his avadim; the powers of Persia and Media,
the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:
4 He showed the riches of his beautiful kingdom and the
honor of his excellent majesty many days, even one
hundred eighty days.
5 And when those days were expired, the king made a
feast to all the peoples that were present in Shushan the
palace, both to great and small, seven days, in the court of
the gan of the king’s palace;
6 Where there were white, green, and blue, hangings,
fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings
and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver,
upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black,
marble.
7 And they served drinks in vessels of gold – the vessels
being diverse one from another – and royal wine in
abundance, according to the generosity of the king.
8 And the drinking was according to the law; no one was
compelled: for so the king had appointed to all the
officers of his house, that they should serve according to
every man’s pleasure.
9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in
the royal house that belonged to king Achashverosh.
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was
filled with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha,
Harvona, Bigtha, and Avagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the
seven officers that served in the presence of
Achashverosh the king,
11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with her
royal crown, to show the people and the princes her
beauty: for she was lovely to look at.

Was he being unreasonable with his command? No. He's the king, and he's her husband. He can ask her to do that, it wasn't like he was asking her to do anything immoral.

12 But the Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s
commandment given by his officers: therefore the king
was very angry, and his anger burned inside of him.

Did she have a right to refuse his command? No.

For what reasons did she NOT have a right to refuse his command?

He was her husband, He was the king.

Why was he angry?:

A. Because she did not appear before him

B. Because she was insubordinate to him.

The correct answer is B. She was insubordinate to him.

Did he have a right to be angry?

Yes.

13 Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the
times – for this was the kings’s custom; he discussed
matters in the presence of those who understood law and
right ruling-
14 And the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha,
Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven
princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face,
and who sat in the highest and foremost positions in the
kingdom.
15 What shall we do to the Queen Vashti according to
law, because she has not performed the commandment of
King Achashverosh by the officers?

Does King Achashverosh think the queen's action was a trivial matter?
No. He is counseling with all of his top princes over the matter.

Now compare that to the actions of a rebellious wife nowadays who

• openly mocks the dad in front of the kids,
• openly refuses to obey him especially in front of the kids,
• tells the kids that they can refuse to obey their dad whenever they feel like it,
• teaches the kids a religion contrary to that of their dad/her husband,
• sells the husband into slavery via credit cards,
• reserves the right at any time to override and overrule her husband whenever she deems it necessary,
• slanders her husband/the kid's dad regularly in front of the kids.
• attempts to boss the husband around.

Oh yeah, you've come a long way baby! And you expect the husband to sit back and take it?!?

16 And Memucan answered before the king and the
princes, Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the
king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the
peoples that are in all the provinces of the Melech
Achashverosh.

What is the extent of the ramifications of the queen's insubordination?
It is going to affect all the people from the king to the princes and to all the people from Ethiopia to India! Social Status is not a factor! The principle affects people from the top all the way to the bottom.

17 For this rebellion of the queen shall be known to all
women, so that they shall despise their husbands, when it
shall be reported that the King Achashverosh
commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before
him, but she did not come.
18 Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say to all
the king’s princes, that they have heard of the deed of
the queen. Then shall there arise much contempt and
anger.

What problem is the queen's insubordination potentially going to cause?
Marital strife among the princes and their wives, and marital strife among all the peoples.

19 If it please the king, let there be issued a royal
commandment from him, and let it be written among the
laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered,
That Vashti come no more before Melech Achashverosh;
and let the king give her royal position to another that
is better than she.

What are they proposing?
That a RIVAL WIFE be brought in to take the place of Vashti.

Are they proposing that the king divorce Vashti? Apparently not. No mention is made of it. Why? Perhaps it had something to do with the son of Vashti who the king would appoint to the throne?

20 And when the kings’s decree that he shall make shall
be published throughout all his empire – for it is great –
all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both
great and small.

What will cause wives to give honor to their husbands?
The potential threat of a RIVAL WIFE!

Does it matter if the husband is a big powerful man?

NO!!! All husbands BOTH GREAT AND SMALL.

One does NOT have to be an earthly king to have this option and this power.

21 And the guidance pleased the king and the princes;
and the king did according to the words of Memucan:
22 For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into
every province according to the written decree, and to
every people after their language, that every man should
bear the rule in his own house, and that it should be
published according to the language of every people.

How far is the corrective action going to be implemented?
The Entire Kindgom from Ethiopia all the way to India.

23After these things, when the anger of Melech
Achashverosh was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and
what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
24 Then said the king’s servants that attended to him, "Let
there be lovely young virgins sought for the king:
25 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces
of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the
lovely young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of
the women to the custody of Hegai the melech’s officer,
guardian of the women; and let their things for
purification be given to them:
26 And let the virgin that pleases the king become
queen instead of Vashti. And the guidance pleased the
king; and he did so.

What will the chosen virgin be?
A RIVAL WIFE.

27 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Yahudi,
whose name was Mordechai, the son of Yair, the son of
Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benyamite;
28 Who had been carried away from Yahrushalayim with
the captivity that had been carried away with Yechonyah
king of Yahudah, whom Nevuchadnetzar the king of
Bavel had carried away.
29 And he brought up Hadasah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s
daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the
virgin was lovely and beautiful; whom Mordechai took
for his own daughter, when her father and mother were dead.
30 So it came to pass, when the melech’s commandment
and his decree was heard, and when many virgins were
gathered together to Shushan the palace, to the custody of
Hegai, that Esther was brought also to the melech’s house,
to the custody of Hegai, guardian of the women.

What is the king doing?
He is looking for a wife.
Is he still married to queen Vashti?
Apparently so, no mention is made of divorce.

31 And the virgin pleased him, and she obtained kindness
from him; and he quickly gave her things for purification,
with such things as belonged to her, and seven servants,
which were to be given to her, out of the melech’s bayit:
and he preferred her and her female servants to the best
place of the house of the women.

Was it unheard of that a man would have relationships (in the manner of concubinage) with his wife's servants?
No, the practice was considered normal in the Mideast AND the Torah made allowances for it.

Is that the case here?

Maybe, maybe not-- it is impossible to tell at this point. It could go either way.

10 Esther had not revealed her national identity nor her
relatives: for Mordechai had ordered her that she should
not declare it.
11 And Mordechai walked every day before the court of
the women’s house, to know how Esther was doing, and
what would become of her.
12 Now when every virgin’s turn had come to go in to
King Achashverosh, after she had been purified twelve
months, according to the manner of the women; for in this
manner were the days of their purifications accomplished;
six months with the oil of myrrh, and six months with
sweet odors.
13 Then came every virgin to the king; whatever she
desired was given to her to go with her out from the house
of the women to the king’s house.
14 In the evening she went, and the next day she returned
into the second house of the women, to the custody of
Shaashgaz, the melech’s officer, who kept the
concubines: she came in to the king no more, unless
the king delighted in her, so that she was called by
name a second time.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Avihail
the uncle of Mordechai, who had taken her for his
daughter, had come to go in to the king, she required
nothing but what Hegai the melech’s officer, the guardian
of the women, had advised. And Esther obtained favor in
the sight of all those that looked upon her.


16 So Esther was taken to King Achashverosh into his
royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Teveth,
in the seventh year of his reign.
17 And the king loved Esther above all the women,
and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more
than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her
head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.