ESTHER LESSON 1
The book of Esther is an unusual book in that it seems to stand
alone. It is not connected to historical chronology of the Hebrews.
This is a beautiful story of how a young Jewish girl saves her people.
It is unknown who penned the book of Esther. Many scholars do not like
to include the book of Esther in the Bible, because it does not
directly mention the name of God. In this book, however, we see the
hand of God at work to save his people in a foreign land. The setting
for this is Persia. It happens during the years of captivity of the
Israelites. One of the lessons to be learned in this is "you reap what
you sow". The feast of Purim is instituted in this little book. In my
opinion, this is a very spiritual book. It causes us to see God, even
though it does not call His name.
We will begin now in Esther 1:1 "Now it came to pass in the days
of Ahasuerus, (this [is] Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto
Ethiopia, [over] an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)"
Ahasuerus is, possibly, the same as Xerxes. A province, at this
time, was an area that had its own governor. We can see that this
ruler had great world power. This would have included Judaea.
Esther 1:2 "[That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on
the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,"
Shushan, the palace, sat on a hill. It was in the area of Shushan
the city, but was separate.
Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto
all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the
nobles and princes of the provinces, [being] before him:"
This was like a diplomatic dinner. This dinner, probably,
included as many as 15,000 people. The governors of the various
provinces had gathered for this feast. It appears from the verse
above, that his servants were included in this celebration. The
nobles, mentioned, were, possibly, some of the Medes who held high
favor with Persia, even though they were a captured nation, as well.
Esther 1:4 "When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and
the honour of his excellent majesty many days, [even] an hundred and
fourscore days."
This 180 days is a lengthy time of festivity in their land.
Possibly, a few of the governors and nobles would come, and when they
left, another group would come. We are not told for sure but 180 days
is a long time for one party to last. He was showing off his wealth
and power to the subordinate rulers of his provinces.
Esther 1:5 "And when these days were expired, the king made a
feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace,
both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of
the king's palace;"
It was not unusual for a feast of this kind to last for 7 days.
This court was estimated to be about 350 feet long by 250 feet wide.
It seems, there was a building setting in the middle of it. To
accommodate the large numbers of people, it would have been necessary
for it to be this large. This feast was for everyone. The servants of
the king and all the people, small and great, joined in the feast.
Esther 1:6 "[Where 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."
This court was magnificent. The hangings could have been used as
a type of awning to shade the people from the heat, since the court,
probably, had no roof. The beds, mentioned, were actually couches
where the people reclined. They were, probably, made of the precious
metals, silver and gold, because there was so much wealth. The pillars
of marble were, possibly, limestone blue. The floors were of the same
material as the pillars, and some other colors that made a mosaic
design. There were 4 different mosaics mixed and matched to make a
beautiful floor.
Esther 1:7 "And they gave [them] drink in vessels of gold, (the
vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance,
according to the state of the king."
The fact that the drinking cups were of gold, just showed the
extreme wealth of the Persian king. It is interesting, to me, that the
cups were different. Perhaps, it would have been easier for each one
to keep up with his cup that way. It certainly would have been more
expensive to make them different. This would have taken many barrels
of wine to have enough to furnish so large a party.
Esther 1:8 "And the drinking [was] according to the law; none did
compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his
house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure."
It was usually understood that the officers must all drink. This
generally led to many getting drunk. It is interesting, to me, that
the edict of the king, here, allowed each person to decide for
himself whether he would drink, or not. It appears, the king wanted to
treat all of these people as guests, and not as his subjects.
Esther 1:9 "Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women [in]
the royal house which [belonged] to king Ahasuerus."
This shows that the men and women had separate feasts. We
mentioned before, that the feast was like a diplomatic dinner. Vashti
was the wife of the king. She was queen, because she was married to
the king. It was in his royal house that Vashti held the feast for the
women. "Vashti" means beautiful. This was, probably, a name the king
gave her, after they were married. Many believe her real name was
Amestris.
Esther 1:10 "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," Esther 1:11 "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."
On the seventh day of the feast, it seems the king had too much
to drink, and asked seven of his eunuchs to go and get the queen. He
wanted to exhibit her before the men at his party to show her great
beauty. We may assume that he wanted her to remove her veil of
covering. He was very proud of all his possessions and he counted the
queen as part of his possessions. To present the queen in such a
manner as this was a breach in Persian etiquette.
Esther 1:12 "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."
Vashti had to realize that it might cost her her life to refuse
to obey the command of her king, who was, also, her husband. She,
perhaps, would rather lose her life, than become shamed by such an
exhibit. This was as if he were showing her off for the envy of the
other men. Her refusal to come would greatly shame her husband before
his subordinates. He would, possibly, not have asked such a thing, had
he not been drinking. She would have to be severely punished, and it
had to be known publicly for him to regain his self-respect. Most
kings would have had her killed for such an act of disobedience.
Esther 1:13 "Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the
times, (for so [was] the king's manner toward all that knew law and
judgment:"
Even in his heated anger, he did not act hastily. He left the
judgement of what her punishment should be to the law of the land. The
king wanted to do what was right in this case.
Esther 1:14 "And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar,
Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, [and] which sat the first
in the kingdom;)"
Carshena and Shethar were his trusted advisers. Next to them,
were the seven princes. All of them sat near the king at the table of
the feast, and were treated with great respect. They had high offices
directly under the king. We may assume that some of them were Medes,
from the mention of "Persia and Media" here.
Esther 1:15 "What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to
law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king
Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?"
Notice "we" in the verse above. The king did not want to make
this decision himself in the heat of the moment of anger. Another
thing that speaks highly of the king was that he wanted it to be
according to the law.
Esther 1:16 "And Memucan answered before the king and the
princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but
also to all the princes, and to all the people that [are] in all the
provinces of the king Ahasuerus."
The public shame that she had brought on the king would affect
the entire kingdom. A king could not expect the people to do as he
commanded, unless his queen set the example of obedience. The Persians
had been so sure this would never happen, that there was no specific
law against it. The advisers and the king would have to decide what
would be appropriate punishment.
Esther 1:17 "For [this] deed of the queen shall come abroad unto
all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes,
when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the
queen to be brought in before him, but she came not."
The husband was the absolute ruler over his wife and children, in
this heathen land. The queen's act might cause all of the women to
rebel against their husbands.
Esther 1:18 "[Likewise] shall the ladies of Persia and Media say
this day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed of
the queen. Thus [shall there arise] too much contempt and wrath."
In the Persia and Media, women were thought to be under the
complete rule of their husbands. This act of Vashti's would affect not
only the women of the ordinary citizens, but would affect the wives of
the princes. They thought they might lose control of their family.
The queen was an example for all of the women of the land for good, or
evil. Whatever she did, the other women did, too. A good lesson is to
be learned here. We can see that our lives influence others by the
actions we take.
Esther 1:19 "If it please the king, let there go 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 king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate
unto another that is better than she."
Generally, the problems in the home between a husband and a wife
would have been kept very secret. He would have put her away from him,
but it would not have been known publicly. Since she had disgraced him
before the entire land, this punishment must be public, as well. We
might say, he divorced her, and threw her out. It was not enough to
punish her. They wrote a law, so this would not happen again with any
of their wives.
Esther 1:20 "And when the king's decree which he shall make shall
be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the
wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small."
They wanted this to strike fear into their wives, so that this
would not happen again. This was not just for Persia, but for all the
provinces, as well.
Esther 1:21 "And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and
the king did according to the word of Memucan:"
They all decided this was a good solution to a difficult problem.
It would, also, let all of the king's subjects know that the king did
not let Vashti get away with this.
Esther 1:22 "For he sent letters into all the king's provinces,
into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every
people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his
own house, and that [it] should be published according to the language
of every people."
Persia was a country that lived by different rules than our
country. The Bible teaches that the father should be the rule of his
own house. This does not mean that he is to be a tyrant, however. It,
also, is speaking of the family unit. This is not something that
should have been a law of the land. Morality cannot be legislated. The
family unit, with the father as the head, is symbolic of our heavenly
relationship with our Father.
Esther 1 Questions
1. What is unusual about the book of Esther?
2. What is the book about?
3. Who was the penman?
4. Why did some of the scholars not want this book in the Bible?
5. The setting for this is ________.
6. What feast is instituted in the book of Esther?
7. What is a message for all of us in this book?
8. The author believes this is a very __________ book.
9. Where did Ahasuerus reign?
10. Who was this Ahasuerus?
11. What was a province at this time?
12. Where was the palace of the king?
13. What year of his reign did he have the great feast?
14. Who were invited?
15. This was like a _____________ dinner.
16. How large were some of these celebrations?
17. Who were the nobles mentioned, probably?
18. There was festivity in the land for ________ days.
19. How long did the actual feast last?
20. How big was the court?
21. What were the hangings, probably?
22. The couches were made of what?
23. The pillars were made of what?
24. What made up the floor?
25. They drank out of __________ __________?
26. What was unusual about them?
27. What were they drinking?
28. What was different about the drinking at this feast, than what
usually happened?
29. Who was the queen?
30. What does her name mean?
31. What could have been her real name?
32. What did the king request Vashti to do?
33. What answer did she give him?
34. Who did the king consult about her punishment?
35. Who would Vashti's disobedience of the king affect?
36. What royal commandment went forth to all the lands the king ruled?
37. How would this help the king?
38. What punishment was inflicted upon Vashti?
39. What was in the letter he sent to all the lands?
40. ___________ cannot be legislated.
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