Esther 1:1-22.  If you read the “Intro to Esther” then you know that Ahasuerus and Xerxes are two names for the same guy.  Xerxes became king in 486 BC so that means these event happened in 483 BC.  Xerxes had just successfully put down rebellion in both Egypt and Babylon and proved his power as king over his father’s empire.  There was one more score to settle, with Greece, but that would have to wait.  Now it was party time.  This story fits well with other information we have about Xerxes.  The description of the palace in verses 6-7 match an inscription by Xerxes father on the foundation of the palace which describes the various material he used in the palace and where he got it.  Included in that list were gold, precious stones, and ivory.  Also in the inscription was a description of various workers from many different parts of his empire.  If Xerxes took over in 486 BC and completed the palace this may have been one of his first parties there.  In verse 4 we learn that he had an “open house” (at least open to his rich and powerful buddies) that lasted for six months.  At the end of the six months he had a weeklong party.  In verse 9 we learn that his queen, Vashti, also had a part for the women.  In those days women were not treated as equals, at least not by the rich and powerful.  So her party was separate.  Excavations of the ruins of the palace show evidence that Xerxes had a “harem”, basically a collection of girl friends who lived in the palace.  That was a common practice of kings in that part of the world in those days.  Vashti, however, was the official wife or queen.  Verse 8 is interesting to me because I think it reflects the ego of Xerxes, he even had rules for drinking.  Now in this case the rule seems to be a good one, no one was forced to drink, but still it shows us what a control freak he must have been.  The fact that the author makes a point of the rule tells me it was unusual.

The next part of the story shows me that the king didn’t take advantage of his own rule because we see he was pretty drunk.  It also shows that women, even a queen, were only things in a king’s life.  Xerxes orders his servants to bring the queen into the men’s party.  She is told to dress up in her crown and come let the guy’s check her out.  She refused and Xerxes got very mad.  He then consulted his legal experts and wise men about what to do.  Verse 15 again shows me he had quite a big head because he uses the third person point of view when referring to himself.  He doesn’t just say, “What should I do she didn’t obey me?” he says, “What should happen to the queen who did not obey the commands of King Ahasuerus delivered by the servants?”

In verses 17-20 the wise men tell him that her actions will cause women all over the kingdom to get unruly so the queen should be stripped of her position, sent back to the harem, never see the king again, and someone else should be made queen.  The king liked the idea and so he made the proclamation.  He sent copies of his decision through out the whole land (notice in verse 22 how he makes a big deal about how many different people live in his kingdom).  Also with the ruling about queen Vashti he decided that all women needed to get the point, don’t step on your husbands toes.

This chapter sets the stage for the next part of the story but we don’t want to miss the kind of world Esther is living in.  The king is very powerful and controlling.  Women are just things, toys of their husbands or masters.  It is in this environment that Esther will be the one with the opportunity to save God’s chosen people.  The tension is between the power and forces of mankind and the power of God.  A tension that existed not only in the world but in the life of Esther.

God we live in a world filled with powerful controlling people.  There are a lot of opportunities to follow their examples.  In our own country we talk about freedom of religion but then we also talk about being politically correct.  Help us be spiritually correct.  Help us listen to your voice and your rules.  Thank you for being here beside us each day and thank you for your “proclamation” the Bible.  You too have poswer, more than Xerxes could have ever imagined, and you too have people from lots of different languages, all languages actually.  You are the real king of the universe.  Help us, help me, respond to you alone.