The Story Of Esther Part 3: Queen Vashti

Esther 1:9-4

“Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, 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. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.”
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Queen Vashti was a real looker.  She was so beautiful that the king wanted to show her off to his guests at this feast. But apparently, she didn’t have enough respect for him to honor his request. Pretty dangerous position to take in that culture! What was she thinking? Let’s follow the story…

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The Reluctant Queen.

On the seventh day of this glorious festival of wine, when Ahsueras called for his queen to come present herself to the princes, nobles, and servants in attendance, she was too busy having her own little party to come to his.  You know, the one the king was throwing for the whole kingdom?  Yeah, that one.  This brazen gal flatly refused his invitation, which greatly angered him.

Well, he was not going to take this lying down.  So Ahsueras consulted all his advisors and inquired of them what should be done to her.  Let’s continue the story:
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Memucan‘s Advice.
Esther. 1:16-18
“Memucan answered 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 all 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, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath.”
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Memucan was one of the king’s eunuchs. His name in Hebrew is, “Mehuman,” which means “Faithful.”  That he was; a wise and faithful advisor. He said that the queen should be removed from her place and her position given to another.  Look at the reason he gave as to why Vashti should be deposed: Her behavior would encourage other women to do likewise.  Along with this edict was a law that accompanied it which decreed all women must obey their husbands.
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Beauty Pageant.

Esther 2:1-4

After these things, when the wrath of the king subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. Then the king’s servants who attended him said: “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women.  And let beauty preparations be given them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”
This thing pleased the king, and he did so.”

A royal decree was sent throughout the vast kingdom of Ahasuerus that all the eligible young virgins should be summoned to the palace.  The king was going to hold a beauty pageant after each young woman went through 12 months of beauty treatments.  Afterward, one would be chosen as his queen.

We aren’t told how many women showed up but it had to be quite a number considering the extent of his kingdom. Kinda sounds like something out of a fairy tale, doesn’t it?  Betcha all those authors of fairy tales got some of their ideas from this story. 🤔
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Typologies.

So, Vashti would be dethroned, not killed notice, and another would be chosen to take her place because she rejected the king, (even though Jewish tradition says she was killed according to my rabbi friend). Remember who else in the Bible that rejected her king?  Yep, Israel.  God had raised that tiny nation to be an example before all other nations of God’s goodness, kindness, and blessings.  She was supposed be the one to rule over all the others.  She was the one who was supposed to bring the gospel to them.

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But that didn’t happen. She rejected her King, lost her place on the throne….TEMPORARILY…..and her place given to another, the Church.  For the time being, we have taken the place that Israel was supposed to have. The position of reigning over the nations and bringing the gospel to them is presently being done by the “Esthers” of the world, i.e., the Church.

That does NOT mean we have replaced them. This is a temporary position. God will NEVER forget or forsake His people. He is faithful even if we are not. What He promised, that He will do. In these last days, we are actually playing a huge roll in helping our Jewish brethren find their Messiah. But don’t worry; God will restore her to the place He originally intended her to have when He comes to earth again!

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In Part 4, we’ll talk about how Esther becomes Queen.  You may follow the link below to continue this series:

The Story Of Esther Part 4: Esther Becomes Queen