The book of Nehemiah was a portion of scripture which told the account of a man who was faithful enough to recognize (and utilize) his position as an opportunity to assertively implement spiritual restoration among his people. The book of Esther is the account of two people who had no position, yet still had faith enough to be vigilant and resourceful in order to accomplish the same goal of spiritual restoration among their people.
1:1-4 The account begins with a king: Ahasuerus (or Artexerxes). This king had a massive kingdom that stretched over twenty-seven provinces. From his throne in Shushan, the citadel, he began a one-hundred and eighty day long feast. The feast was a boastful display of his wealth and power more than a celebration.
1:5-8 Afterward, the king held an extravagant seven day feast for the people within the citadel.
1:9 The king's wife, queen Vashti, also held a feast for the women in the royal palace.
1:10-11 On the seventh day of his feast, the king ordered his servants to bring his wife to be paraded around. The queen was beautiful and the king wanted, more than her company, to show off her beauty as another display of his excellence. Yet the queen refused the king's command, though we are not given the specific reason why.
We can perhaps deduce that queen Vashti was resistant to the patriarchal society of her time.
1:12-15 The queen's refusal infuriated Ahasuerus; he consulted the wise men around him for advice on how to respond to her disobedience. He wanted advice on how to punish her.
1:16-18 A man named Memucan answered the king: he decided that queen Vashti's disobedience was not only a marital issue but a social one as well. He felt that her refusal might start an uprising among women within their own homes and marriages across the kingdom.
1:19-20 Memucan suggested that the king essentially divorce queen Vashti and replace her with another woman. King Ahasuerus was not a faithful man; he did not rule his kingdom with righteousness or compassion. It was not difficult for him to divorce and replace the woman he entered into a union with.
1:21 Memucan wanted to threaten women into disobedience; the king was pleased with the suggestion.
1:22 Letters (which no doubt had harmful consequences) went out to every household declaring the husband's superiority over his wife. Every man and women in the kingdom was informed of Vashti's refusal and subsequent punishment.
The marriage between the king and queen was an unrighteous union. The king forced his dominance and commanded his wife to behave in a demeaning and inappropriate manner. He responded to her with anger and divorce. God asks spouses to respect each other and to serve each other just as he instructs us to serve our neighbors, God's fellow-children.
Ahasuerus and Vashti had no such union. Yet the turmoil of their marriage became an opportunity for God's people through Esther and Mordecai.
