Esther 1:9-12 — SLAY, QUEEN

READ THIS: Esther 1:9-12

9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.  

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?
 
You may be looking at this story and wondering where on earth Esther is in all of this, but I promise you that these verses are actually so important! This passage gives us a bit of foreshadowing of the world/culture that Esther was one day going to be a part of.
 
Yesterday, we talked about King Xerxes and the massive banquet he held to show off his massive wealth and power to everyone around him who didn't have nearly as much as he did. After drinking lots of wine and partying with his people, he thought of one last way he could show off his power and wealth to others: showing off his... wife? Xerxes thought it would be a great idea to bring out his wife, Queen Vashti, to show off her beauty to everyone. In this moment, Xerxes was seeing his wife as something he could show off to others simply because on her beauty, just like he had been doing with the rest of his kingdom for days. On top of that, he didn't even ask her or explain the situation himself... he has his servants go and try to drag her out of the party she was hosting herself to his own party so people can look at her.

Because of this, Queen Vashti hears the request from the attendants and refuses to go. This may not sound like a big deal to us, because in our heads Vashti is clearly in the right here! But back then, anyone who refused the king, even the queen, would usually end up dead because of it. Vashti's display of courage here is a really big deal, and tomorrow we will read all about the response that Xerxes ultimately has to the rejection he receives.

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What do Xerxes's decisions in this chapter reveal to us about his character and his view of Queen Vashti?
 
2. What dangers can we face if we only surround ourselves with people who will agree with us all the time, even when we are wrong?

TRY THIS:

Try to think about something in your life that you like to show off to people (whether it's an object or something you did that you are proud of). Today, when you want to show that off, instead think about how you can show off God!

SONG OF THE WEEK:
 
Listen to this song and think about what things you might try to show off and give those things to Jesus, our King of humility! Here are the links to listen on YouTube and Spotify!

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