Today’s posting is a continuation of yesterday. Before you read on today you will want to be sure that you have read yesterday’s posting first.
So Vashti refuses to obey the king! All I can say is, “God bless the queen!” Even though she knew it would have severe consequences, she refuses to do what would be demoralizing and wrong. But as a result, Xerxes is ticked off. The Bible says that he is “burning with anger.” So he consults his advisors as to what his response should be. One advisor, whose name is Memucan, makes the proverbial mountain out of the mole hill with the situation. He convinces the king that if he does not act quickly and harshly that all the women in the land would hear of what the queen did and that they would all revolt against their husbands. It makes me wonder if Memucan was having some trouble at home with a bit of a feisty wife who did not jump at his every beck and call.
So the King, who appears to be easily convinced by others, agrees with Memucan and has Vashti deposed and her royal estate stripped from her. Now, here’s the million dollar question, “Where’s Waldo? Where’s God in this story?” Look close, you can see Him. And how ironic that you see Him in the words of a ridiculous advisor in Esther 1:19 when Memucan says, “And let the king give her royal position to another!” Do you see Him? Do you see His plan? Do you see His attention? Do you see His fingerprints?
You see at that very moment across the city there was a young Jewish woman named Hadassah, or Esther as the Persians would call her. She has had a rough life up to that point, losing her parents when she was young and being raised as an orphan by her older cousin. I’m sure she woke up that morning and it seemed to her like just another “ho-hum” day in Persia. She had no clue what was taking place inside the palace walls that very day. She had no idea that God was working that day behind the scenes in the life of a drunken, prideful king; in the courage of a beautiful queen; and in the idiocy of a presidential advisor in such a way that four years later she would be drawn into the story herself and would ultimately have the opportunity to go from an orphan to queen in order to saver her people from annihilation.
No, His name is not mentioned anywhere in chapter one, but God is there! You see, God knew that four years later a wicked man named Haman would rise to such power in Persia that he would be able to trick the king into ordering the extermination of all Jews all the way to Palestine. Xerxes didn’t know that at the time. Vashti didn’t know that at the time. Memucan didn’t know that at the time. Neither did Hadassah. But God knew it. He was there. And that should encourage us greatly as we go through our “ho-hum” week this week. God knows what’s going to happen four years from today. While you go through your routine, He is at work behind the scenes today preparing for tomorrow in ways you have no clue of right now. And in the dreary routine of your day and your week it may seem like He’s absent, but know that’s not true. Just like in the story of Esther…He’s there, working behind the scenes. What a story! What a God!
So Vashti refuses to obey the king! All I can say is, “God bless the queen!” Even though she knew it would have severe consequences, she refuses to do what would be demoralizing and wrong. But as a result, Xerxes is ticked off. The Bible says that he is “burning with anger.” So he consults his advisors as to what his response should be. One advisor, whose name is Memucan, makes the proverbial mountain out of the mole hill with the situation. He convinces the king that if he does not act quickly and harshly that all the women in the land would hear of what the queen did and that they would all revolt against their husbands. It makes me wonder if Memucan was having some trouble at home with a bit of a feisty wife who did not jump at his every beck and call.
So the King, who appears to be easily convinced by others, agrees with Memucan and has Vashti deposed and her royal estate stripped from her. Now, here’s the million dollar question, “Where’s Waldo? Where’s God in this story?” Look close, you can see Him. And how ironic that you see Him in the words of a ridiculous advisor in Esther 1:19 when Memucan says, “And let the king give her royal position to another!” Do you see Him? Do you see His plan? Do you see His attention? Do you see His fingerprints?
You see at that very moment across the city there was a young Jewish woman named Hadassah, or Esther as the Persians would call her. She has had a rough life up to that point, losing her parents when she was young and being raised as an orphan by her older cousin. I’m sure she woke up that morning and it seemed to her like just another “ho-hum” day in Persia. She had no clue what was taking place inside the palace walls that very day. She had no idea that God was working that day behind the scenes in the life of a drunken, prideful king; in the courage of a beautiful queen; and in the idiocy of a presidential advisor in such a way that four years later she would be drawn into the story herself and would ultimately have the opportunity to go from an orphan to queen in order to saver her people from annihilation.
No, His name is not mentioned anywhere in chapter one, but God is there! You see, God knew that four years later a wicked man named Haman would rise to such power in Persia that he would be able to trick the king into ordering the extermination of all Jews all the way to Palestine. Xerxes didn’t know that at the time. Vashti didn’t know that at the time. Memucan didn’t know that at the time. Neither did Hadassah. But God knew it. He was there. And that should encourage us greatly as we go through our “ho-hum” week this week. God knows what’s going to happen four years from today. While you go through your routine, He is at work behind the scenes today preparing for tomorrow in ways you have no clue of right now. And in the dreary routine of your day and your week it may seem like He’s absent, but know that’s not true. Just like in the story of Esther…He’s there, working behind the scenes. What a story! What a God!
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