One of the neat things about doing this study on-line as opposed to going to meet with others in a physical location like a church, is that we can move at our own pace through the study. With all the things we all having going we may not be able to post exactly on our assigned day and that is perfectly ok! While its important to follow through as much possible week to week there will be times when each of us may not "geterdone" on the exact day that we were given. What is most important is that we continue in the study and connect as we can about how what we learn is impacting our lives. As Beth stays on page 21 "One goal of our study is to let God heal our world-torn souls and make us experience His security in our reality." This study is only going to work if we do it within the limits of our reality! So lets keep it stress free while making the most of it...
Since she is moving, Cara has no internet until next week! So in her place, to address the issue of Queen Vashti's decision, here are some insights from the Bible Knowledge Commentary....
1:10-12. Xerxes told his seven eunuchs (cf. 6:14) to bring . . . Vashti into his banquet hall so that her beauty could be admired by the male guests. But she refused to come. One of the eunuchs named here is referred to later (Harbona in 7:9). This order was given on the seventh day, that is, the last day of the feast which had turned into a drunken party. The mention of ”seven eunuchs“ serving the king fits the era in which the account took place. It was a well-known practice then for young men who served the king to be castrated so they would have no illusions of starting their own dynasties.
Vashti’s refusal is not explained by the author. There is no implication that the king wanted her to do anything immoral or to expose herself. Perhaps she simply did not wish to be in mixed company at that time. It has been suggested that if this queen was Amestris, perhaps she refused to go to the banquet because she was pregnant with Artaxerxes, who was born in 483. Regardless of the reason for her refusal, her action was a breach of etiquette. The king was used to getting whatever he desired whenever he desired it. Therefore her response made him furious (cf. 7:7).
1:13-15. The king consulted wise men about what he should do. These seven men had special access to the king and were the ones who knew the law well. Herodotus has confirmed the fact that this use of wise men was a feature of ancient Near Eastern courts. Throughout the ancient Near East wise men played important roles in governments (e.g., Daniel’s position in the Babylonian and Persian Empires). The crime the queen had committed was that she disobeyed a command of the king. Obviously the king and queen did not share an emotionally intimate relationship. This was true of Xerxes and the women in his harem. This is again apparent later when Esther noted to Mordecai that she had not even seen the king for a month and was afraid to ask to see him (4:11).
1:16-22. Memucan, one of Xerxes’ wise men, suggested that he have the queen deposed (v. 19) so that other noble women (v. 18) of the empire (and in fact all the women, v. 20) would not follow Vashti’s example and despise their husbands (v. 17) and the empire be filled with female disrespect and marital discord (v. 18). It is difficult to see how this punishment would cause the women of the empire to respect their husbands but that was the idea behind the decree. This is partially explained by the fact that the men had been drinking heavily (v. 10). (The words ”if it pleases the king“ occur nine times in the OT, seven of them in the Book of Es.: Neh. 2:5, 7; Es. 1:19; 3:9; 5:4, 8; 7:3 [”your majesty“ is lit., ”the king“] 8:5; 9:13.)
The idea pleased the king and his nobles so an edict was sent throughout the empire in various languages (cf. 3:12), stating that every man should be ruler over his own household. A vast relay communications system, something like an ancient pony express, made it possible to spread news throughout the empire quickly (cf. 3:13; 8:10). This bit of information helps set the stage for the rise of Esther.
1 comment:
I am amazed at the all the many things each person is able to get out of the Word. I read what you all say and then I need to re-read what I thought I read.We sure get many perspectives out of the same reading.
One issue I thought about for Esther is one of the first legal statements for divorce, without an attempt at any working out the solution. Very unilateral approach.
As I was reading I am heavily thinking about work. Even though the discussion was about marriage, a man commands respect, and a woman without question, will comply. If a man asks for fried rocks for breakfast a woman must honor him and comply or face death or worse, for that time, divorce?
Sometimes our relationships as us to comply without question. In marriage, in politics, in management vs employee, how then do we comply and reply honor to God and those relationships, building them, not fracturing them?
Sorry I am so late with this but I have been working a lot, trying to comply. JB
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