God’s Hidden Providence: A Sermon Series on Esther
Sermon #1: God Mocks Persia’s Power (Esther 1)
Preached by Rev. Keith Davis at Lynwood URC on 5-29-11 (Songs: 184, 290, 3, 194)
Beloved in Christ, if I told you that I was going to preach a series of sermons on a book that
never once mentions the name of God, whose primary character is a woman whose good looks
launch her to the top of her profession, who conceals her true identity for her own protection,
who uses her charm and sex appeal to exercise influence over the world’s most powerful politic
figure, then you’d probably think I was preaching a series on some trashy romance novel.
But this series is about the book of Esther. Because of the unusual nature of this book, it was not
universally received by the Reformers. Martin Luther for example, expressed hatred for the
book of Esther and considered it little more than heathen fiction. John Calvin didn’t reject its
place in the Bible, but he never so much as wrote a single sermon or commentary on this book.
However, as we go through this book in the coming weeks, I trust that you will not only be
convinced of its rightful place in the Scriptures, but that you’ll also come to enjoy this book and
embrace it’s timely and relevant message.
In fact, we’ll find that this book speaks to our circumstances quite well. Unlike many other books
of the Old Testament, we don’t find any dramatic miracles in the book of Esther. And, there is
no thundering and lightning from above to prove that God is present with his people.
There are no ‘larger than life’ heroes like Moses and Aaron, and no powerful judges like
Sampson. No. In the book of Esther, God works invisibly (as it were). God is at work behind
the scenes (just as He is in our lives), bringing about His hidden providence.
I love the way one commentator put it: here there are neither dramatic miracles nor great
heroes, just apparently ordinary providence moving flawed and otherwise undistinguished
people into exactly the right place at the right time to bring the empire into line and to establish
God’s purposes for His people (Esther and Ruth; Duguid p. 7).
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And so, while God may not be identified by name in this book, there’s can be no doubt that from
beginning to end, this book is all about God, and His power, and His will, and His ways over
against the power, and will and ways of any man, of any king, of any kingdom who would
oppose Him or oppose His purposes.
That truth is reflected in the theme of the sermon series: The Hiddenness of God’s Sovereignty.
And the theme for this particular passage today is God Mocks the Power of the Persian King.
We see that God shows his sovereignty even over a heathen king, in a heathen kingdom. Notice:
1) The Gaudy Display of His Power
2) The Surprising Defiance of His Power
3) The Ridiculous Enforcement of His Power
1) The Gaudy Display of His Power
In the first three verses of this opening chapter, the author provides some important information
that gives us the historical context and setting of this book. The author (Mordecai, Ezra or
Nehemiah) writes This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over
127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. (The Hebrew transliteration of the name Xerxes is
Ahasuerus and that is the way his name appears in some translations of the Bible).
As far as this relates to Israel’s history, you may recall that Judah was taken into captivity by the
Babylonians around 586 BC. Seventy years later, king Cyrus of Persia issued a decree that the
Jews could return to Jerusalem to begin rebuilding the walls and temple. Ezra and Nehemiah
were among those involved in the rebuilding project and in the dedication ceremony of the walls.
But what we sometimes overlook is the fact that not all the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the
walls were rebuilt. There were many like Esther and her uncle Mordecai who remained where
they had been living. Yes, it was difficult and dangerous living in the Persian capital, but it was
their home. And from what we read here, God still guarded his people even in a foreign land.
At this time in world history the empire of the Medes and Persians was a great world empire.
The Greeks were rapidly growing in strength, and by this time the Greek armies had already met
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the Persians in battle twice and made the Persians retreat, but the Persians were without equal
among all the nations and people throughout Asia Minor and Asia.
So in this passage, Xerxes calls a meeting of all his military leaders, of all his nobles and princes
in all his provinces throughout his vast empire. Though the purpose of the meeting is not stated,
historians inform us that this meeting was called by Xerxes to introduce plans to invade Greece.
And as you can imagine, Xerxes wants to make a strong impression on these leaders and nobles.
He wants them to show them first hand what all this power can do – what it can buy. And so for
a full 180 days (that’s six months) he gave a great banquet for them. As they feasted and
planned, and Xerxes also put on display the vast wealth and power and glory of His kingdom.
And then when the six months ended, the king threw a great banquet in his own palace gardens;
this was a banquet for all the people in the kingdom from the least to the greatest in the citadel of
Susa, a banquet that lasted seven days!
One thing we know for sure: this king certainly knew how to throw a party! He was not a
cheapskate. He liked to flaunt his wealth and even share his wealth if it meant that in doing so
he could unite everyone under one banner, in this common cause.
Now, as we look to verse 6, we find a description of the interior of the king’s garden that is quite
lengthy and detailed. In fact, it’s quite similar to the detail given to the ornate decorations in the
tabernacle and temple.
Here we read that there were hangings of blue and white linen, cords of white linen and purple
material, silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver resting on
beautiful floors -- mosaic pavement of porphyry (granite – possibly red or purple in color), and
marble floors and mother of pearl and other costly stones. It was beautiful beyond description!
(In fact, This detailed description is second only to the description
of the interior of the
tabernacle and temple).
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As to Persia’s vast amount of wealth, one commentator noted that more than 100 years later,
when Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he was dazzled beyond belief by her riches – as he
found a treasury of gold and silver bullion weighing over 1200 tons, and he found 270 tons of
minted gold coins that had been accumulated by the Persian kings (taxes from conquered lands).
As we said, the king’s purpose in showing off all his wealth was to convince his military leaders
and his nobles of his greatness, of his god-like stature.
I would equate this to what
Nebuchadnezzar did as he strolled along the roof of his palace overlooking Babylon; he proudly
remarked – is this not the great Babylon which I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty
power and for the glory of my majesty?
That’s what Xerxes is doing here. He’s flaunting his power and wealth. And the author wants us
to see this. He wants us to be impressed but at the same time appalled by the excess, he wants us
to be appalled by this gaudy display of extravagance -- in much the same way that we are both
awed and appalled by the wealth and spending habits of Hollywood stars.
This is the 5th century BC version of the life-styles of the rich and famous. We’re even told that
the king served the wine in goblets of gold, but no two goblets were alike -- each goblet was
different from the other. The royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.
But right after this report of the king’s wealth, we read a very interesting detail in verse 8. We’re
told of the king’s command that each guest was allowed to drink in his own way (there was no
compulsion), for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man as he wished.
That might seem like a very minor detail, and (to be sure) it is, but it is also a very telling detail.
For it exposes a major flaw, a weakness of the king. The Jews who would have read this would
have laughed at this detail. It shows that the king is so full of himself, he’s on such a power-trip,
he feels the need to micro-manage everything, even to pronounce an official edict concerning the
way people were to drink wine at his party. That’s utterly ridiculous; it’s government gone wild!
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And that’s not real power. That’s just an illusion of power. This is what God wants us to see as
well. So, while we might be impressed by the vastness of the king’s wealth and riches, and by his
liberality in throwing an incredible banquet, the fact is, the child of God knows that true power,
true wealth, true glory is not measured in gold coins, marble floors, or in banquets that go on for
months
As Nebuchadnezzar himself discovered (in Daniel 4:34-35) true power, true wealth, and true
glory belong to God and to God alone. And it is our Lord who exercises complete rule and
dominion over our lives, over things both great and small; and it was Jesus Himself that told us
not to fret or worry about the small stuff, for our Father in heaven loves us and knows our needs.
Xerxes, however, is under the illusion that he is in charge, but time and again in this book, the
Lord reminds us that this all-powerful king is but a servant who is used of God to bring about
God’s purposes and plans for His people.
2) The Surprising Defiance of His Power
So that is first. Secondly, we see the surprising defiance of His power. In verse 9 we’re told that
while Xerxes was throwing a party for all the men in his palace garden, Queen Vashti was
having a party for all the women in the royal palace.
Now, on the seventh and last day of the great banquet, after Xerxes was basically drunk (high in
spirits from the wine), he commands his seven eunuchs to go fetch his wife, the queen. Here too,
we see the excess; we see the immoderation, the overkill.
Now, sometimes it happens that I have to send more than one child to deliver a message to my
wife, but I have never had to send a full delegation of all my children to deliver a message. So
we can see how silly this is as well.
And to his own disgrace, he doesn’t secretly send for his wife, inquiring as to her availability.
No. He seems bent on making everything a royal drama. He wants to draw as much attention to
himself as he can.
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These seven eunuchs were to inform queen Vashti that she was to appear before the king wearing
her royal crown so that he might display her beauty before all the nobles and the people. Now, a
few commentators suggest that what the king was asking Vashti to come before him wearing the
royal crown and only the royal crown; but others discount that, saying that he wanted the queen
to dress up in her finest royal attire and parade herself before the nobles so that they could all see
what a prize she was – that they could see the object of the king’s pleasure.
Much like he did with his wealth earlier, the king wanted to show off his wife – like a trophy
wife – flaunting her beauty for all to see. There’s little doubt that Vashti was aware of the
condition of the men at the feast as well as that of her husband. She knew that drunk men often
do and demand foolish things.
But as Matthew Henry points out in his commentary, the king’s dishonored his wife with this
request, because he did not treat her as a husband ought to treat his wife. But secondly, his
demand posed a great hardship to Vashti because it was not customary for Persian women to
appear in public, especially not to parade before men.
So the king put his wife in a very difficult position to be sure; and thankfully, it is not up to us to
judge of decide whether Vashti’s defiance was right or wrong – our only concern is with how
Xerxes responds.
He sees her defiance not as a small disagreement between husband and wife, but as threat to his
authority, as a threat to national security. Again we’re expected to see the absurdity in this
scene. This entire scene plays out like a huge comedy.
Here is the mighty Xerxes, who flaunts his wealth and power before all his nobles and princes
and military leaders. He wants to show them not only how a god-king lives, but how a god-king
rules. His rule and power was absolute.
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And he took great pride in the fact that the law of the Medes and Persians could not be altered or
revoked – that what the king declared was basically the way it had to be (again, because in his
mind, he was god). And of course no one who wanted to live, at least, was going to defy him.
Yet what do we see here? Figuratively speaking, we see that the emperor has no clothes. We
see that within his own palace, within his own household, under his own roof, he cannot even
manage and control his wife. We see that while the law of the Medes and Persians cannot be
altered or revoked, it can certainly be resisted. And Vashti proved it. She said no to Xerxes.
So now what’s the king to do? What CAN he do? He has lost face. He has been publically
humiliated. So he burns with anger, which we might expect. Then we read verse 13 & 15.
Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with
the wise men who understood the times…According to the law, what must be done to Queen
Vashti since she did not obey the command of King Xerxes?
As I read these verses, I thought to myself what a great example this is of the kind of nonsense
that goes on in the inner rooms of palaces and government buildings. I think of politicians and
military leaders who try to portray themselves before the public as the powerful and invincible
men, but in reality they are nothing more than dust and ashes – they’re weak, flawed and bound
to fail.
When the Navy Seals raided Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan, they took with them a huge
library of home videos, some of which showed Bin Laden in very unflattering footage. Here was
the mighty Bin Laden, the charismatic leader, feared by all, revered by many in the Middle East,
famous for his bold and brash messages which were broadcast all over the world.
But the videos recovered from his house showed footage of him hunched over, sitting on the
floor, watching videos of himself on TV; other videos showed him trying to change channels
with a remote control aimed at the cable box on the TV, but the house had no satellite or cable
service. Other footage showed him dying his beard for the cameras, and showed all the outtakes
of the videos he made, as he did take after take until he got his message perfect.
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It was a view of Bin Laden that no one outside his home had seen before – it made him look,
well, very human, very small to be sure, very weak, and very foolish. And, in effect, Vashti’s
defiance has the same result on mighty king Xerxes. He suddenly looks very small, very human;
he looks just like every other man whose wife tells him no on occasion.
And as we continue reading this passage, we discover that this is exactly the fear that Memucan
has. He says, Mighty Xerxes, the queen has done wrong not only against you, but she has done
wrong against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces. For her conduct will become
known to all the women of the empire, so that they will despise their husbands. And the wives
of the nobility will respond the same way to the nobles.
In other words, if something is not done or said, then the entire kingdom will crumble – there
will be no end of the disrespect and discord. Now let’s be reminded again, this was written for
the ears of Jewish readers (as the story was read aloud).
And while we understand that God would use this act of defiance as the way for Esther to
succeed as queen, let’s not forget that God is encouraging His people as well. God is showing
His people the smallness, the puniness, the pettiness and weakness of the mighty king Xerxes.
God is showing His people that He controls what goes on in Persia, that God can use the law of
the Medes and Persians for his own benefit. God is going to remove Vashti and install his own
queen in Xerxes court, so that through Esther, God will protect his own people.
This reminds us as well, beloved, that our risen and exalted Savior, Jesus Christ, sits at the right
hand of God in glory for our benefit. There He serves as the head of the church and through
Christ, the Father rules over all the nations and over all the affairs of the nations, over all king
and princes, so that everything that they decide, everything they do, everything they fail to do
works out for the benefit of the church, and for glory of Christ Jesus His Son.
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3) The Ridiculous Enforcement of His Power
Thirdly and finally, congregation, we see the Ridiculous Enforcement of the king’s power. After
all their discussion and deliberation on Vashti’s disobedience, what do the wise men advise the
king? They advise him to issue another royal decree.
Look with me at verses 19-20: Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and
let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never
again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone
else who is better than she. Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast
realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.
And this was indeed the action that was taken. Vashti’s disobedience resulted in her being
forever banished from the king’s palace and his presence. Her royal position would be given to
someone else, better than she, which opens the door for Esther.
But do you see the absurdity, the amazing stupidity in all this? Xerxes, whose queen wife
already defied him as well as the law of the land, will now issue another command that all
women everywhere shall respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest, and that every
man should be the ruler over his own household.
Now understand this: this edict had to be written in the language of every province over which
Persia ruled – from India to Egypt, and these messages were then to be carried by messengers
who were dispatched to each and every province in Persia. Such an undertaking demanded
extraordinary time and effort and resources.
Imagine if we went back to the days of the pony express, and President Obama had to send out
an important message to all the states of the union, but he had to do it by sending messengers on
horse back to every state capital. That’s a huge undertaking.
Well, in the end what did all this huffing and puffing on Xerxes part really accomplish? Maybe
some of you read this and say Hey good for Xerxes! He’s sounds like he has a Biblical,
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Reformed view of marriage! He believes in male headship! But no, that’s certainly not the case
– and that’s certainly not what we are to take from this.
Think about it, could Xerxes’ law really establish male headship and authority in the home?
And, were all men entitled to exercise power over their wives in self-centered and shameful ways
as Xerxes? And were all men expected to banish their wives if they did not heed their selfish
demands?
Certainly we can see the absurdity of such a law. In fact, one commentator pointed out that what
Xerxes accomplished was exactly the opposite of what he intended. By this law he wanted to
insure that he would be respected as King, but instead he only served to publicize throughout the
kingdom his lack of authority and power in his own household.
So in this way, the wise men of Persia make a fool of their king. This announcement does not
announce the king’s omnipotence (His powerfulness) to the empire; rather it reveals his
impotence (his powerlessness) to the empire.
And when we take a step back from this scene, it reminds us again of the hopelessness of man, of
man’s lost condition as he looks for deliverance in all the wrong places. Isn’t it typical that man
thinks that having a tougher law is the answer; that we can successfully outlaw disrespect and
discord in the kingdom; that we can pass a law will make every wife respect her husband.
But Queen Vashti proved that no law can bring peace. While the law can expose evil doers and
lawbreakers it cannot guarantee righteousness in every household. Nothing outside the Gospel
of Jesus Christ can do that.
It is only true faith in Jesus Christ that can regenerate the heart, and transform the mind, and give
us a new disposition to govern our soul so that we will want to do what God wants us to do.
That’s the only thing that can bring true and lasting peace. All else is merely grabbing at straws.
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That’s why the only edict which can truly change the world, which can truly bring about peace in
marriage, and peace in the household, and peace within a nation, is the edict that the church
announces on behalf of her King, a message that goes out to all nations, and peoples, and tribes
and tongues on the face of this earth.
That message is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”! That is the
message that true King, King Jesus proclaims from His throne. And that is the only message that
all men must obey – for their very lives (in this world and the next) depend upon it. Amen.
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