SOME JEWISH/PERSIAN HISTORY

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1 GOD-LESS BOOK? Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that has its name after a woman, and it s one of the last books written in the Old Testament. This book is a tough Biblical book to teach for two reasons. One major reason being that at no point in it is God mentioned. Even though one chapter points out that the Jews prayed and fasted for deliverance, no prayers are recorded, no sacrifices offered to God, and none of the usual religious observances take place; all of which is highly unusual for a Biblical narrative. Now that doesn t make it any less true or any less important, because in every verse of every chapter, you see the sovereign hand of God directing the affairs of men, and the hearts of kings. Though God s name is never mentioned, you can t help but be struck by His handiwork in the circumstances, and in the silence. Even in the quietness, you can see Him causing all things to work together for good for Esther, her cousin Mordecai, and the Jewish people. SOME JEWISH/PERSIAN HISTORY Let me give you some historical context to bring you up to speed. King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army invaded Israel and took many of its citizens captives, laying the city to ruins. As a result, many Jews were deported to Babylon as captives. A few decades later, Cyrus the great, the king of Media and Persia conquers Babylon and becomes the big-dawg of the world. Stirred by God, he issues a decree that allows the Jewish captives to return back to their homeland to rebuild their walls and their temple. However, some Jews chose to remain in Babylon where the Persians were now ruling. Having lived there for a while, they figured it didn t make much sense to go back to their ruined lands to start over. So some of the Jews traveled further east in Babylon, to the new seat of power in the eastern world, Susa the new capital of Persia. There, a few enterprising and ambitious Jews actually made a name for themselves and rose up through the political and becoming wealthy. Ever heard of a Biblical figure named Nehemiah? The King s cupbearer? He was one of the Jewish men who rose to prominent ranks in the Persian government. It s in this context that we read of Esther s story. Her parents had died and she was being raised by her older cousin Mordecai. MEET XERXES Now one of the main characters in this book, who we immediately meet in chapter one is king Xerxes, the current ruler of the Persian kingdom. He s actually the fourth ruler down from king Cyrus who initially conquered the Babylonians. King Xersxes, whose Persian name is Ahasuerus, is most famous for his attempt to invade Greece, and he actually succeeded for a little when his army captured and burned the city of Athens. But that victory was short lived, as the Greeks rallied their armies and 1 P age

2 fought the Persians off from their land. If you ve seen the movie 300, that s one of the battles that was fought in Thermopylae, and the Hispanic-Michael-Jordan looking dude is supposed to be Xerxes. This Greco-Persian war by the way is happening concurrently with the events in the book of Esther. In fact, there s some indication that chapter one of Esther happens before the war, and chapter two picks up four years later after Xerxes returns from losing to the Greeks at War. Now Xerxes himself is somewhere in his early to mid thirties and he is stinkin wealthy! To get an idea of how wealthy he was, you need to see his kingdom on a map. The empire he ruled was humongous, and it extended all the way from modern day Ukraine to North Africa, to India, to China. His capital city was located in Susa, modern day Iran. He had multiple palaces where he housed his wealth and numerous wives, including the current Queen, Vashti. He had some of the toughest, most elite bodyguards in the world at the time; they were called the immortals, seen in 300. (I don t know if that s accurate, but it was too cool not to mention). Xerxes himself lived a very lavish lifestyle. One author described him this way. He inherited from his father [Darius the great] a fortune.he was a narcissistic, spoiled, rich kid who grew up in the palace, never worked a day in his life. He didn t go to war, he didn t fight, he didn t labor, he didn t struggle. Concerning his physical throne from where he ruled, the author writes this, [Xerxes] throne symbolized everything he loved.it was beautiful, enormous, and glorious.he loved his throne so much that when his army would go into battle he would have his throne carried to the battle[field], sit on it surrounded by his immortal soldiers, and they would carry him off to war. He would sit up on a high point and watch his military defeat his foes while seated on his throne. So you re getting an idea of who this guy was. He had everything he wanted, whenever he wanted it. It s with that background that we now read Esther 1:1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush 2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. 4 For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days in the enclosed garden of the king s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king s liberality. 8 By the king s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet(j) for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. 2 P age

3 THE MOTHER OF ALL PARTIES So this book open with the biggest party you ll ever read about in scriptures. This party makes New Year s Eve at Times Square look like a small group Bible study. It is the party to end all parties. Consider the lavishness of it. First of all, when it says it was held in the enclosed garden of the king s palace, you have to picture a humongous field opening where you could sit comfortably thousands of guests. Forget putting tents up, they had purple curtains on silver rings on marble pillars. When it says they had white linen and purple material, you need to understand that purple [dye] was the most expensive, most difficult, and most rare color in that day. So to have curtains of purple is to say, he had designer curtains that only the most affluent and wealthy could afford. Next it says all over the garden, the guests sat on couches of gold and silver. Seriously? What does that even look like? All kinds of wine, box-wine, and bottle wine was served in goblets of gold. They had mother pearl. I ve heard and seen Pearl before, so I have to assume Pearl s mom is completely out of this world! We re talking about a guest list that s numbering somewhere in the tens of thousands. The guest list itself was the who s of who in Persia. So not only did he have influential celebrities, Military, and political figures there, but the list also included the wealthiest, most prestigious, most powerful men in kingdom! Now, if all that doesn t blow you away, this next detail will, this shindig lasted for 6 months and a week!! I ve been to parties that lasted a whole day, and in college during orientation week, we pretty much partied that whole first week but 6 months? That s a little overkill. The latter party that lasted for one week was more for the local townsfolk, these are the folks who show up with their iphones and cameras to take pictures of opulence and lavishness like they ve never seen. Unless the king was super bored, why in the world would you throw such an expensive party for that length of time? Well as it turns out, this party was actually a political move and had a strategic purpose. This party was really a political stunt to try and boost morale and support for the military campaign he was about to carry out against the Greeks. I talked about it earlier, but let s look at it again. According to the history books, about three years or so later after this party, Xerxes gathered his army to go off to war with the Greeks. Of course, he lost that battle and suffered a humiliating defeat. But before he could go off to war, he needed to convince his princes and military leaders that the nation was financially stable enough to undertake this military campaign. So by displaying his wealth and spoiling his commanders, he was trying to show that not only were financially stable enough to sustain a war against the Greeks, but they would become even wealthier if they won the battle. 3 P age

4 DON T DRINK AND THINK So that was some of his motivation. Now there s a passage I want to point out in this story that will set us up for this next section. Verse 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king s liberality.(i) 8 By the king s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. Well if you haven t figured it by now, with this much alcohol flowing, you have a recipe for disaster! Get a bunch of dudes together at a party and serve them every and any alcohol you can get your hands on, the one that comes in a carton, the one that comes in a bottle, and tell them they can go nonstop~! There is only one way this party can end right? In fact, it takes Xersxes only 7 days before he does something really stupid! Verse 9 says the queen, Vashti was throwing her own party for the girls in another palace. 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. Different bible commentators have wrestled with the meaning of the king s command, but one popular understanding is that this request probably meant that Xerxes wanted Vashti to parade naked with only her crown on before his friends (so he could show off her physical beauty to all his friends). Others suggest that her mere appearance would have involved lewd behavior before these drunken guests - either way, asking her to come parade herself before his drunken guests seems to imply that she was asked to do something immodest or morally compromising. I think this is obvious from the text, but might I point out that this decision was made while Xersxes was drunk? I think this speaks for itself, but let me just say it. You ve heard of not drinking and driving right? Might I recommend that you don t drink and make decisions that will impact the rest of your life? Or better yet, if you have an addictive personality of have some family history where drunkenness has been present, avoid alcohol at ALL costs! In Xerxes case, the situation goes downhill pretty quickly. Still in a state of drunkenness, he is incredibly ticked off that Vashti would disobey his command; after all, he s the frigging king!! And so in his drunken state, he seeks the counsel of his closest aides about what he should do concerning Queen Vashti s behavior. 4 P age

5 Well this one dude named Memucan in verse 16 is apparently having some problems at home with his wife, because his suggestion to the king seems a little like overkill. Listen to Memucan s advice to Xerxes Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, "Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes. 17 For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, `King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.' 18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen's conduct will respond to all the king's nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord. 19 "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. 20 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. The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language,(v) proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue. Esther 1:16-22 Okay, let s bring this story a close because Persian men apparently have wife issues. Number one lesson, DON T BE FRIENDS WITH ANYONE NAMED MEMUKAN, AND DON T EVER NAME YOUR CHILD MEMUKAN. Lesson #2 is for girls. Do not compromise your values for the sake of attracting a man. Though there s no indication that queen Vashti was a believer in God, she certainly is a great example of what it means to stick with your values and convictions. Lesson #3 is for guys. When that time comes and you meet that special girl, be careful not to pressure or guilt her into doing something that might demean her self-worth or take away her dignity. Let s unlearn all that stuff we ve learnt from T.V and the movies, and forget everything you ve read in magazines or online about what women really want. That s fantasy and is a recipe for disaster in marriages. You treat your woman with love, value her as a person of worth and respect the choices she might feel uncomfortable with. Remember, true love doesn t coerce nor does it manipulate, true love is patient, it waits, it s not self centered (Hear this part because this is important) true love always protects, and its kind and understanding. Lesson #4 sticking to your convictions might come at a cost. Vashti lost her throne because she stuck to her values. Recognize up front that it could very well come at a cost. You might lose a job, you might lose a friend, the guy or girl of your dreams may even walk away from you because of your convictions. Remember through it all that it is better to please and honor God, than to seek the approval of man. Galatians 6:9 says, So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up 5 P age

6 Lesson #5 God is at work even in the painful silence. What you will find out in the next week s message is that this opening that Queen Vashti has left, is actually the doorway through which God is going to use to make another young girl queen. Though God is never mentioned, you will see very clearly that Esther s rise to power is going to serve a lot more than something good happening to her. There is a grander purpose he will accomplish. 6 P age