The courtyard of the palace
has been decorated, and the finest of the royal wine has been poured.
For seven days Ahasuerus has been feasting and drinking with his
guest both small and great, and all the men in attendance are having
a wonderful time. Vashti, the queen, is also holding a feast for the
women at the palace since women did not party with men in those days.
During the festivities, with his heart now merry, Ahasuerus has a
brilliant drunken idea that he should show off his queen. He told his
chamberlains to bring her to the party and to be certain that she was
wearing the royal crown. Her beauty was striking, and Ahasuerus
desired to allow all the men at his party behold her beauty. In
chapter one and verse twelve we see Vashti's response to his request.
We read:
But the queen Vashti
refused to come at the king's commandment by [his] chamberlains:
therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
We read
first, “But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's
commandment by [his] chamberlains:” Although Ahasuerus thought
it would be a good idea to show off his wife, we learn that she was
not in agreement with this at all. Can we imagine the scene? There
within the apartment of the palace were all these women having a
wonderful feast together when they are interrupted by these seven
chamberlains. They enter the party and all the women quiet themselves
to whispers. They ask one another why these chamberlains are there,
and watch as they request that they have a moment of queen Vashti's
time. All the women are watching as these poor guys tell Vashti the
king's request, and they watch as she demonstratively refuses to obey
it. She might have said, “I am not going with you! What does the
king think I am, some kind of meat that he can use to have men grovel
over?” We might even be able to hear her tone as she rejects the
chamberlains and runs them out of the room. Vashti refused the king's
commandment, and sent the chamberlains packing.
The
verse continues, “therefore was the king very wroth, and his
anger burned in him.” Now we can image these seven chamberlains
returned to the king with their tails between their legs so to speak,
and they sheepishly told the king that Vashti refused to obey his
command. Perhaps they even repeated themselves as the king
inquisitively asked them to tell him once again her answer.
Immediately after their confirmation, he blew his top! He was filled
with wrath and anger to the point of rage. Some of us have known an
“angry drunk”, but can we imagine the king's embarrassment before
his guest as his own wife refused to obey him? Vashti not only
refused his request, but she brought chagrin to the king before his
guests. Ahasuerus, who was used to getting everything he wanted, was
rejected before his crowd, and now anger burned within him.
Anger,
in it's basic form, is simply not getting one's way. Ahasuerus did
not get “his way” and the result was anger. As we continue to
pull close to and then back away from this story, let us keep in mind
that God Almighty governs over all these happenings. He will use them
for His purposes, and although they seem as natural as not getting
one's way, the Master is at work with a plan behind the scenes. Even
when things do not go the way as planned, the Creator of the Universe
will weave them into His fine tapestry. As we consider those things
that make us angry and are not according to our plan, can we stretch
our thinking just a little and realize that the Master weaver is at
work in our lives too?
Next time we see the beginning of Ahasuerus' response to Vashti's
rejection, so read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” and the new marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married” in all major bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
;
download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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