The decree was made that
Queen Vashti be banished from the throne of Ahasuerus forever, and
this edit avoided chaos in homes and kept peace within the Persian
empire. However, in chapter two and verse one Ahasuerus began to miss
Queen Vashti, and now a new problem had to be solved. We read:
After these things,
when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti,
and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
One of
the conditions automatically set forth when we make decisions is the
aftermath, and King Ahasuerus was not exempt. Although the law was
introduced and sent throughout the kingdom that Queen Vashti was to
be banned from King Ahasuerus' throne, there was “After these
things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased,...” In
other words, Ahasuerus satisfied his emotional outburst, and now a
different emotion was about to replace it. Anger and wrath were
satisfied, but as emotions go there was soon to be another wave of
feelings to overcome Ahasuerus.
The
verse goes on to say, “he remembered Vashti, and what she had
done, and what was decreed against her.” Some writers say there
was a block of time that was exhausted between the decree and this
verse. There seems to be a failed effort by King Ahasuerus to conquer
Greece that took approximately four years between the time of the
decree and King Ahasuerus' return to the palace. During that time he
thought about his wife, and some say that he even tried to remarry
her. The law of the Persians prevented this, and so he missed her. He
recalled what she did, and he remembered what they did about it. In
other words, it appears that Ahasuerus was now lonely, and although
he had solved the problem of Queen Vashti's insolence, he created a
new problem within.
The
difficulty with final decisions is that they are final, particularly
when it came to Persian law. The Persian law could not be altered,
and even though King Ahasuerus might have desired to change it, he
could not. All of these things play into the mighty hand of God. We
can remember that although the decisions of Ahasuerus and those who
ran the kingdom seemed to be their own ideas, God had a plan in mind
that would preserve the people of Israel and therein the Messiah.
Although this one decision altered the manner in which Ahasuerus
would have to live his life from then on, God had a plan, and He was
working it out. By this example, we can be assured that the choices
and decisions we make are being overseen by God as well, and when we
create a new problem by solving the one we currently have, we can
remember that God is sovereign over our lives too.
Next
time we will see what is suggested about Ahasuerus' sadness, so read
ahead, and we shall 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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