Esther 1: An Empire Built on Gold and Law

This morning, we have the great excitement of starting a new sermon series on the book of Esther. And as we will see over the coming few weeks, the book of Esther is an incredible story of God's providence. Now, that is a theological term that talks about God's intervening grace. The grace that God bestows upon the world and how He directs the path of our lives for His good purposes, for the purposes of His kingdom ultimately. And so, famously, you may know that the book of Esther never mentions the name of God explicitly.

It talks in shadows about the presence of God, but never shows us God's direct involvement in any of the events in the book of Esther. And yet, if you read and reflect carefully, you can't miss God in the story of Esther. And so it's going to be my great pleasure to be leading us in this series. We're going to hear very soon some of the experts, the commentators, give us a good overview of the theme of Esther, and we'll see firstly the big picture of what happens in the story. But in order for us to get there, we're going to read the first chapter of the book of Esther, which sets the scene.

Let's turn to Esther chapter 1. Now, in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia, over 127 provinces. In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his throne in Susa, the citadel, in the third year of his reign, he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media, and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him. While he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendour and pomp of his greatness for many days, a hundred and eighty days.

And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa, the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother of pearl, and precious stones. Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king, and drinking was according to this edict: there is no compulsion. For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired.

Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. At this, the king became enraged and his anger burned within him. Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times, for this was the king's procedure towards all who were versed in law and judgment.

The men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face and sat first in the kingdom. According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs? Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen's behaviour will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come. This very day, the noblewomen of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behaviour will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.

If it pleased the king, let a royal order go out from him and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honour to their husbands, high and low alike. This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script, and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household, and speak according to the language of his people. This is God's word.

So in the opening chapter, before we even get to the main protagonists of the story, namely Esther and her very wise and noble uncle Mordecai. Before we get to the legends of the story of Esther, we are introduced to the backdrop in which their lives happened. Before meeting Esther, we meet her husband-to-be, King Ahasuerus, the king of Persia. King Ahasuerus is better known by some of us by his Greek name, Xerxes. In fact, the NIV translates the name as Xerxes in your Bible.

Ahasuerus is the Hebrew version of that Greek name. This king was the son of King Darius the Great, who was the same king who was involved in returning the Israelites from captivity in the Persian empire back to the promised land. The stories of Ezra and Nehemiah took place under King Darius. King Xerxes is his son. And so it means that the events of Esther take place in the early fifth century BC, when Israel was at the tail end of its exile from the promised land. Now, at this point in history, some of the Jewish people had already started filtering back to Jerusalem and to Judea.

This region, Judea, is now the final remnant of the far larger and greater nation of Israel. They are the only people remaining of the Israelite nation, so to speak. In other words, as a nation, as a people, the Israelites had ceased to exist. Only Judea and the Jews remained. In this sort of context, you will understand that the Jewish people felt very small. Now what we will be looking at over the course of the book of Esther is a story of what happened to the Jews who remained in the Persian Empire.

So the ones who didn't go back with Ezra and Nehemiah. And we will find them existing as an ethnic minority in the grand machinery of the Persian empire. In terms of how we, as twenty-first century Christians, understand the book of Esther, well, we'll see that there are several themes that will come to bear on our lives. Perhaps one of the more transferable messages of Esther is the message of how to live as a Christian minority in the secular world around us. With the decline of the western church, the relentless undermining of the authority of scripture, and the constant suspicion over the authenticity of the church, we'll see many similarities between God's people then and God's people now.

In terms of us finding a working summary of the story of the book of Esther, I'll give you the words of commentators Frederick Bush and Ian Dugood on the overall story being told in Esther. Frederick Bush, in his commentary, gives this summary that touches on the main characters of the story. He writes: in the dangerous world of the diaspora, which means the dispersion, the Jews that were flung to all parts of the world because of the exile. In the dangerous world of the diaspora, with its opulence, excess, uncertainty, and evil, the loyalty of Mordecai to the Jewish people and the king, the courage, shrewdness, and sagacity, sage-like wisdom of Esther, both of whom willingly accepted roles of leadership in that world, and the reliable providence of God delivered the diaspora Jewish community from the terrible threat of annihilation, demonstrating that a viable life for diaspora Jews is possible even in the face of such propensity for evil. That's a typically academic explanation.

Ian Dugood gives us something far more simple. And he actually moves away from the focus of the likes of Esther and Mordecai, placing it back on God. And he says: in the story, 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. The story of Esther is one of an incredible woman, that's true. A wise, beautiful and faithful woman of God. But the ultimate story in the book of Esther is one of God's hidden influence, guiding and redirecting the course of history for the redemption of His people, culminating in the arrival of Jesus Christ.

Let's begin with chapter 1. And what we are introduced to is an empire built on gold. We see a magnificent empire, the likes of which had never been seen before. This king, King Ahasuerus, was no teacup tyrant. We are told in verse 1 he rules over 127 provinces.

From India to Ethiopia. In other words, he rules almost the entire known world. With his power unmatched, his authority unquestioned, and satisfied with the empire that he and his father, Darius, had built, the king decides, in his third year, to throw, get this, a six month long feast. A hundred and eighty days of drinking and eating and doing who knows what else. For six months, he celebrates with all his military leaders, his advisers, his noblemen, his princes.

It's a feast that essentially says, I have arrived. The empire is secure. We are at the peak of our power. I have proven that I am the greatest. We're told that right at the end of this celebration, the king decides to have one final hurrah by creating a week-long celebration, get this, for all the people in the capital city, the citadel of Susa.

We're talking tens of thousands of people. And for a whole week, they can eat and drink how much they want, however much that is. He opens up his palace, and there, the people sit between marble pillars draped in white and violet linen. They dine on couches of gold and silver. They sit among perfectly manicured gardens.

They walk and dance along pathways and floors paved in costly mosaic masterpieces. The cost of this six month long party would have been in the tens of millions of dollars in today's money. It is the epitome of extravagance, and there had been nothing like it on earth. This is a kingdom flowing with wealth. There is nothing that this king cannot buy.

In fact, he has just bought his people's affection. It's an empire established on gold. And yet, even in this opening paragraph, the Bible is hinting at a very particular trait, a characteristic that runs through this entire empire. Even after seducing the people with his wealth, the king has to make a royal decree, an edict that tells them there is no compulsion in how much wine you drink. An easier to understand translation says: there is no limit to how much you can drink.

Now, it seems like a generous gesture, but Dugood, in his commentary, points out that it's an act of legislative overkill. Who creates an edict that tells people how much they can drink as an upper limit? It's like Scott Morrison making a law that says, we need to enjoy our public holidays. Who makes a law like that? I've been to open bar weddings and I can tell you, you don't have to twist people's arms too much on how much they can drink at an open bar.

But the author of Esther hints at the quality of this leader and his empire. He's a man that manipulates through law. And that leads us to the next point of the controversy that happens in this chapter. It is an empire built on gold, but it's also an empire built on law. Having given us exquisite detail on the nature of the king's parties for his male subjects, there's only a single line to the party that his queen, Queen Vashti, had. We are given in verse 9.

Verse 9 simply states: Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. It's as though, in comparison, the queen's party is an afterthought. The real focus is on the men. We see that after seven days of drinking straight, when the king is merry, he sends no fewer than seven of his royal eunuchs to summon the queen, who we are told in verse 11 is very beautiful. What's the reason for this summons?

Well, it is to parade her in front of these gawking men, these commoners, while wearing her crown. The queen, however, refuses to go. And that is the controversy. Why? Because she's going to be paraded in all the royal finery for the enjoyment of a crowd of drunken men.

She's being treated like a doll, an object existing for the king's pleasure, an icon of the king's power. As we will see in the coming weeks, the superpower of the Persian Median Empire is built on law and coercion. The Bible is setting up this story to show how, on the one hand, the Persian Empire is ruled relentlessly by law. But it's not a law that brings much assurance of justice to those who live under its mandates. Verse 19 gives us a sentence which reverberates through the whole story of Esther.

It tells us that the law of the Medes and the Persians is irrevocable, that it cannot be repealed. In other words, in Persia, once a law is made, it cannot be changed. But as we start seeing, the source of these irrevocable laws are based on the will and the whims of a weak and anxious tyrant who cares for nothing more than his own pride and pleasure. The weakness is deliciously pointed out for us when Queen Vashti refuses to turn up at the king's command. In other words, the law might have compelled people to drink as much as they wished, but that law could not compel the king's wife to be treated as a sex object.

A solitary woman stood up against the glorious empire, and the whole system was shaken to its foundations. Look at what happens next. A royal huddle was called where all the wise men in the land came together to work out a plan how to deal with this dangerous notion that women have free will. Heavens above. In verse 18, they conclude with hysterical outrage:

This very day, the noblewomen of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behaviour will say the same to all the king's officials and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. My goodness. What would happen to a man's position in his own home if it came out that Queen Vashti had refused the command of the king? What's the answer? Does her refusal cause a moment of self reflection in the king, of demanding something as crazy and unreasonable as what he demanded of her?

Was it a moment of humble admission of his guilt? Was it of gentle and compassionate listening and understanding? What was the answer for an empire built on law? Well, it's to create another law. The wise men recommend to the king that he make another decree, an irrevocable law throughout the entire kingdom that all women must give honour to their husbands.

The book of Esther is known for its humour, and this overreaction would be up there with Monty Python's best skits. All women everywhere, love and respect your husbands anywhere. It is ridiculous. It's a law that is created to compel love. How does that work?

It's a terrible law, impossible to police or enforce. But here is a cautionary tale for us husbands and fathers. Even as we uphold and defend the idea of male headship that we read about again in Ephesians 5 this morning, the idea of male headship in the family and indeed in the church. Here, we see the temptation of weak-willed men who demand respect not through respectful character, through noble hearts or gracious behaviours, but by coercing love, coercing respect through position and power. The Bible wants to tell us that this is weak and pitiful.

It is laughable. You are not a man if you need to demand respect in this way. Unfortunately, for Queen Vashti, she is quietly moved out of the king's palace. She's put out to pasture, so to speak, probably in some distant but comfortable home somewhere in the country, never to be seen again. As noble as it was, the queen's resistance doesn't achieve much in the empire.

Her suffering doesn't free anyone, not even herself. But it's this episode that sets up the story of the eventual rise of the Jewish woman Esther, who becomes the new queen. And in Esther, we will see as much fierce, strong, intelligent resistance as Vashti, but with far more wisdom intact. And this brings us to the third and the final point as we reflect on these things. And we're brought to reflect on what it means for us as Christians to live between two empires.

The book of Esther repeatedly throughout the story invites us to compare and contrast two kingdoms. Firstly, the kingdom of King Xerxes, King Ahasuerus, and the kingdom of God. And as you read this, you will see that there are superficial similarities between the two kingdoms. God too is a great king whose laws cannot be repealed. His sovereignty rules over all things, both great and small.

His authority is unquestionable, or there will be consequences. Yet, the differences are so vast that the kingdoms are separated by a factor of infinity. God doesn't use people like the Persian king uses people. His kingdom grows and it does its work, not through outwardly powerful and attractive trappings, but rather through the hidden and the slow growth of winning hearts and minds to Himself. For this reason, Jesus speaks of God's kingdom as being a mustard seed, a grain of yeast starting small and hidden, and yet growing to take over the whole world.

As Christians, we live at various moments in history between real or perceived empires. Today, we may not live under the British Empire anymore. We don't belong to the Roman empire or the Spanish empire, but we do live as citizens of a type of empire, the human empire. A kingdom built by man and man alone, and we would do well to see the warning signs of Esther in Esther chapter 1, to understand the delusions of this empire and indeed, the very great dangers associated with it. Because history will tell us, as it did with the Persian empire, that every empire, inevitably, over time, crumbles under the weight of their peculiar temptations to see themselves as God.

Almost always, the sin of pride is shown up in a delusion of deity. Nearly every emperor, go and have a look, in human history has eventually believed themselves to be some sort of god. And by this delusion, they, of course, pick a fight with the true and living God. Such an empire will inevitably attempt to do what only God can do, which is to try and attempt to control all things. To sum up all things in itself, to uphold all things by the unyielding word of its power.

And while none of us here will probably ever rise to become anything like these leaders, these kings, these emperors, we will save our souls by remembering not to ever give that very soul over to those kingdoms. There is but one kingdom under heaven and on earth, and that is the Lord Jesus' kingdom. Every other kingdom will set itself up directly to contradict and to destroy Christ's kingdom. Why? Because there can never be two kings.

There is only one king. And friends, I know which kingdom I want to be in. Where Ahasuerus' kingdom enslaved, extorted, degraded and shamed, Christ's kingdom frees, enriches, cleanses and exalts. Where Ahasuerus throws a pretentious party in a desperate attempt to demand respect, Jesus sets a table for those whose hearts He has won over through His humility. Where the Persian king abuses and degrades his bride, Christ washes, clothes, adorns and cherishes His bride, the church.

The king's bride is reduced to an object to be used and gawked at, a trophy to impress his perverted cronies. Jesus' bride is brought out to the celebration of a myriad of angels and His bride is clothed in their presence in dignity and resurrected with glory. Jesus does not punish His bride even when they, at one time, rejected Him. Instead, He takes the church and covers her naked unfaithfulness and He washes her by the blood of His cross. In this life, you and I will feel constantly the pull of these two kingdoms, two empires which compete for our affection.

One kingdom will compel and manipulate you, it will try to entice and bribe you, it will try to legislate your love. The other kingdom gently woos you and calls you to its side. Friend, have you given your heart to the wrong kingdom? Are you being seduced to drink their wine without restraint? Have you been told to dress the way that they want you to dress?

To view sex and sexuality the way that they want you to experience it, to use it. They don't deserve to be your king. Only Jesus is good enough. Only He is the type of king you want to serve. Once you realize the two types of empires we live under, once you come to know the types of kings who rule over those kingdoms, the choice is pretty clear where you would like to belong.

So belong to Christ and His kingdom. Make it your home. Come to grips with its good laws, with its righteous decrees, and give your heart to the king who truly treasures that heart. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, as we have our hearts and our minds drawn towards Your kingdom, by comparing it to the fallenness of earthly kingdoms represented here in Esther chapter 1.

We are mindful of the constant pull of world views and philosophies that will try to seduce us. We'll do so by compulsion and force. We'll do so with a motive that is always selfish and never concerned about us. And Lord, in our foolishness, in our shortsightedness, we may be tempted to give our hearts to that kingdom. Please give us wisdom, Lord.

Please give us the insight and spiritual eyes to see the two kingdoms at work. And Holy Spirit, by Your divine love, grace and power, we ask that You will woo us to Your side. Thank You for Your laws that produce life and not death. Thank You for Your will that is good and pleasing. Thank You that in You, we will find peace and joy that is not tied to the fleeting things of this world.

May we pursue those things with vigour, with resilience, and with wisdom. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.