God has lead me to read the Book of Esther. Esther is one of the "low-key" books in the bible. It rarely gets attention and people usually glance over this book. I believe that God has called me to this Book because He wants me to fully understand how to be a Godly woman and to draw near Him through the reading of His word. I believe that as a woman of God, the Book of Esther is a vital book to read because it shows the courage that Queen Esther had that changed the lives of the Jewish, and thus Christian, people.
*I encourage you to read the Book of Esther to get a full understanding of this blog*
As I read chapter 1, I noticed some key components that lead to the fall of Queen Vashti:
- She PUBLICLY refused to go to her king when she was summoned, which showed humiliation toward King Xerxes and disrespect toward him and the other men of his kingdom. (Esther 1:12)
- She did NOT apologize to the king for her disrespect nor did she ask for mercy.
In a sense, Vashti BROUGHT DOWN HER HOUSE (and her king's territory)!
I know you may be thinking, "But Esther disobeyed the king too! Why was she shown favor?"
Well, Esther's "disrespect" was different from Vashti's:
- She FASTED and PRAYED for 3 days before she approached the king. (Esther 4:16)
- She had others FAST and PRAY with her (Esther 4:16)... "For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)
- She was humble in her approach. (Esther 5:4, Esther 5:7-8, Esther 7:3)
- She "disobeyed" the king PRIVATELY. (Esther 5:1-3)
When I think of the differences between Esther and Vashti, this scripture comes to mind: Proverbs 14:1 - Every wise women buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
"Building a house" — to bring order to the place where family life is centered (taken from the article, "Every Wise Woman Buildeth Her House" by Lynn Pyles Bruce).
Queen Vashti showed NO submission when dealing with her king. A wife is called to be submissive - yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior out of respect or reverence (Ephesians 5:22, Colossians 3:18, 1 Peter 3:1). WE ARE CALLED TO RESPECT AND HONOR OUR HUSBAND!
The thing that stuck out the most to me was the differences between the two Queens: Vashti's blantant defiance (a mean without a real cause) vs. Esther's humble "disobedience" (which lead to the conservation of the Jews). Vashti publicly defied Xerxes. She humiliated him in front of everyone in the citadel of Susa. One of the King Xerxes nobles stated, "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. 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.' (Esther 1:16-17).
In Proverbs 12:4, it states "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." The women of King Xerxes provinces respected her and her public defiance (if gone unpunished) would have caused chaos in the homes of all of the provinces which in turn would have cause chaos in his kingdom. Why would the wives in the provinces obey their husbands if the queen was allowed to disobey the king?! Xerxes had no other choice but to make an example out of Queen Vashti either by death or by exile. Strangely enough, he chose the latter and she was made to live outside of the king's territory.
Ladies, we are designed to be a man's helper (Genesis 2:18, 21-24), a crown to his head (Proverbs 12:4). If we don't respect our husbands, how can we expect anyone else (our children, our family, our friends, etc.) to respect him?! If we want the best for our husbands, we need to make sure that we submit to him fully thus equipping him to be a leader, a provider, and give him what he needs so he can love us unconditionally. We have to make sure that we do not humiliate our men but to bring good toward him (Proverbs 31:12). If we have an issue with our husbands, we need to fast [fasting doesn't always mean abstaining from food... it could mean abstaining from talking to other people about the matter] and pray, SEEK THE LORD, and do what He tells us to do so we can receive favor from our husbands just as Esther did (Esther 4:15-16). We need to be humble and show our men unconditional reverence just as Esther did (Esther 5:1-4). Don't believe the hype of the world, submission is a vital key to a happy and LASTING marriage.
Please look at this clip on the importance of submission and respect in the marriage.
*This is not just for black people, this is for ALL men and women*
I pray that this blessing you and keeps you on track to being the submissive helpmeet that God has called you to be. Stay blessed and encourage!
Vashti gets a bad rap. Many people use her example to encourage wives to submit to sin, foolishness, or destructive behavior. They place all of the responsibility to submit on the wife's shoulders. Yet, they place little to no responsibility on the husband to submit to God and love his wife like Christ loved the church and died for it.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a wife submitting to her husband was not a new one. It had been taught from Genesis throughout the Bible. When Paul taught about a wife’s duty to submit to her husband, he was merely recapping an age old teaching. However, he had to spell it out for husbands. (Ephesians 5:25-32) This was a revolutionary concept for husbands. It had never been taught like that before. Some might say “love your neighbor as yourself” had been taught before (Luke 10:27). But that was the problem. Husbands were expressing love for their neighbors outside of the home, while regarding their wives as mere maids and sex objects.
The king did this to Vashti. She refused to submit to his foolish and drunken request.
Jewish tradition says that he instructed her to appear nude.(Please research Purim to confirm the nudity issue). She valued modesty and would not promote lustfulness. She believed that a wife’s beauty should be reserved for her husband only. The king’s friends were angered by her refusal and encouraged the king to exile Vashti, and he did.
This is a prime example of how many husbands use their position of power to abuse defenseless wives. It’s also an example of how many husbands express love for their neighbors and friends outside the home, while treating their wives with utter cruelty. This is a perfect example of why Paul needed to spell out (Ephesians 5:25-32) for husbands.
Bathsheba - another woman who had been the victim of a king's abuse of power - gave Solomon this wise advice:
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol. For if they drink, they may forget the law
and not give justice to the oppressed.
Pro 31:4-5
That's exactly what happened between Vashti and the King. He got drunk and forgot his duty to love, honor, and protect his oppressed wife.
Like David, Ashasuerus did have some redemptive qualities. That's why God used him and gave him a second chance. He was remorseful for the way he had treated Vashti. He learned from his mistakes and treated Esther better than he treated Vashti. He also made a decree with Haman to kill the Jews. When he realized how egregious that decree was, he rectified it. He did in that situation what he had failed to do concerning Vashti. I admire people - especially men - who learn from past mistakes.
Thank you...I recently legally changed my name and chose Vashti as my first name for that exact reason. I get a lot of confused looks at church and from various members. Praise be to God that I am secure in my decision,
DeleteLike I said in the comment above, people love to use Vashti's example to encourage wives to submit to sin, foolishness, or destructive behavior. Yet, there is an amazing wife that most writers and Bible teachers like to omit: Abigail.
ReplyDeleteAbigail refused to comply with her husband’s foolishness. Although she was not able to save her husband, she saved the lives of others in her household. She didn't FAST beforehand. She didn't have time to. The situation required immediate action. She didn’t try to reason or rationalize with Nabal beforehand. Evidently, she knew to “not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9) Her husband was so foolish that his very name meant fool. Abigail proved to be a wise and heroic woman. Her example teaches us a thing or two about the kind of submission God is and isn’t requiring from wives. 1 Samuel chapter 25
On the flip side, we have Sapphira - a very foolish wife. Sapphira willingly submitted to her husband’s sinful lies and followed him right to the grave. Although she was only doing her wifely duty by submitting to her husband, that didn’t earn her a get out of jail or grave free card.Sapphira should have learned from Abigail’s wise example. Acts chapter 5
There are some things in marriage that wives should and shouldn't submit to. Like Abigail, wives have to be wise and discerning enough to know the difference.
BE BLESSED MY DEAR SISTER!
Hooray for Queen Vashti!! If the King had loved his wife as Christ so loves his church, the king would have protected and honored his wife. Instead he called on her to appear before a drunken group of men so that they could LUST upon her. What a disgraceful thing to do to your God given wife. Through my own experiences as a child, I watched my obedient mother, wife swap, allowed sexual child abuse, because my earthly father demanded that...and she was submissive. She went to church, she prayed often, and she cried alot. We children were sex toys because to win my earthly father's favor. Nah, my FATHER in Heaven did NOT think she was right. I have been married for thirty four years now, I never had a childhood, I was robbed of it. God gave me His Light to follow each and every day. Psalm 27:10 explains it all. I too am a submissive wife, yet, if my husband had done to me what my earthly father did to my mother...I would have disobeyed him, because what he would have asked of me would not benn of God, but of satan himself. I want to say, I love Abigail, I can relate to her, she and I have shared alot of the same circumstances in our lives.By the way, Queen Vashti did not humiliate her husband, his own PRIDE is what caused him to feel humiliation. He was not a man after God's heart, he was a bully. God made the man stronger to care for his wife, even in times when she falls apart. The man remains strong, he is to be the image of what Christ is to his church. I have a hard time with the adultery the king commited, and it was never called adultery. Jesus would NEVER have treated His church in such a way.
ReplyDelete