This 180 day binge was finalized with a seven day banquet in the gardens of the king's palace. Wine was consumed from golden goblets. The ostentation was blatant.
While the men were entertained by the King, their wives were in the company of the Queen. Can't you just hear them talking about women things. I can't imagine that they wouldn't. After 180 days, I suspect the wives were ready to go home, perhaps get back to normal living. I don't believe the women of that day would have been so much different from us today.
Their husbands were with the king partying and drinking heavily. It is not out of the realm of possibility that these women resented the free flowing alcohol their spouses had been imbibing.
Esther 1:10-12 (NIV)
"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 Carcas-- 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. But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger."
Can you see what is going on here? Did you see this coming? The king wanted to show off his wife. She wanted no part of it, knowing that her husband and all the men with him were inebriated. Was she afraid of what would happen? Had she experienced this before and wanted no part in it again? We don't know what happened to the queen, but we do know that her royal reign was at an end.
Is this story a familiar story? Could you fill in some of the blanks from your own life story? Join us the rest of this week as we read of Esther and dig deeper into the rest of The Story.
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