Women with a Story to Tell. Esther,1.

 Hadassah, ‘myrtle’, that is her given name, but we know her as Esther, ‘the star’. The book, Esther, is one of only two books in the Bible that are named for a woman. The other book is Ruth, whose story we have already considered in this series of devotionals about women in the Bible. We will have several devotionals about Esther, the people around her, her social and political context, and why she is an outstanding woman. It is a complex and revealing story.

 I should note upfront that I am influenced in my interpretation by a book titled The Fig Tree Revolution: Unleashing Local Churches into the Mission of Justice (2017). I recommend it to you (less that $20 new on Amazon) because it is a good example of bringing Scripture to bear on our current church context.

 The author is Bill Mefford, who was a student of mine while he completed his doctoral work at Asbury Theological Seminary. I say ‘student’, but Bill was a gifted minister and missionary when he came to Asbury, and I learned much from his activism while I mentored him in his academic work. He went on to do valuable work in the area of social justice.

 Here is the setting for the study of Esther. What time is it? Esther’s story occurs during the Jewish Exile that began in 587 BC when Babylonian armies destroyed Jerusalem, killed many, and marched into captivity the rest either the province of Babylon or to other provinces in the empire. Traditionally, the Jewish Exile lasted around 70 years, but the Return was limited.

 First, the Babylonian Empire itself was defeated by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. Cyrus was born in the contemporary Fars district of Iran to a royal lineage and consolidated his authority over the Persians and Medes in 550. Among his more admirable qualities was his ability to get along with people who were not Persian, like him. Part of this policy led to the granting of permission for Jews to return to Jerusalem. That story is told in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

“In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD from the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also in writing, saying: ‘Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Let any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—go up to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let all survivors in whatever place they reside be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods, and with livestock, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1: 1-4)

 Many Jews did return, but certainly not all. Those who returned came mostly from the province of Babylon, but some held back and continued to live in the provinces where they had been in exile. Thus, there were still Jews scattered across the many provinces of the Persian Empire. This is how the book of Esther begins.

 “This happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the same Ahasuerus who ruled over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India to Cush. In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his officials and ministers. The army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the governors of the provinces were present, while he displayed the great wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and pomp of his majesty for many days, one hundred eighty days in all” (Esther 1: 1-4).    

 Ahasuerus is known to us as Xerxes the First (ruled 486-465 BC), the fourth emperor after Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius. Ahasuerus is living in luxury, bought at the price of conquests and the repression of revolts. If Cyrus may be said to have ruled with a light hand, Xerxes is known to have ruled with a heavy hand, particularly in his quashing of revolts in Babylon and Egypt (Cush). Later in his reign, Xerxes spent a lot of time and money trying to conquer the Greeks. Initial success was followed by losses, the accounts of which have come down to us from Greek historians, and we have woven these into our own story. 

 Notice that this celebration included only men and only the political elite, though the supply chain and support cast involved many laborers, including women. The celebration lasted for half a year. Imagine the cost, the pomp and circumstance, and the decadence.

 Ahasuerus had a harem of concubines, and he had a queen named Vashti. What happens next reveals the place of women in this patriarchal empire.

 Ahasuerus extended the festivities by feasting the male citizens of Susa, the capital city, where “Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. Drinking was by ordinance without restraint, for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as each one desired (Esther 1: 7-8).

 None of this included the women who were restricted to a dinner hosted by Queen Vashti. Days of over-indulgence in wine only emboldened Ahasuerus to the point that he made a mistake. 

“On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded … the seven eunuchs who attended him, to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing the royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the officials her beauty, for she was fair to behold” (Esther 1: 10-11). 

 Queen Vashti is being treated like a strip-tease at an all-male party, a pole dancer to entertain the king’s important guests. This society is the opposite of the Kingdom of God, the God whom King Cyrus, several generations previous, at least honored in his decree that released the Jews from captivity. Xerxes is demanding. What will Queen Vashti do?

”But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him” (Esther 1: 12).

 Queen Vashti is in trouble with the government. Her demise sets the stage for Esther to enter into this lion’s den of patriarchy, pride, and self-exaltation. What can a little Jewish girl do to survive a ruler so twisted by the temptations of power?