Summoned: Answering a Call to the ImpossibleSýnishorn

Summoned to Seek

Have you ever stepped away from a dramatic situation and, on reflection, regretted your part in the scuffle? That’s what is happening now for our not-so-favorite king. A few years back, I got into a pretty heated argument with a friend. She crossed boundaries, and I found myself treading across a few lines myself. Accusations were thrown, defenses made. Long story short, the friendship ended sharply. A few years later, I remembered her and how my behavior could have been better. I had made a mistake, and I missed my friend.

The Scripture says that Ahasuerus “remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her” (Esther 2:1). By Esther 2, the king has cooled off. According to historical sources, around this time Ahasuerus headed off to war with Greece and suffered a humiliating defeat. At the start of Esther 2, four years had gone by since Vashti was dethroned, and we find the king back home in Persia, defeated in battle, low in spirit, and missing his wife. As a side note, this word “remembered” was typically used in the Old Testament to describe Israel reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness. It is ironic that the author would choose that word here.

Many times, we make the mistake of reading the Bible like we would watch a movie; in the span of an hour and a half we are able to piece together the plot, be entertained, note that each conflict is resolved, and rejoice that everyone lives happily ever after. When reading the Bible, we don’t always consider the vast amount of real time that passes between passages. When we do this, we rush the text and miss the things God is trying to reveal to us through story. 

This story began in the third year of Ahasuerus’s reign. We are now approaching the end of his sixth year. Almost four years have passed since Vashti’s banishment, and much has happened, albeit that most of what happened in those years is not recorded in the Scriptures. So here sits King Ahasuerus, longing for his dethroned and dismissed wife. He understands the irrevocable nature of Persian laws, and despite any of his private or personal feelings, she is gone for good. In an effort to distract him from current woes, and really the consequences of his own hasty and harsh decree, his “young men” suggest that he make good on his plan to replace Vashti.