Esther: Silent but SovereignÀpẹrẹ

How do we respond when we’re asked or pressured to behave in a way that opposes God’s design for us? 

Unsurprisingly, the seven-day garden party led to excess and inappropriate behavior on the part of King Xerxes. He wanted to show off his beautiful wife, Queen Vashti, for all his drunken guests to enjoy (vv. 10–11). It’s unclear whether the king was ordering Vashti to appear in just her royal crown and no other clothing or whether he wanted her to appear unveiled before his male guests to show off her beautiful face. To appear in court without her veil would have been scandalous in those times and Vashti would have suffered a loss of dignity and respect from the palace staff and royal officials who were all present. Either way, it was a demeaning request for Xerxes to make of his wife, and Vashti courageously refused (v. 12). 

Was Vashti right to disobey Xerxes? More importantly for us, in light of the New Testament commands for wives to be submissive to their husbands, are there circumstances in which it would be right for a Christian wife to disobey? 

The apostle Paul is clear in his letters that God’s design for marriage is that husbands should love their wives 'as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her’ and that a wife is to submit to husband ‘as ... to the Lord’ (Eph. 5:22–25). But God’s command for a wife to submit to her husband is not without limits; she submits to him ‘as ... to the Lord’. He hasn’t given a husband the right to fulfill any sinful or self-serving desire he might have through the unthinking obedience of his wife. He doesn’t require a woman to lose the dignity she has as a human being made in the image of God by allowing her godly principles to be trampled underfoot by an ungodly husband. The authority that a man has is given to him by God. So when he disobeys or dishonors the Lord with that authority, there is a higher authority to which a woman must submit. She must obey and honor Jesus.

We can’t assume that Queen Vashti was a godly woman; it’s unlikely that she had a relationship with God. If she practiced any sort of religion, it’s likely that she was Zoroastrian. But despite not belonging to the people of God, Vashti’s refusal to obey her husband’s order was a dignified response to an undignified request. It demonstrated great bravery for her to oppose the powerful king in this way and verse 12 tells us that ‘the king became furious and burned with anger.' Xerxes wanted to flaunt his queen’s beauty in the same way he flaunted his wealth and power. She was a trophy; an object to add value to his status. Modern attitudes towards women are often just as degrading and devaluing. But God’s design for manhood and womanhood is both good and loving. He gives dignity to men and women and, in Jesus, both find equal worth and significance (Gal. 3:28).

Reflection

Pray that you will have a biblical understanding of manhood and womanhood that will result in behavior and choices that are consistent with God’s perfect design. 

Think of a scenario in which obedience to God’s Word may mean refusing to obey someone in a position of authority over you. Are you willing to face adverse consequences for the sake of being obedient to the Lord?