Esther Chapter 1

Obedience and Honor

​Queen Vashti refuses to appear before King Ahasuerus, resulting in her dismissal as queen.

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Outline

1–10. Description of Shushan.
11–12. Vashti refuses a royal commandment.
13–22. Vashti is removed from her position as queen.

Reflection

Do you honor your spouse?

Lesson from the Text

The book of Esther revolves around Queen Vashti’s disobedience to King Ahasuerus. A single act sets the stage for the following events and reveals one of the central themes: obedience. As Vashti refuses to heed her king, Esther shines in opposition. Esther demonstrates meekness and humility, submitting to Mordecai even at the threat to her life.
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King Ahasuerus’s response to Vashti suggests he viewed obedience and honor as intertwined. The story invites us to ask the following. Does obedience honor the one who commanded? Does Vashti’s refusal imply that she has no respect for her king? If Vashti truly wished to honor Ahasuerus, would she blindly do everything he wanted?
To answer these, let us turn to John 14:15: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Jesus tied our obedience to our love for Him, saying that if we love Him we will obey Him. The love of God drives a person to honor and obey Him. So, with God, the relationship between obedience and honor is clear: we honor God when we obey Him and dishonor Him when we disobey Him because our obedience is directly tied to our level of trust and confidence in His will for our lives.

Let me explain. Whenever you take God at His word, you are stating that you have confidence in Him; you believe He will do exactly as He said He would, and you trust that His decision is the correct one. You are not questioning His authority but instead submit yourself to His wisdom and understanding.

Now, let us turn to the second and third questions. If every wife submitted to their husbands in the same manner, the result would be disastrous. Human history is evidence of this, being rife with men taking advantage of women and utterly ignoring their needs. Because of sin, how to honor a husband or a parent is not equivalent to how to honor God. Blind obedience is not always the wisest course of action.

Scripture commands us to honor our parents and our spouses, yet we must not equate obedience with honor (Exodus 20:12, I Peter 3:1–7). Sometimes, we must engage those who have authority over us because their request is erroneous. Suppose Vashti was commanded to appear in only the royal crown to dance naked before drunken men. Would her obedience edify Ahasuerus?

In such circumstances, her obedience would have done nothing but showcase her husband’s base desires and foolishness. If, however, the feast was a proper state function in which Ahasuerus displayed the riches of Shushan to build alliances, her refusal not only insulted Ahsuerus but also was an act of political defiance equivalent to treason. Therefore, circumstances determine whether or not obedience honors our superiors.

While we honor God with our blind obedience, we honor each other by edifying one another, lifting each other up in our conversation, humility, and service. Such is why Scripture describes a different way to honor people. Obedience says I am beneath you and, therefore, must comply. Edification says you possess superior wisdom and judgment. I comply because your way is better than mine. And how do we know which way is best? The Scriptures and the Holy Spirit help us navigate honor, teaching us which commandments should be obeyed and which, if obeyed, would dishonor the one who gave the order. In conclusion, we should let God who is never mistaken guide us in how to honor, respect, and love one another.

Verse by Verse Study

1. Ahasuerus (Xerxes) was a Persian king who reigned in Shushan during the stall of the building of the temple in Jerusalem (see Ezra 4:6). Thus, the Jews were free to return to their homeland, but the country was not yet rebuilt and much of it lay in ruin.

2–4. The events of Esther began in Ahasuerus’ third reign when he made a feast for all the nobility of Persia to begin a one-hundred-eighty-day celebration of his kingdom.

5–9. At the end of the celebration, Ahasuerus hosted a second feast, this time for everyone in Shushan (both nobility and commoners were invited). Historically, the events of Esther may coincide with Ahasuerus’ failed invasion of Greece. The feast could have been to rally support for his invasion, or it could have been to unify the kingdom under his rule. While Ahasuerus hosted a feast for the men, the queen Vashti hosted a feast for the women.

10–12. While there is considerable speculation as to why Vashti refused to appear, the Scriptures clearly state she directly disobeyed a command from her king. While women of the time were expected to be subordinate to their husbands, Vashti had the extra responsibility of obeying her king. Whether Ahasuerus was drunk or not, whether Vashti had legitimate grounds for refusal or not, the queen publicly rejected the rule of her king.

13–15. Enraged by Vashti’s rebellion, Ahasuerus summoned a council on a course of retaliation. The Persians and Medes were extremely legal; no king was above the law (see Daniel 6:14–15). Before Ahasuerus could pass any judgment, he had to ensure it would be lawful.

16–18. This passage exposes the role of men and women in ancient times; a woman was expected to be subservient and completely obedient to her husband. Any lack of obedience was considered disrespectful and implied contempt. That is, to rebel against one’s husband implied that the wife thought her husband was worthless.

19–20. Presented again is the thought that obedience coincides with honoring. While here it pertains to the relationship between a husband and wife, we would all do well to consider if our actions of obedience or disobedience bring God honor or dishonor.
Note that the wise men believed they could simply order obedience. They thought they could control how wives felt about their husbands by issuing a decree. This reveals their lack of understanding, as sustained obedience flows from love and respect, neither of which can be forced on a person.

21–22. Ahasuerus put into action the suggestion of his wise men, publishing letters throughout the kingdom instructing wives to honor their husbands. This is rather ironic considering he could not make his own wife obey him.

Note that Vashti was merely removed from her position. She could have been killed for her disobedience. However, the text does not even say that Ahasuerus divorced her or put her away from the palace. While such may have occurred, Vashti also may have spent the rest of her life in the house of the concubines (Esther 2:14).

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