Nothing haunts man like an analysis of his behavior. Why do some people act "good" and suffer, while others act any way they choose and prosper? Even more perplexing is why God doesn't "run interference" when we are doing the right thing. These are questions that are argued over and over by theologians, teachers and philosophers. Does the Bible give us any answers? I have my conclusions, but, I have to let you make your own.
In the Bible, the book of Esther was written sometime before 331 B.C. It is the true story of a Jewish girl ascending to the Persian throne under King Ahasaueras who reigned from 486 to 465 B.C., when, he was assassinated. The Persian Empire at that time ruled the world.
Esther is known in the Jewish culture as "Hadassah" and, her Anglicized name would simply be "Myrtle".
Esther is a book in the Bible which comes under a lot of scrutiny because God is never directly mentioned. Yet, in studying this book I find some amazing hidden pieces of information on unexpected subjects.
Esther, chapter one, introduces us to King Ahasaueras who, having ascended to his throne three years earlier, now has a six-month "feast" to show the grandeur of his kingdom.
I would imagine at that time it made sense to invite as many people as possible since assassination was a way life. If someone didn't' agree with your politics, they didn't vote you out of office, they killed you.
So, everybody who was anybody was invited. The Bible gets very detailed telling us that not only were the drinking mugs made of Gold, but, each mug was unique! Opulence was the order of the day.
Now the king, when he was drunk, not being satisfied with displaying his material goods, ordered his wife, Queen Vashiti, to parade in front of all the men wearing her crown. The Bible ways she was very beautiful to behold.
Shockingly, Vashiti refused. I mean, you just didn't tell the king no. Some Bible scholars have suggested she may have been asked to do some vulgar things or that she may have been pregnant with Artaxerxis. At any rate, the king was furious. Yet, he loved her, but, was told by his counselors that to fail to punish her would result in the women of the kingdom rebelling against the authority of their husbands.
Subsequently, she was banished.
Later we learn, that Esther "applies" for Queen at the behest of her uncle. Along with all the other virgins, she auditions for this position by sleeping with the king. Further, we find out that she is less than honest about her Jewish ancestry.
We have two women. One disobeys because she wishes to be modest. One obeys, biblically speaking, by committing adultery and, by shading the truth.
The woman who is apparently acting out of moral inspiration ends in banishment; the woman who commits adultery becomes Queen.
This is just the first moral dilemma Esther presents us with.
So, why do you think Vashiti may have gotten the shaft? Is it a situation where "bad things happen to good people"? Or, might there be, if we look deeper, some further explanations?
Was Queen Vashiti modest, or, was she proud? She definitely was disobedient. Further, she was not a chosen person of God; she was not Jewish. But let's pay special attention to pride and obedience.
Esther was Jewish so, she had the credentials. But, she was obedient to her authority figure, her uncle. If we look at it that way, it turns the tables.
If we buy into the fact that there has to be a moral and eternal law in the universe regarding right and wrong, then, we must be able to find some consistency.
First, both women were given orders. One obeyed, one did not. It doesn't matter what their motives were. They had a responsibility to obey. Not to obey, betrayed the fact that there was pride involved; not, necessarily, honor. Keep in mind that the deadliest sin and The Original Sin are both classified as "pride". One woman was worried about how the act was going to affect her, the other saw it as a massive responsibility.
One was outside the realm of "God's Kingdom". One was not.
One last thing to consider is that Vashiti, by not being obedient, may have put her husband's life in danger. Esther, on the other hand ended up preserving the Jewish Nation.
What can we draw from this issue of good behavior as described in Esther Chapter One?
1. It would appear that actions, no matter how "moral" are seen in the context of the event.
2. Obedience to authority (once again in the context shown) verifies character and the denial of pride.
3. Good actions are only valid when doing them under the auspices of being in God's family. That aspect implies King Ahasaueras and Queen Vashiti had been introduced to enough information to understand God's existence and the important role of the Jewish nation.
4. Second-guessing whether or not could have had grave consequences.
The initial chapter of the book of Esther begins, at least, tackle a difficult subject; that of the importance and impact of man's actions.
Information not known to this author was gathered from The MacArther Student Bible copyright 1979.