Difficult Choices

 

“A fool’s annoyance is known at once,
but the prudent conceals dishonor.”
– Proverbs 12:16

 As the story of Esther continues, we read in Esther 1:9-12 about the women’s side of the banquet. While the men were partying for seven days, with the royal wine being poured out without measure, the women were having a shin-dig as well. Somewhere along the way, the king got it into his head that he needed to show off his wife. This could have been a “my wife is prettier than your wife” argument or maybe someone challenged him that his wife certainly couldn’t be as beautiful as he said. Only God knows those details, but whatever the reason, he summoned his wife to come to the men’s party.

 Ok, I got curious and looked it up. There are some fascinating theories out there! The best one I found was on this site. They share that, according to ancient text and rabbinical teachings passed down, Vashti was actually the rightful heir to the throne and her husband was not yet, in fact, the king. You’ll notice in Esther 1:1 that it reads, “This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush:” It does not say “King Xerxes.” According to the tradition/history, Vashti was the grand daughter of Belshazzar and the great-great granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar. As the surviving heir, she should have been in charge of the kingdom. Continuing, the article proposes that the 180 days of celebration followed by the 7 days of banqueting were a long-game for Xerxes to take over the throne from his wife.

 So who was Vashti? History paints her with many palettes. Some laud her as a feminist hero for rejecting the inappropriate command of her husband. Much of history paints her as an evil villain who tortured her Jewish servants. She was said to have snubbed the poor in favor of the wealthy, and this would play into the theory mentioned above of Xerxes plotting to depose her. You see, his banquet was open to anyone, from the poorest to the richest. But Vashti’s banquet was only for the rich and powerful women.

 Many of the histories tell the story that Xerxes commanded his wife to appear before the men’s banquet in only her crown. Regardless, in their culture it would have been inappropriate for her to attend the men’s banquet in any outfit as the only women present there were… there for the men’s pleasure. Vashti was in an impossible situation. To obey would destroy her as queen, and potentially in many other ways as well. To disobey meant the end of her reign as well. We’d like to think that Xerxes put Vashti quietly out to pasture in some queen’s retirement home far from Susa, but the likelihood is that she was killed. It would be too dangerous for her to be left alive to whomever had it in for her.

 The devotional pairs these verses with Proverbs 12:16, above, indicating that Xerxes made a rash, foolish decision as a result of the embarrassment of Vashti’s disobedience. It’s true that in the next chapter it says Xerxes “remembered” Vashti. Does that mean he regretted what he had decreed? I’m not sure, but the solution they landed on was to get him a new virgin, really, lots of them.  I’m more curious about how Proverbs 12:16 speaks to Vashti’s decision.

 Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this where none of the options available to you seem good? I can tell you that in looking at treatments for brain tumors, or even choosing not to treat them, I feel very much “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” Have you been put in a place, maybe by a boss at work or a leader at church or maybe even your husband, where you were told to do something you knew wasn’t right? God tells us to obey those He has placed in authority over us in Romans 13:1:

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

 He also tells wives to obey their husbands in Ephesians. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 And we read in Acts 5:29:

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than human beings!

 You can read further in Deuteronomy 27:10, Galatians 1:10, and Acts 4:19 to learn about the order of priority in our obedience. Yes, we are to obey the authorities God has placed over us, but we are to obey God first. In any contradiction between these, God wins. If you wonder about examples of this, check out the book of Daniel where it talks about him choosing to continue to pray to God and not Nebuchadnezzar when he was told to only pray to the king. There’s also a story in there about his friends choosing not to bow to the statue the king had made of himself. Both of these were confirmed as the correct choice by God’s miraculous provision for them when the government tried to punish them. Now that’s not a promise that you’ll be delivered from punishment when choosing God over government. There are thousands of Christians around the world that would tell you that going to jail is very much possible when you obey God first. Peter and Paul both experienced this in the Bible as well (Acts 12:1-19, 21:27-36). Jesus is quite clear in the book of Luke 12:4-5:

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

 When faced with a difficult choice like Vashti was, who will you obey? The authorities or God? If you obey God, you may fall under retribution from the authorities. The Bible is not 100% clear, but it indicates and history books concur, that Vashti was beheaded that very night for her choice.

Here’s the Thing: Most of the choices we make will not have such immediate and dire consequences, but they might. I have chosen to publish blog posts decrying the government’s treatment of immigrants in our country. Web crawlers could easily find these, identify their author, and add me to a list of government enemies. I knew that was a possibility when I posted them, and I still feel that I did the right thing as I believe God told me to. I will continue to obey God over the government, God over my husband, God over anyone. That said, if what the government, or my husband, directs is not in contradiction to God, we are instructed to obey by God – thus meaning obeying them is obeying God. You can’t just chant, “God over government!” because God Himself put our government into power for His purposes and reasons.