Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces…
Esther 1
Let us look into what we call the Old Testament. Some Christians, today, think that the Old Testament has been abrogated to the New Testament and Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of all things. But, lest we forget, our Savior, during His earthly ministry, quoted Scriptures, the Old Testament, for our edification even today. Let us, then, take an overview of this book of the Old Testament as we see God at work in His Creation and among His creatures, whether chosen or not. Our God is omnipotent. There is not one tiniest element of His Creation that He does NOT control. In this opening chapter of Esther, we see the time of this story. It can be verified by historians who wrote of that time without the leading of the Holy Spirit. King Ahasuerus was a Medo-Persian king who reigned after the reigns of Cyrus and Darius who conquered Babylonia. The Jews, who had been captives of Babylon, were given freedom to return to the Land of their forefathers. But, only a fraction of them returned because, during the 70-years exile, Jews had established themselves in the land of Babylon, creating a family and livelihood that extended into the generation that saw the Medes conquer their captors, the Babylonians. King Ahasuerus was king over a vast empire and he had many lesser rulers to carry out his edicts in his kingdom. The king summoned his rulers from all his kingdom to have a party to celebrate his “sovereign” rule. This party lasted more than 6 months and included much food and wine for all. The rule of not overindulging before the king was suspended for this occasion. One day, when the king had drunk much wine, he boasted of his wife’s beauty to his lesser rulers. He decided that he wanted his queen to come before them to show them her great beauty. However, his intent was more to have her display her body than her character as the queen. This insulted the queen who was entertaining the wives of the lesser rulers in attendance. She refused to come into the king’s presence. Ahasuerus was livid, as well as drunk. He rashly dethroned his queen and banished her from his sight. Because of her actions, it was believed that a decree must be issued to keep other wives from becoming so insolent to their ruler husbands. And, so it was, the decree called for every man in the empire was to be the master of his own house and none other. Although this decree was made from anger and rashness, there can be an element of truth for us to glean: Christ is the Head of His Bride, the church. And, every married man is the head of his wife. We find such teaching in the New Testament. Now, Ahasuerus acted out of his arrogance and he was held accountable for his actions when he died and stood before the Lord. Given our Lord’s teaching, married men, what will our Lord have to say to you when you stand before Him?
Source: S C Ball September 10, 2023
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