Esther 1

  1. The occasion was a festive occasion. The king had present with him the nobles of his court and for seven days there was a festive spirit. The queen also did the same. The festive occasion, however, ended in a sour and embarrassing note for the king. He sought to parade his wife for her beauty, but she refused to be used in such a manner. The embarrassment caused the king to take drastic action, and that action was the disposing of his queen for another, coupled with a new law stating that the man is the master of his house. This new law made clear that no woman of the house was to usurp his authority without consequences.
  2. Application: This notable chapter is a great example of a law “run amuck.” The law of man – whatever it is – has authority, but its authority does not hold sway above a dignity that God has instilled within each person. It may be that a person will compromise their dignity, but a moral law greater than man is to be recognized. More than that, however, is the fact that if a man-made law has to be set in place for a wife to honor her husband, then there is a flaw in that law and in a society that demands as much. Following after God’s ideal the wife and the husband will have a mutual relationship that is honed with respect and a willingness to serve in God-ordained roles.
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