October 5 - Very Interesting

The Book of Esther poses some of the most interesting questions in Scripture, including these:



WHAT made Vashti think she could do what she did and get away with it?



WHAT made Esther stand out in Hegai’s estimation among all the loveliest ladies in the land?



During a state dinner that had gone on for weeks, the king sent for Queen Vashti to appear before the nobles of his land, but she would not come. Various theories have been put forth:



Maybe she didn’t want to be paraded before a bunch of drunken men. That’s reasonable, but, understanding the culture, better to show up than to get booted out. Did Esther take the place of a noble, chaste queen or a stubborn, obstinate woman? If a king puts a crown on your head, does he have the right to ask you to wear it at a banquet appearance?



Some have said that Xerxes wanted her to appear in her royal crown, as the Scripture says, and ONLY her royal crown. Beside the fact that this is a BIG semantical surmising, beside the fact that, were it so, Scripture would have said so, clearly, it was truly not likely in that culture. The women at home would have applauded that action, and their menfolk would have had a real problem on their hands if they had made an example of her in that instance.



We have to learn to think in our culture, and certainly here in Cor Unum. If we are a nation of sheep, let it be in the Lord’s pasture, not those who graze themselves over a cliff.