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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Esther chapter one
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the contemporary English version. King
Speaker 1: Xerxes of Persia lived in his capital city of Sousa
Speaker 1: and ruled one hundred twenty seven provinces from India to Ethiopia.
Speaker 1: During the third year of his rule, Xerxes gave a
Speaker 1: big dinner for all his officials and officers. The governors
Speaker 1: and leaders of the provinces were also invited, and even
Speaker 1: the commanders of the Persian and Median armies came. For
Speaker 1: one hundred eighty days. He showed off his wealth and
Speaker 1: spent a lot of money to impress his guests with
Speaker 1: the greatness of his kingdom. King Xerxes soon gave another
Speaker 1: dinner and invited everyone in the city of Sousa, no
Speaker 1: matter who they were. The eating and drinking lasted seven
Speaker 1: days in the beautiful palace gardens. The area was decorated
Speaker 1: with blue and white cotton curtains tied back with purple
Speaker 1: linen cords. That ran through silver rings fastened to marble columns.
Speaker 1: Couches of gold and silver rested on pavement that had
Speaker 1: all kinds of designs made from costly bright colored stones
Speaker 1: and marble and mother of pearl. The guests drank from
Speaker 1: gold cups, and each cup had a different design. The
Speaker 1: king was generous and said to them, drink all you want.
Speaker 1: Then he told his servants keep their cups full. While
Speaker 1: the men were enjoying themselves, Queen Vashti gave the women
Speaker 1: a big dinner inside the royal palace. By the seventh day,
Speaker 1: King Xerxes was feeling happy because of so much wine,
Speaker 1: and he asked his seven personal servants Meehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abigtha,
Speaker 1: Zephyr and Kharkas to bring Queen Vashti to him. The
Speaker 1: king wanted her to wear her crown and let his
Speaker 1: people and his officials see how beautiful she was. The
Speaker 1: king's servants told Queen Vashdi what he had said, but
Speaker 1: she refused to go to him, and this made him
Speaker 1: terribly angry. The king called in the seven highest officials
Speaker 1: of Persia and media. They were Karshina, shethhar Admatha, Tarsish Maries,
Speaker 1: Marsna and Memucan. These men were very wise and understood
Speaker 1: all the laws and customs of the country, and the
Speaker 1: king always asked them what they thought about such matters.
Speaker 1: The King said to them, Queen Vashti refused to come
Speaker 1: to me when I sent my servants for her. What
Speaker 1: does the law say I should do about that? Then
Speaker 1: Memucan told the King and the officials, your majesty, Queen
Speaker 1: Vashiti has not only embarrassed you, but she has insulted
Speaker 1: your officials and everyone else in all the provinces. The
Speaker 1: women in the kingdom will hear about this, and they
Speaker 1: will refuse to respect their husbands. They will say, if
Speaker 1: Queen Vashti doesn't obey her husband, why should we. Before
Speaker 1: this day is over, the wives of the officials of
Speaker 1: Persia and media will find out what Queen Vashti has done,
Speaker 1: and they will refuse to obey their husbands. They won't
Speaker 1: respect their husbands, and their husbands will be angry with them.
Speaker 1: Your majesty, if you agree, you should write for the
Speaker 1: Medes and Persians a law that can never be changed.
Speaker 1: This law would keep Queen Vashti from ever seeing you again.
Speaker 1: Then you could let someone who respects you be queen
Speaker 1: and her her place. When the women in your great
Speaker 1: kingdom hear about this new law, they will respect their husbands,
Speaker 1: no matter if they are rich or poor. King Xerxes
Speaker 1: and his officials liked what Memuchan had said, and he
Speaker 1: sent letters to all his provinces. Each letter was written
Speaker 1: in the language of the province to which it was sent,
Speaker 1: and it's said that husbands should have complete control over
Speaker 1: their wives and children. Let's pray, Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for your word, and we thank you for the privilege
Speaker 1: of being able to look at it together today. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of scripture, we could
Speaker 1: see that some things are stirring here in the lives
Speaker 1: of the people of Persia, and among the king in particular.
Speaker 1: We see events starting to transpire that we know you're
Speaker 1: going to sovereignly direct and work your will in the
Speaker 1: midst of And Lord, we're grateful that that's how you operate,
Speaker 1: that you have a plan, and that you're working all
Speaker 1: things together for good. And we certainly know that that's
Speaker 1: true in our lives as well. Lord. When we read
Speaker 1: through these Old Testament portions of scripture, we realize that
Speaker 1: the ultimate narrative that's being communicated when we take these
Speaker 1: as a whole is the redemption of mankind through faith
Speaker 1: in your son Jesus Christ. So Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: that that has been your plan for mankind from eternity past,
Speaker 1: and that we have the privilege to be the beneficiaries
Speaker 1: of new life and salvation through your son Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: Thank you, Lord for including us in your plan. Thank
Speaker 1: you Lord for blessing us as you choose to bless us.
Speaker 1: And we commit this day to your care, and we
Speaker 1: thank you for your presence in it. We pray this
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen.