You'll turn to the book of Esther, chapter number 1. This is a small book. It'll take us a long time to go through it, but there's some great truths that are here, even though the book has no mention of God in it. The book of Esther holds a high place in sacred literature of the Jews, but it is the only book in the Bible where God is not mentioned. Nevertheless, we can see that God's hand is throughout the book. Martin Luther was said to have tossed this book into the River Elbe, saying that he wished it did not exist. This is what he had to say about it. I quote, it has too much of Judaism and a great deal of heathenish imagination. Well, that might have been his idea about it, but when I take a look and read the book, I can see God's hand all through it. It's evident. And we call this hand that we're going to see, we're going to learn a lot about God's divine providence. God works His will in the affairs of men through the circumstances that happen. We take a look at things and we say, oh my. We get upset politically speaking. We get upset when we see things that are happening. And rightly so. We ought to be upset with unrighteousness, amen? We ought to be upset with evil. But know that God is at work in this world, and know that God is at work fulfilling His purpose and His plan. And I think as we approach the end days, and I think we're very close. How close, I don't know, but I think we're very close when you see the things that are happening. I can tell you we're closer today than we were yesterday. Amen. It may not be today. It could be tomorrow. It might not be for a few more years. We don't know. But we can see God's hand at work. If you'll just open your spiritual eyes, open your spiritual mind to the things that are happening, compare it with what's going on in the Word of God, what God said was going to happen, you say, Man, just like God said. Just like these times that we live in are just like the Lord said they were going to be. And that doesn't mean we accept them and say, well, you know, just whatever will happen will happen. Whatever will be, will be. I still think that we are to take a stand for good and righteousness. God would have us do that. And we stand against wrong. Amen. but realize that God's hand is at work in this world. And He's very much in charge of what the end of it all is going to be. And that's what I like. We can read the end of the book. We know how it ends, right? And we're on the right side of the ending. And that ought to cause us to have the peace in our heart that nothing else can give. When we take a look at the world, at the things that are happening... Even here in our own dear country, when you understand the great tragedies that are taking place all over the United States, of course I believe it's the judgment hand of God against our nation, but you take a look at the floods up in South Carolina, the ones now over in Texas, and even some of the other surrounding areas there, when you take a look at the fires that were in California and now you've got the mud and the mudslides and the torrential rains that are causing that and different things all over different places. Man's heart is tempted to be full of fear. Man's heart is tempted to be full of things that, you know, they were talking about what in the world is going to happen. But we know what's going to happen. We may not know specifically, but we know in the end. Things are going to be okay for us. Amen. We'll be all right. But here in Esther chapter 1, we're going to be introduced to a king and a queen, King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti. And according to Jewish history, Vashti was the daughter of King Belshazzar. We just studied King Belshazzar on the last two Wednesday nights over in our Bible study. Well, this queen, Vashti, was the daughter of King Belshazzar and the great-granddaughter of King Nebuchadnezzar. That's one reason why I picked, the Lord had me move on this because it was relative to what we had just finished studying over there and kind of relates to some of the things that we've talked about. But the name Vashti, of course, is of Persian origin and it means beautiful woman. That's what it means, beautiful woman. And according to Jewish accounts, The night her father was murdered, that we just looked at this past Wednesday, when Belshazzar, when his kingdom was invaded by the Medes and the Persians, Darius and Cyrus were the ones that came in and took over the Babylonian kingdom. Belshazzar lost his life, but the night that that happened, the night her father was murdered, there was much bloodshed and looting that was going on in the palace, and amidst the confusion, Vashti was unaware of the death of her father, and he ran to his quarters, She ran to his quarters where she was captured by Darius the Mede. So she goes running looking for daddy, which is what a daughter would do, right? I mean, something's happening, man. I need my dad. She ran there, and she was captured by Darius the Mede. And King Darius took pity on the young Vashti and gave her to his son Ahasuerus as a wife. And when Ahasuerus became king over Persia, he and Vashti ruled over 127 provinces, which we'll see mentioned here in the text, which during that time, that was the entire civilized world. And it was the second of the major kingdoms. Remember Babylon was the first kingdom, the head of gold. And this was the next kingdom that came. and the vision that was given to King Nebuchadnezzar. Now, the Bible doesn't corroborate the Jewish story of the origin of Vashti, but it doesn't give us an alternative either. I'm just telling you that that's not Bible that I just shared with you. It's from Jewish history of what we know, but there's nothing to back that up here. But the name Ahasuerus, the king's name, comes from the Hebrew. And it's a transliteration of his Persian name, and I'm not going to try to tell you either one of those, the Hebrew name or the Persian name, because I'd butcher them big time, and you wouldn't know any more than you know now. But in Greek, this became Xerxes. Now that's one that you've probably heard, right? So think of him as Xerxes, Xerxes I. That's what he's known in history as. So if you're looking for the historical account of this king. Now let's begin reading verses 1-4 here. So it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, this is the Ahasuerus which reigned from India even into Ethiopia over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces. So a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. Pretty big span of real estate there. So that in those days when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom which was in Shushan the palace, In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants, the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces being before him. When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and four score days." I want you to think about this, 180 days they were partying. Now, we thought Bill Shizer was having a party, right? When he was looked in, well, here, I think, is the party of all parties. And the third year of his reign, we see that the powerful and wealthy King Ahasuerus hosted this extravagant half-year-long celebration for his noblemen and officers. And all this was for the sole purpose, it seems, of displaying his wealth and honor. In other words, it was a pride thing. He had the big head about himself and his kingdom. I just want to show you guys just what kind of king I am. I want to show you just how wonderful I am. And so we can tell from reading this that Ahasuerus must have been a very prideful man. In fact, his pride reminds us of the sins of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, both whom God judged for their pride. And as is usually the case, we see that power and pride go hand in hand, and that's still true to this day, isn't it? You take a look at the powerful people of our day. Well, they think that they're beyond the law, don't they? They think, we're above you peons down there, you know. Just, you know, we just get by with whatever. You just need to accept it. This is the way we are, and there's nothing wrong with it. Well, that's nothing but pride, and pride and power go hand in hand. Now let's take a look at verse number 5. It says, When these days were expired... In other words, talking at the end of 180 days. When these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. Where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen, and purple to silver rings, and pillars of marble. The beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, blue, and white, and black marble. They gave them drink and vessels of gold, the vessels being diverse, one from another. and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. And the drinking was according to the law. None did compel. For so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house," notice this, that they should do according to every man's pleasure, that they should do according to every man's pleasure. Also, Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house. which belonged to King Ahasuerus. So here we see the first half-year-long celebration was followed by an even more elaborate seven-day feast. for all the residents of the capital city of Shushan. Now we also see that this second feast was distinguished by this luxurious opulence that was described there, and that the personal preferences of everybody in attendance, they were fully accommodated. Whatever you wanted, you could just have it. You name it. Whatever you want, we'll give to you. In modern terms, the king and his followers were doing one major party, right? It was big-time partying. And the king even ordered his people to do whatever they wanted. It was a kind of an attitude of, if it feels good, do it atmosphere. And according to verse 9, at the same time that the guys were partying, Vashti provided food and entertainment for the women of the court. Even though her party may have been somewhat less exuberant than the men's. Look at verse 10 and 12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, in other words, he was drunk. He commanded Mahuman, Biztha, Arbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, Carcas, the Seven Chamberlains. Boy, I sure do wish these guys were named like John and James. Call them rabbit and jump over them is what I say. Seven Chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king. to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal to show the people and the princes her beauty, for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains. Therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him." Jewish tradition holds that Ahasuerus ordered Vashti to appear at the feast unclothed. and so that he could show off her beauty to his entire kingdom where she was wearing nothing but the royal crown. The Jews hold that this was really a case of divine justice against Vashti. They believe that God moved Ahasuerus to call Vashti to appear in this way on the Sabbath as a punishment for her tradition, that she had a tradition of forcing Jewish girls to work before her on the Sabbath day, stripped of their clothing. Now, again, this is not substantiated by the scriptures, but this comes from Jewish tradition. What they do is, when it happens, they keep the story alive. They kept the story alive over the years. Again, this comes from Jewish history and tradition. It does not appear in the text of the scriptures. What we do know is that Ahasuerus' request was a breach of custom. What he asked her to do did violate the custom of the day. Eastern women lived in seclusion and such a request as he made while he was drunk amounted to a gross insult against Queen Vashti. Now, there are some who have criticized Vashti for refusing to appear at her husband's command. They say, well, this is the first woman's liberation. She didn't do what her husband told her to do. But I want us to consider the scene that was taking place here. Not only had the king and his cronies been partying for days, drinking large quantities of wine, but they had also been doing as each one desired. So, I mean, this was a terrible scene here. This was no doubt a very wicked scene. And you can imagine men passed out on the floor, others laying in a drunken sprawl. in the arms of who knows what. In the drunken stupor that the king was in, he called for the presence of his queen. Of course, obviously wanting to parade her before his followers, wanting to display her beauty and say, you know, look at the woman I've got. It was, again, a matter of pride. Pride and power. He called her there because he could. He was going to display her because he could and because he wanted to. It all had to do with his pride. Now, Vashti was a queen in a society that prized modesty in a woman above all else. And what Ahasuerus demanded was a surrender of womanly honor. And Vashti, she was not willing to comply. She wasn't going to do it. Some would say that far from being the action of a rebellious woman, This was the action of a regal queen, refusing to display herself and her position to shame. Now, understand it was the habit of a Persian king to have his queen beside him at a banquet, but when he wished to get drunk, what he would do is he would send the queen away and he would call in his concubines, wives of inferior rank. And we can see how Vashti must have been insulted by this breach of protocol. I mean, she was being called in when the concubines would have been called in. And not a good scene. Look at there, verse number 13. Verse number 13. Then the king, okay, we've already seen there in verse 12 that he was Very angry. Amen. So he was very wroth, and his anger burned in him. Verse 13 says, For so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment. And the next unto him was Carshina, Shethar, Adamoth, Tarshish, Marius, Marsina, and Memuchin, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, and which sat the first in the kingdom. What shall we do unto the Queen Vashti according to law? Because she hath not performed the commandment of the king." Now understand, in these days, the commandment of the king, it was supreme. What the king said, you did. And notice verse 16. answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes when it shall be reported. The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day, and to all the king's princes which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath." So, the king became enraged. at Vashti's refusal. No doubt his pride and ego were wounded. And instead of addressing the issue with his wife, he turned to the lawyers. Now he'd fit right in with the day, wouldn't he? Call the lawyers. Now the lawyers decided that Vashti's actions might go beyond the simple marital problems of the king and really might become a national disaster. all these other women are going to catch word that the queen didn't do what the king said to do, and they're going to think, well, we don't have to do what our husbands tell us to do either. And so that's what he said. They might in fact look with contempt on their husbands. These men feared that the noble women who heard of Vashti's refusal would suddenly rebel and not just against their husbands, but really even against the state. And so this seemingly small issue between a husband and wife, in their minds, became a threat to the relationship of other husbands and wives, and also it became a matter of national security. This is a threat to the nation. Talk about blowing something out of proportion, right? Look at verse 19 or 20. If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. When the king's decree, which he shall make, shall be published throughout all his empire, for it is great, all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small." So, in response to their perceived threat, the lawyers devised some new laws, because that's what lawyers do. Well, if there's something that happens, we don't have enough laws, right? Somebody gets shot with a gun, well, we just need more gun laws. No, just need to take the laws that are on the books and use those, because they're not enforcing the laws that are on the books. They don't need a new law. Now, Vashti, the first thing they were saying, Vashti was never gonna come before the king again. And secondly, her royal estate was going to be given to another. Now, in the Jews' mind, the Jews believed that this meant that Vashti was given a death penalty. And we're not told that here. But nevertheless, she was dethroned. She was dethroned. But according to Jewish tradition and historical accounts, when she refused his command, Ahasuerus had her beheaded. at the advice of his minister that was mentioned there, Memuchin, and who some identify, Memuchin is the same as who we will see later, the madman Haman. Remember Haman, Haman's going to be a name that's going to come up again, and in fact, in the majority of this book, he is a real problem. Now, the text that we have here doesn't say specifically that she was executed. Nevertheless, Vashti's removal did set the stage for Esther's appointment as queen, ultimately leading to the Jewish people's salvation from Haman, Haman basically was going to cause the Jews' extermination, their annihilation. And this whole story in the book of Esther is called the story of Purim. We'll look more about that later. But the second part of the decree is that all women were to give honor to their husbands. What's interesting is that a pagan king advised by pagan lawyers, made this decree, yet this is a principle that we find in the New Testament for Christian marriages. Although a wife need not and should not obey her husband in what opposes God's laws, the Bible is clear about the wife's duty to her husband and the husband's duty to the wives. Look at Ephesians chapter number 5 for just a moment. Much is said about the wives being submissive to the husbands, but really the emphasis ought to be in both areas that husbands ought to love their wives. As Christ loved the church, you know, if husbands would love their wives as Christ loved the church, there probably would be a lot more of the wives submitting to the husbands in the way that they should. It doesn't excuse either party, though, just because the other party doesn't do their part. Look at Ephesians 5. Look at verse number 22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." And here it is, verse 25. Husbands, love your wives. even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it." Now that's a tall task right there, guys. And if you're not doing that, if you're not loving your wife as Christ loved the church, you're not holding up your side of the issue there. Notice verse number 28, "...so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies." He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church. And these things are very important. Look at verse number 33. Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband. My eye's playing tricks on me here. Sometimes my eyes jump around. I get little twitches in the eye. You ever get those? So I had a little trouble reading this morning. Colossians 3 verse 18 says, "...wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." Look at 1 Peter chapter number 3. 1 Peter 3, look at verse number 1. 1 Peter 3, 1 says, Likewise ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, that they may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives. That word conversation meaning the behavior. It's not just talking about words, it's talking about the actual behavior. For after this manner, in the old time, the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge." Notice, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel. and as being heirs together the grace of life that your prayers be not hindered." So we're told that the behavior there of the wife and her adorning of herself is more of the inward adorning, the adorning of a meek and quiet spirit. It's the adorning. In the day and time in which we live, there's so much emphasis put on the outside. Everybody's looking in the mirror, and they've got their brush, and they've got their blow dryer, and they've got all kinds of utensils trying to get the outside looking good. And God's saying, hey, while you're working on the outside, don't forget to work on the inside. Because the inside is more important than the outside. Make sure you adorn yourself with that which God counts a great price. The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is said there in verse number 4, which is in the sight of God of great price. God holds that in high regard. Doesn't mean that you don't put a little paint on the barn, right? All right, getting in trouble here. Vashti's disobedience, though, was virtually unprecedented. But Vashti's disobedience and subsequent removal were in the providence of God. And this is the whole idea here that I want you to get. What we see here God used this incident to bring Esther to the kingdom. You look at what's going on here and you say, man, God doesn't have anything to do with that. Oh yeah, He does. As He does. This shows us how God works through the affairs of men to bring about His will. God works through the affairs of men to bring about his will. And that's an important thing that we need to remember, not only as we go through this book, but also as we approach the end of time. Now, in Esther chapter number 2, look at verse number 2, Esther 1, look at the last two verses there. And the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Mimucan. For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, and to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and it should be published according to the language of every people. In other words, Lawyers, make sure you publish all this and let's get it all good now in written form. And make sure everybody knows about it. Ignorance is no excuse for the law. It's the law of the land. So this is the law of the land now. And in Esther chapter 2, we're going to see two new characters. We've taken a look at Ahasuerus and Vashti. But in chapter 2, we're introduced to Esther and Mordecai. Now, something that we need to understand is life does not always turn out like we want it to, does it? It just doesn't. There are two facts that we would all do well to learn, and they are this. Life is not always fair. It's just not. It'd be wonderful if it was. But the longer I live, the more I see. Life is not always fair. And the number two thing is sometimes people can be cruel, can't they? They just really can't. Those of you that had the opportunity maybe to be in the public school system like I did, you learn that real quick, especially when you're skinny. and weak, which I was back during that time. I know it's kind of hard to imagine the preacher was skinny, but I was at one time. When I graduated from high school, I weighed 115 pounds soaking wet. When I got married, that was another Another seven and eight years later, I had only gained 10 pounds. I was 125 pounds when I got married, so I've put on quite a bit since then. I've taken a little bit of it off lately, but praise the Lord for that. But I'm sure that Vashti thought that life was unfair. And when we look at what she did or failed to do and see what happened to her, we may tend to agree with her. We saw that she refused to parade herself in front of a bunch of drunken men, and that was really an honorable thing to do, but it cost her. She paid a great price for that decision. And we also need to understand that sometimes when we choose to do the right thing or the honorable thing, it may cost us in this life also. So what are you supposed to do? You go ahead and do right, amen? You do the honorable thing. It may cost you, but you do, you always do what's right. We see this story repeated again and again in Scripture. I'll give you these examples and then we'll shut down for this morning and come back and take a look at chapter 2 next week, Lord willing. But you think about Elijah. Elijah did what was right at Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. He showed them up and then he killed them all. And he did right doing that in the sight of God. And he ended up on the run with Jezebel after him initially. But God prodded him to keep on going. Amen. Joseph did what was right. Think about Joseph. Joseph did what was right and ended up in prison. But he didn't stop doing what was right, did he? He just kept on doing what was right. Stephen, the deacon in the book of Acts, did what was right in preaching the gospel to the crowd he was talking to, but he ended up getting stoned to death. And of course, the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All he did was what was right. and he wound up being crucified. When you think about that, that instance of our Lord and Savior proved just how sinful this world is in. I mean, they took the only perfect sinless person who's ever lived and put him on a cross, cruelly treating him. We could tell of many other examples in Scripture, but we'd be here all day. But listen, we may choose to do the right thing or the honorable thing, and it may cause us some grief in this life. Does that mean we quit doing right? Absolutely not. I believe it was Dr. Bob Jones Sr. who used to say, do right because it's the right thing to do. Do right because it's the right thing to do. And we see that Vashti also learned the other part of those two parts of life. Not only is life not fair, but sometimes people can be cruel. And so here she is trying to keep her virtue and reputation. She's dethroned. And instead of a rags-to-riches story, hers becomes a riches-to-rags story. And in addition to these two facts, though, it's wise for us to remember this thing. I want you to get this. Absolutely nothing is going to frustrate the plans of God. Absolutely nothing is going to frustrate the plans of God. Proverbs 21 verse number 1 says that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever he will. God was in control of this situation. All the events transpired here were in the provident plan of God. Could I tell you God is still at work today doing the same thing in our lives? And while we may not always see or acknowledge Him, He is there nonetheless, using our actions and decisions to accomplish His will, even when those actions and decisions are made without regard to Him. I've seen God use good things and bad things in my life to teach me lessons. The question is, are you going to learn the lessons the first time, or are you going to have to go through it a second time? And a third time? I've seen some people just never learn the lesson. God keeps trying to teach them, and they never learn the lesson. Well, what is God's will? Quite simply, it is to bring Him glory. Is God's will being accomplished in your life this morning? Are you bringing glory to God? God's eternal plan has always been to make Himself the center of attention, both in heaven and on earth. God is going to get the glory. Listen, He's going to get the glory, whether that glory be in bringing those that are in Him to glory. He's going to bring us to glory, and that brings Him glory when He brings us to glory. or whether that glory be in bringing those without Him to judgment. Do you know that judgment glorifies God, shows His holy hatred of sin? He's going to get the glory regardless. And in times past, He worked through the nation of Israel to do it, and today He works through His New Testament churches to do it, using people just like you and me to please Him and to glorify His name. I understand that while God's one chief purpose never changes. There are various ways in which that purpose may be accomplished. And in this chapter, we're going to see some prominent lessons about protection and the accomplishment of God's will. So you'll be back next week for Sunday School as we take a look at Esther chapter number 2. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the time we've had together in this Sunday school hour. Lord, I pray that we might take the lessons that we learn and apply them in our own heart and life. Lord, help us to see that our chief purpose ought to be your purpose for our lives, and that is to bring you glory. Lord, the first way that's accomplished is when we place our faith and trust in you as our Lord and Savior. And then as we yield to your working in our lives that bring about us being molded and made into the image of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Lord, that's what brings glory to you. Lord, help us with these things. We know that we are sinners and still live in this old sinful flesh, but we thank you that we have your Holy Spirit living within. We have the Word of God. We have so many resources that you've given to us that we can have victory over the things in this life. And Lord, we can accomplish bringing glory to you as we live and walk in the Christian life that you've given to us. Now, Lord, just take us into the morning worship hour. Pray that, Lord, you might be uplifted and glorified in all that's said and done. And, Lord, we just pray that those that are here today might yield to your workings in their lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.