Vashti

Ok, so this morning I have been reading in the Book of Esther. The story in chapter one is about King Xerxes and this lavish party he had. He put on a full-fledged BASH. He had all sorts of food, drink and entertainment. It says he brought in gold and silver couches, told the men to drink all they wanted, and the party lasted for 180 days!!! 

B-A-S-H!!!!

So, here is where it gets good. In verse 10, after seven days of feasting (and drinking), this King decides he and his men need some eye-candy!  You see the men partied in a different spot than the women. King Xerxes had his little gig going on and at the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the wome in the royal palace, (v.9) separate from the men.

Well, like I said, by day seven, (and lots of wine) the men were craving a little of the women!! And King Xerxes, who thought his wife was beautiful, and also was in "high spirits" (v. 10) wanted to share her beauty with all the men.

So he calls for Queen Vashti.
"He told the seven eunuchs who attended him to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head." (v. 11)

And this is the kicker....SHE SAYS NO!

Can you just envision this my sisters?  Your husband is drunk. He is surrounded by his drunk friends. And all the sudden he is pulling out the "You are my wife...come to me and give us a good look card!" 

Yeah right... I am with Vashti..."NO WAY!"

So, then...just like can often happen in our marriages...this turns into a BIG deal. SHE REFUSED HIM! SHE SAID NO! SHE WAS NOT GOING DOWN THAT ROUTE!

So King Xerxes, instead of going to his wife, and actually communicating with her, instead he decides to consult with his advisers (v. 13). It lists them as "wise advisers" but I am not so sure.

His "wise advisers" don't tell him to go talk to his wife. They don't stop him right there and say, "Hey man, maybe you should go see why she doesn't wanna come over here." Nope...instead they leap to conclusions. They say that if this gets around that his wife has disobeyed him, EVERY WOMAN will do that with her husband too. EXAGGERATION!

"Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king." (v. 17)

So..it is easy for us to blame the men here ladies. It is easy to look at the King's actions, and his adviser's lack of wisdom, but haven't we been there? Haven't we had an issue in our own marriages and instead of going to our husband or going to our LORD, we take advice from friends? 

And the advice comes wrapped in fear and doubt and exaggeration! 

"Well, Jen...you can't let that go on...my goodness, Faith will see it, your students will see it...everything will crash down!"

"Jen...that is just wrong the way he acted...you have to do something!"

"Jen...can you believe he/she said that? Did that? OMG!"

Yes...OMG...my friends...OMG...where King Xerxes should have been looking was to our GOD! 
He should have been communicating with his wife, not his "wise" men!
He should have been going to his Lord instead!

And we should too!  It is tempting to go to friends, even Godly "wise" friends for advice in our marriages, in our lives...but quite honestly, the Bible is pretty clear that we should be bringing ALL of our daily trials and coversations to GOD!

"I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."

                    Psalm 121-1-2