“But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.”
I will be honest. In grade school and up through my high school years I cared about what other people would say about me, my clothes, and especially my girlfriend. I know this was very shallow, but for the boys out there we can all attest to falling into this trap. Some of us had to learn this lesson the hard way. We read about such a person who had to learn this lesson the hard way. He was not a boy in school, but rather he was a king. A king which controlled a region from India to Cush, which is the Nile River area. His name was King Xerxes.
The book of Esther jumps into the beginning of Xerxes’ reign as the king of Persia. In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. For 180 days, he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of his glory. I can remember one leader in the past who did the same thing, his name was Nebuchadnezzar. When he showed off the glory of his kingdom that he created, the Lord struck him down, make him eat grass, and go crazy for seven years. I guess Xerxes did not read the history books because the Persian’s took over the Babylonian empire not too long ago. It is not hard to see that he was very proud man bent on showing off his wealth.
After the banquet, Xerxes gave another banquet lasting seven days. This one was the party. Wine flowed freely and the king gave the decree that wine was not to stop flowing. The party guests even drank wine from gold cups. The party was given in his garden full of splendor from the floor to ceiling, the place was dripping with wealth. The Bible tells us that the queen, Vashti, gave a banquet herself for the women in the royal palace also.
On the seventh day when Xerxes was in high spirits, he sends seven enriches to his queen with a message. The message: come parade yourself in front of the men in the garden wearing only your crown. The Bible tells us that she was very beautiful and the king wanted to show her off. When queen Vashti refuses, the king becomes very angry and assembles his officials to get their advice on how to deal with this issue. In a rash attempt to squelch such bad behavior, the officials advise the king to make a decree that the man will be the ruler of his own household. Queen Vashti gets banished from ever seeing the king again and her crown will be taken away. Thus a proclamation is sent out to all the kingdom that the man will be the ruler of his own household.
We have all been at this place a time or two. We have fallen into the trap of “look what I have.” Whether it is a car, your clothes, your house, and yes, even your wife or girlfriend. The stuff we have is not bad nor is it sinful to have nice things. But when it becomes an idol that replaces the Lord, that is when it becomes a sinful thing. For Xerxes, it was his kingdom and all his splendor at first. Then it was his party and showing off all that was under his control. The final blow to his ego came when he tried to show off his queen. When the queen said “NOPE!” you can almost feel the arrogance of the king getting reduced. He was humbled be a queen who refused to be pawn in his game of show off.
Today, if this describes your way of life, showing off all your stuff and your woman, let me warn you. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” You would be wise to be humble yourself and thank the Lord for all the blessings you have. 2 Corinthians 10:17 says, “But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” Make sure that all you boast about be what the Lord has done for you. Not only that, but boast about how He loves us and died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins so that we could be with Him in heaven. Now that is something to boast about.
Let It Go 
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