Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1And it was in the days of Xerxes (he [was the] Xerxes reigning from India and upon Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces). 2In the days the those the king Xerxes [was] dwelling upon the throne of his kingdom which [was] in Shushan, the citadel. 3In the third year of his reigning, he made a banquet to the all of his princes and his servants, the power of Persia and Media. The nobles and the princes of the provinces [were] to his face. 4In him showing the wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of the excellence of his majesty days of many eighty and one hundred days. 5And in being full the days the these the king made to the all of the people being found in Shushan the citadel, to great and until small, a banquet of seven days in the court of the garden of the palace of the king. 6Linen cloth of linen and purple wool being grasped with cords of fine white linen and red-purple wool upon rings of sliver and pillars of white marble, couches of gold and silver upon a pavement of red marble and white marble and mother of pearl and black marble, 7giving to drink in vessels of gold and vessels of one from another differing and royal wine plenty by the hand of the king 8and the drinking [was] according to law, “No compelling,” because the king had established upon the all of the chief[s] of his house to do according to pleasure of man and man. 9Also, Vashti the queen made the banquet of the women of the house the royal which [was] to the king Xerxes.
As usual, the passage before us offers much to be pondered. What do we have before us? We are being afforded a glimpse into the extravagant wealth of this famous Persian king, who may very well be the wealthiest man who ever lived.
That in itself calls for some pondering, but I also want to remind us that what is being portrayed is the world in which Esther and Mordecai lived. Whatever all of this extravagant wealth may mean, it is the world in which Esther and Mordecai must live their faith. Where we stand to profit most is to realize that, in the end, this is the same world we live in, in various different ways, and the faith that they lived we can and must live as well.
Isn’t it interesting that all of this takes place in the “third year” of Xerxes’ reign? What I mean is, here he is basically taking credit for the unfathomable riches of a kingdom that stretches from India to Africa and how long has he been on the throne? Three years. And yet he provides this 180-day long banquet for the express purpose of “showing the wealth of his kingdom and the splendor of the excellence of his majesty.” The very plain and simple fact is he only inherited this kingdom. It has been handed to him by kings who went before him, all the way back to Nebuchadnezzar, not to mention the three Persian kings (including his father) who went before him. But even at that, those kings didn’t march across continents and bloody themselves against enemies. Those kings didn’t labor to build the roads necessary to maintain a kingdom so vast and neither did Xerxes. Xerxes didn’t even build the palace he would entertain his guests in. Yet he would claim the glory of it all to himself.
I suppose if we slow down to think about it, we realize his arrogance is appalling. But then, is he really any different than you and me? His arrogance may get broadcast on a scale much larger than ours, but is it really any different? Paul asks I Cor. 4:7: “and what do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn’t receive it?” It is an important aspect of humility to recognize this very point. No matter what I might accomplish, I will never do it alone. I will always have God and a whole lot of people to thank. Unfortunately, Xerxes doesn’t see this and we can fully expect from him all the mischief of a heart filled with the sin of pride – all the impatience, insensitivity, harshness and even cruelty, blunt, cutting words, and all the rest. May each of us strive to live in humble thankfulness, but, as we read this book, we must realize what is being portrayed before us is the king in Esther’s life.
My ponderings could probably head in about a million different directions but I think it worthwhile to observe in these first nine verses the deceitfulness of riches. Just to ponder the subject is good for our souls but, again, to understand Esther’s world, I think it prudent. I rather think, if we were all honest, the extravagant wealth of this Persian king does not offend us. In fact, give us half a chance and we would love to join the party. In fact, way down deep, we would love to possess such wealth ourselves. We tell each other money can’t buy happiness, but in our heart of hearts, we’re quite sure a few cool million dropped in our account wouldn’t be all bad.
And why do we think that? Why? May I suggest it is because life is very hard and it seems like money makes it easier? And the problem is that there is an element of truth to that. We don’t say that rich people live a “soft” life for nothing. In a sense they do. While I’m sweating mowing my grass, the rich guy just pays someone else to do it. While I’m struggling to keep an old worn-out car running, the rich guy next door roars by in his (latest) brand new Corvette. While the best “vacation” I can come up with is to go visit relatives, the rich guy is soaking in a hot tub in his vacation villa in Bermuda. Is all of that true? Yes, to an extent. And it is “true” enough, just typing this paragraph stirs something discontent and sinister inside my own heart.
But what did Jesus say? “A man’s life does not consist in the things he possesses.” Here is where the lie worms its way into our minds – riches offer us “life, that we may have it more abundantly.” They do seem to offer relief from all the hardship. They do seem to offer us joy and peace. And, for whatever reason, we humans are easily deceived to believe they really can. We may note from time to time that actually rich people often live miserable lives. Although they may be fabulously wealthy, their marriages may be train wrecks, their kids may hate them and end up strung out on drugs, they may live in the constant drama of family squabbles, hostile “takeovers,” and all the rest. I recall a girl in my kids’ school who always looked sad about something. For her 16th birthday, her parents bought her a brand new car. She just went on with her sad face. I know nothing of their business, but I suspect what the girl really needed was her parents’ attention, not the new car their money could buy.
Jesus says our lives do not consist in the abundance of things we possess. What the Bible helps us to see is that the huge issue of life is love. To love and be loved is actually “life.” That is precisely why it is so often true that some of the most pleasant, most generous, most content people, that some of the happiest families in the world are the poorest. And herein may be precisely why the fabulously wealthy can be so miserable – they’ve spent all their energy to gain wealth and failed to let love reign over their many, many decisions. Relationships are what really matters in life and, in that account, the balance for them is sadly “0” (or worse).
As an aside, I need to point out that love and money are not mutually exclusive. In other words, there always have been and always will be people who gain great wealth even as they love. The other side of the coin is equally true, we can be poor as paupers and still be just as materialistic as the richest billionaire. Even if we have none, we can still worship money and sacrifice our relationships in our frenzy to get more of it. A farmer once told me he was shoveling in his pig pen one day when it suddenly hit him his daughter was 18 years old. He no doubt got a lot done in those 18 years and made money doing it, but sadly, he had forgotten to invest in what really mattered -- such a critically important relationship.
The Bible is filled from cover to cover with wisdom concerning money – how to earn it, give it, save it, spend it, etc. – and on the other hand what it means to truly live for love. If we would really have “life, and have it more abundantly,” it will have to be the life that Jesus offers, and we must deliberately resist the deceitfulness of riches – the lie of wealth.
Which brings me back to the whole point here: As we make our way into this book of Esther, what we see right up front is a world completely misled by this “deceitfulness of riches.” You and I need to see past the golden goblets, the linen hangings, the marble pavements, and see that none of that makes the people happy. Though surrounded by literally tons of gold, hearts without love are still impoverished. Sadly, this is Esther’s world. We all naturally like that she’ll end up a queen in a palace, but we need to remember that she has to live in a world where it is money and power, not relationships, that matter.
And, once again, is not that our world?
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