Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
10In the day of the seventh, because pleasing the heart of the king in wine, he said to Mehuman, Bizta, Harbona, Bigta, and Abagta, Zetar, and Karkas, the seven eunuchs serving the face of the king Xerxes, 11to bring in Vashti, the queen, to the face of the king with a crown of royalty to exhibit to the people and the princes her beauty because beautiful [was] her appearance. 12And the queen Vashti refused to come in the word of the king which [was] in the hand of the eunuchs and the king was very angry and his anger burned in him.
This is a rather insightful passage into the workings of godless hearts. Xerxes has been throwing a party for six months, then follows it with one last week of festivities, all for the expressed purpose of showing the whole world how great he is. For the entire six months and a week, he has been surrounded by drooling sycophants, who each and every one played along with his extravagant ruse, drank his wine, ate his delicacies, and hoped, through it all, to gain some element of Xerxes’ wealth to fatten their own accounts. Like good little marionettes, they each have dutifully bowed at his feet, flattered him to his face, and assured him that, in fact, he is completely amazing.
Then, suddenly, something utterly unthinkable happens. Vashti says, “No.” He wants to use her for one more display of his greatness, so he sends his seven eunuchs to command her, but she won’t come. After six months and a week of fine food, wine, and flattery, suddenly the king runs into an insurmountable obstacle. He runs headlong into a wall which proves he’s not really so great, that he is only a man, that, in fact, he lives in a world over which he has no final control.
And what is that wall? What is that insurmountable obstacle? It is what has been called the unassailable citadel of the human heart – the one thing no king can command. As Xerxes shows, a king may rule over 127 provinces, enjoy seemingly unlimited wealth, be surrounded by bowing servants, and yet there is one thing utterly beyond the power of his throne – their hearts. It is true, given enough power, a king (or boss) can get almost anyone to say and do almost anything, but even after six months and a week of royal extravagance, there is still one thing he has not conquered: their hearts.
That fact is hidden behind all their public displays of flattery until one single person actually lets their heart show. Vashti says, “No.” At this point, I’d like to inject that Xerxes could have easily just had her executed and been done with her. But I hope anyone reading this can see that even if he did, it wouldn’t change her heart or the heart of one single person watching. It would only prove he has the power to take her life. But to take someone’s life is something infinitely easier than to gain their heart. Her refusal leaves Xerxes “burning with anger.” And why? Because the truth of his weakness has been exposed. He cannot command this woman’s heart.
Herein lies the unfathomable distance between the way of this world and the way of God’s grace. Jesus said, “The rulers of this world lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant…” (Mark 10:42,43). And grace says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (Jer. 31:3). The thing about the Lord is that He wants our hearts. It means nothing to Him to somehow exact obedience out of people when the truth is that their hearts are far from Him. Rather than bludgeoning us into some sort of compliance, He wants us to know Him, to love Him, to sincerely want to do right and love others, and He would accomplish that by drawing us with His grace.
All of us humans ought to take a cue from Him and realize that it is far better to win people with grace, than simply to overpower them into obeisance. Whether we’re kings or bosses or parents, we should strive to draw people like the Lord does. If you gain their heart, you have won their best. If we think we can simply command, just because we have the power to do it, sooner or later we’ll come face to face with the deep disappointment that all the outward compliance was nothing but a show. Xerxes had almost unlimited power, yet his day is ruined by one woman who says, “No.” He may have thought he had her under his thumb, but once again, he has to find out you cannot command a human heart. It can only be wooed.
But then what are we to make of Vashti’s refusal? First of all, let us be reminded we are dealing with godless people, so let’s not make saints out of either party. If you read a lot of the commentaries, there is almost endless chatter about the Persian culture and if Xerxes’ request in itself would have been completely inappropriate, and if somehow Vashti’s refusal was “right.” That may or may not be the case, but I can’t personally escape from the fact that he is the king. Basically, if you want to refuse him, you’d better realize there will be consequences. In this case especially, whatever may have been Vashti’s reluctance, she should have known that to refuse him in this very public situation almost drove him to have to respond harshly. In spite of everything I said above about wooing hearts, a king must maintain order in his kingdom. Especially when people spit in his face and challenge his authority, there will need to be some very serious repercussions if he is to maintain the respect and order of his kingdom.
Just to be fair to her, what very well could be the case is that she’s completely exasperated, that she’s sick of being this conceited monarch’s play toy, to the point where she simply doesn’t care any more. Maybe she’d rather be dead than go on with the life he makes her live? All that said, however, and whatever may have been Vashti’s reasons, yet her response reminds us that drawing a line in the sand with a very powerful king, we will lose.
As you and I go out to work in our godless world, we will find ourselves in a culture where the “rulers” will generally only care that you comply. They simply will not care how you feel or what concerns you may have. We may occasionally enjoy good bosses who really do make an effort to care, but we should go fully expecting that not to be the case. When and if we come to some place where (like Daniel and his friends) we have to stand our ground, we just need to realize we may pay dearly for it. Unlike Vashti who simply refused and put the king on the spot in front of all the people and his princes, you and I should be like Daniel and try to address issues quietly and behind the scenes, so we don’t make our bosses “look bad.” The same grace we extend to our subordinates, we should seek to extend even to our bosses, though our very necks (or jobs) may be on the line.
There may be a great deal more to ponder from this exchange between Xerxes and Vashti, but may we at least see in it all the very world we live in, and may we be reminded that our Lord runs a very different kind of kingdom!
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