Vashti Would Not Come

Read aloud

On the seventh day of the feast, the king's heart is merry with wine. He sends seven named eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti before the people and officials, wearing her royal crown. He wants to display her beauty.

For much of this chapter, Xerxes has been displaying the riches of his kingdom. Now he wants his guests to admire his wife. But Vashti does not come.

Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs.

The account gives no reason for her refusal. We should not supply a speech, a motive, or details about what she was expected to wear beyond the crown named in the text. What it does make plain is the king's response: he becomes furious.

The ruler of a vast empire cannot make this one woman comply simply by sending an order. His anger exposes how dangerous another person's refusal can become when someone with great power treats it as an intolerable offense. As we read on, we need to distinguish the court's response from God's instruction for a household.