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| Oh the problems, you have brought. |
In a Bible study, Pastor Samuel Padget pointed out that Esther chapter 1 is a great example of the stupid things that can happen when you have a bunch of drunk men at a party. I couldn't argue. Drunken parties never end well, though some end with fewer obvious issues.
There is some disagreement over whether or not the king ordered the queen to come show off her beauty with just her crown on but nothing else or not, but whichever it was this wasn't going to be just a beauty pageant. It was to show off a trophy. We don't know for sure why the queen refused but I am pleased that she did.
Standing up against something that is wrong means you will face consequences. We would like to think that if we stand against wrong then everything will go right, however, an honest look at history doesn't demonstrate that. Eventually, it does, but not in the short term. It didn't end well for Queen Vashti, nor for most of the Old Testament prophets, the New Testament Apostles, and the greatest example Jesus.
The good news for Christians is that God has promised to work all things together for our good (Note: not all "the things" are good, some are really bad but they work toward good).
So this is in one way a reminder there are consequences for our actions.
However, though God uses these actions as a way to deliver his people, these actions are not God's will. God didn't want Xerxes to have a drunken party and to divorce his wife. However, God used the actions of sinful people to bring a mighty deliverance.
Photo by Lex Guerra on Unsplash
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