Esther 1

This chapter highlights 2 aspects of society that have prevailed throughout cultures and time that when driven to extremes have led to much abuse in much of human history. One is the excess of wealth and the extravagance of it, often times to the neglect and misuse of the poor. Now it does say that the least to the greatest were invited to this banquet so maybe Xerxes does better here than most of his counterparts in history. But hard work has to be recognized on every level of society and although it is almost natural that some would end up better off than others, just how much better off they are needs to continually be assessed. God always emphasized to his people to take care of the poor and marginalized and to never take advantage of those who are weaker for our benefit. The other dynamic here is men being head of women in the household. Now I am all for the direction given in Ephesians 5, where women are charged to submit and men are charged to love and all the healthy dynamics that flow from that when they are managed under God’s direction and power. But when I think of all the abuse, criticism and disregard that has come to women by unspiritual men taking the lead under the guise of that is what God says, it makes me sad. Now it also makes me sad when women disregard the authority of their husbands, but there is far less abuse of God’s standards there. It is only by God’s Spirit that we can live out these things in the balance that is required to make it right.

It is also interesting that God is never mentioned in Esther. It is the reason why it actually had a hard time getting into the Old Testament cannon. And yet God’s hand is all over it as He orchestrates situations as people decide and react to situations before them.