Bibledoorajar looks at Persian Royalty

     The kingdom of Persia was great at the time of the story of Esther. We learned in the book of Daniel that Persia ruled over 120 provinces at that time. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had previously invaded Jerusalem and taken many Jews captive to Babylon. When Persia defeated Babylon about seventy years later, Persia allowed the Jews to return home to rebuild Jerusalem and God's temple. However, only a remnant of Jews went home. By the time of Esther the remnant was in Israel and royalty in Persia ruled over 127 provinces. These stretched from India to Ethiopia. The kingdom and the kingship was in the hands of Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus was a title rather than a personal name and meant mighty or venerable king. The king's queen was Vashti who was a descendant of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Ahasuerus planned to improve his worldly posture even more by invading Greece. He planned and plotted for a long time about this. He consulted military and political resources who served the king across the vast empire.
      As the story of Esther opens, Persia's mighty king has decided to hold two feasts or banquets. The first would be for the nobles and princes and the second would be for the people of the land both great and small. The rooms of the palace in Shushan the capital would be filled for 180 days and the palace was filled with the dazzling wealth and splendor of the kingdom. The palace and all its' trappings were very elegant. The stewards were told to serve each man what he wanted from the royal abundance of food and wine.
     Vashti, the queen whose name means "the best", also gave a banquet for the women in the royal apartment. While the Queen was involved with her banquet, the king being in high spirits from wine, sends the seven officers who attended him to bring the Queen with her crown in to his banquet. He was anxious to show her off for the record states that she was a beautiful woman. But Vashti refused to come at the order of the king  given by the seven officers. The king was livid. Why did Vashti fail to keep the king's summons? The scriptures do not say. It could be that her ancestry dictated a lack of loyalty to the king and she wanted to embarrass the king. Whatever her motive, her actions backfired on her. 
Vashti reminds us of Israel. God, through seven major prophets, summoned "the best" to return to Him, but she refused. The councils of heaven instituted plans for the church. The temple and its glory passed away and Israel's peoples were scattered. There is a lesson for us here. May it never be said of the church that when God summons us we do not come to him so that He might show forth our beauty. Do you agree?