The Providence of God # 4

Book of Esther 

In this new Series we are studying the Providence of God using the Old Testament Book of Esther which describes Haman’s wicked plot to kill all the Jews in Persia and how God saved them 

Today, we are discovering the Providence of God at work in Queen Vashti and learn that God ordains the direction of our lives   

Proverbs 16: 9 ‘We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.’    Psalm 139: 16; Genesis 2: 17; 1 Samuel 1: 27; Job 1: 21; Psalm 102: 23; Psalm 104: 27-30; Ezekiel 24: 16; Daniel 5: 23b       

(Tradition says that Vashti was the daughter of the Babylonian king Belshazzar and the night that Belshazzar was killed, Vashti was captured by the conquering Persians and given to Xerxes as a wife. In my opinion the traditional view of Vashti would make her too old to be Xerxes wife. Daniel 5.) 

When King Xerxes had finished his banquet with his military officers, princes and nobles, he hosted another banquet, this time for all the people that lived in Susa.  At the same time, King Xerxes wife Vashti hosted a banquet for all the women in the royal palace. On the last day of the banquet Xerxes commanded Vashti to come so that he could show her off to all his guests 

Esther 1: 5-11 

But Vashti ‘refused to come.’ 

Esther 1: 12

By refusing to come Vashti publicly humiliated her husband and defied the immense authority of King Xerxes who was the unrivalled ruler of the most powerful Empire in the world at that time 

Xerxes responded to Vashti’s defiance by issuing a new law that decreed that all wives throughout the Persian Empire should give their husbands ‘proper respect’ and that ‘every man should be the ruler of his own home and say whatever he pleases.’   

(Xerxes was truly a great man!) 

Xerxes also deposed Vashti as Queen and banished her from ever seeing him again 

Esther 1: 13-22

Then Xerxes approved a plan to search for a new Queen to replace Vashti 

Esther 2: 1-4

Ezra 7: 1 

(History tells us that Vashti probably reappeared as a royal when her son Artaxerxes became king after Xerxes) 

Now, as for Vashti, what was she thinking!? 

Who in their right mind would defy what seemed to be a reasonable request from her husband the king, Proverbs 20:2 ‘The king’s fury is like a lion’s roar; to rouse his anger is to risk your life.’ There is only one reason that she would do that – Vashti defied the king because she was subject to a higher authority than Xerxes; she was subject to the Providence of God, Proverbs 16: 9 ‘We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.’    

Yes, it was God who determined Vashti’s steps so that Xerxes would remove her as queen and, Esther 1: 19b ‘choose another queen more worthy than she’ - and that was of course Hadassah who is better known to us as Esther 

Considering Vashti’s defiance of the king - let’s talk a little bit about the Christian’s responsibility towards civic authority 

What is civic authority? 

A person who governs/rules over other people 

(This is where we get the term government from) 

In the Book of Esther, we can identify several civic authorities: 

Esther 1: 3 nobles and officials, military officers and princes, Esther 1: 9 Queen Vashti, Esther 1: 10 the king’s eunuchs, Esther 1: 13 wise advisors, Esther 2: 3 agents in each province, Esther 2: 17 Esther became Queen, Esther 2: 19 Mordecai became a palace official, Esther 3: 1 Haman became the most powerful official in the empire, and of course King Xerxes was the highest civic authority in the Persian Empire   

As Christians our top priority and loyalty is towards the highest authority of all, Psalm 24: 1 ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.’ 

And as the highest authority of all, it is God who authorizes the appointment of civic authorities over cities (Romans 13: 1b), countries and empires 

These civic authorities have 2 thing responsibilities only: 

Firstly, to reward people under their governance that do the right thing, Romans 13: 3b ‘Do what is right, and they will honor you’ 

Secondly, to punish people under their governance that do the wrong thing, Romans 13: 5b, ‘punishing those who do what is wrong’ 

Daniel 4: 25  

As Christians we are subject to civic authority, 1 Peter 2: 13-14 ‘For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.’ 

The question for us is this: is it ever OK for a Christian to defy civic authority? 

The answer is of course YES, in fact under certain circumstances we MUST 

As the people of God our top priority and loyalty is towards the highest authority of all and when a civic authority orders us to disobey God, our duty is to obey God and disobey the civic authority  

Let me give you several illustrations from both the Old Testament and the New Testaments:  

Pharoah was the highest civic authority in Egypt and at one time he ordered the Jewish mid-wives to kill all the baby boys born to the Hebrew women but instead they obeyed God and disobeyed the king, Exodus 1: 15-17 ‘Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live. But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.’ 

(The people of God are forbidden to murder babies) 

Nebuchadnezzar was the highest civic authority in Babylon and at one time he ordered the Jews to worship a statue of himself but instead they obeyed God and disobeyed the king, Daniel 3: 16-18 ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.’ 

(The people of God are forbidden to worship idols) 

King Darius was the highest civic authority in Persia and at one time ordered the Hebrews to pray to him but instead Daniel obeyed God and disobeyed the king, Daniel 6: 10 ‘But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.’ 

(The people of God are forbidden to pray to anyone else or anything) 

The Jewish Religious Leaders were civic authorities in Israel and at one time they ordered the disciples not to speak in the Name of Jesus but instead they obeyed God and disobeyed the Jewish Religious Leaders, Acts 4: 19-20 ‘But Peter and John replied, do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.’ 

(The people of God are commanded by the Lord to be witnesses for Jesus to the ends of the earth) 

The problem with civic authority is that it tends to abuse the limits that God has set for it and it tries to usurp the place of God in our lives 

Illustration: At one time King Uzziah was the highest civic authority in Judah and Jerusalem but he forgot his place and tried to usurp the place of the priest in the worship of God, 2 Chronicles 26: 16 ‘But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the sanctuary of the Lord’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.’  

One time, Herod Antipas even tried to exert his civic authority over the Lord Jesus Himself, Luke 13: 31-32 ‘At that time some Pharisees said to Him, get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you! Jesus replied, go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish My purpose.’ 

Did Jesus obey Herod Antipas and ‘get away from here’?  

No, Jesus disobeyed him saying, ‘I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish My purpose.’   

(What would Jesus accomplish on the 3^rd day – His resurrection from the dead!?) 

Now let me give you an illustration of this from something very recent here in New Zealand 

Starting in 2020, people in New Zealand came under one of the worst abuses of our basic human rights and civil liberties when our government imposed the most appalling restrictions upon us in the name of ‘Science’ - I am of course talking about the COVID Response 

The government even made the same attempt against us that was made by Herod Antipas to shut down the ministry of Jesus; Our government tried to stop the Christian Church in its ministry of preaching the Gospel and discipling the nations – They called it LOCKDOWN - “Churches are NOT allowed to meet together” 

And what was very sad, a lot of Churches in New Zealand complied with the government’s abuse of power told their congregations to stay home! 

Some Churches even segregated their congregations into the vaccinated and the unvaccinated 

Why did so many Churches do that? 

Because they had no understanding of the role of civic authority and the limits that God has placed upon it  

Dear friends, listen to me very carefully - Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church  

NOT the civic authority! 

NOT the government!  

NOT the Prime Minister! 

And NOT the King! 

Jesus reminded us that we have responsibility towards both civic authority and His authority, Matthew 22: 21b ‘He said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’ 

But as the people of God our top priority and loyalty is towards the highest authority of all, Matthew 28: 18-20 ‘Jesus came and told His disciples; I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ 

Here’s the Application: 

We say with the disciples, Acts 4: 19b-20 ‘do you think God wants us to obey you rather than Him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.’ 

And finally, back to the Book of Esther - God in His Providence removed Vashti to bring Esther to the throne, Proverbs 16: 9 ‘We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.’