Vashti Smashes the Patriarchy

“Vashti Smashes the Patriarchy”  // Esther 1

Message @ Jericho Ridge– Sun, June20, 2021 (Series: Truth To Power)

Hello, friends. My name is Brad Sumner and I am part of the teaching and leadership team here at Jericho Ridge.  It’s good to know that as Pastor Wally indicated, we are looking to be together on Sunday, July 4 – either indoors or out of doors so hang tight for a few more weeks, friends.  The summer will be different in terms of our capacity to gather & be together.   

Speaking of summers, just a reminder that our practice here at Jericho is to take the summer months and to walk chronologically through the Old Testament so that you get a picture of how this section of the Scriptures hangs together.  So way back in 2011, we started in Genesis, we marched through the Pentateuch, into the books that chronicle the move from the Judges to the rule of Kings, then into the prophetic tradition, and we arrived a few years ago at one of the most cataclysmic events in the Old Testament, that is the exile where God’s people are scattered. 

Lots and lots of the books of the Old Testament were written during this time period when the ancient people of Judah and Israel were taken captive by powerful nations to lands like Babylon and Persia.  These are books that need to be understood in both their historical as well as genre context in order for us to live with wisdom from what we are learning. And many of them are also powerful stories about how people who are not part of the majority culture yet who learned to operate faithfully to God.  So there is much for us to glean for our day and time because we as people of faith here in Cascadia do not operate from a majority culture position.    

So today, we are launching into a brand-new teaching series on the Old Testament book of Esther entitled Truth To Power.  The story of Esther is a story about how a young immigrant woman moves from obscurity to the position of queen of the land and who, at great personal cost to her and her family, speaks a very difficult truth to power and saves her people.  But I’m getting ahead of myself and giving away the end of the story before we even get started! 

So let’s back up.  Because the story of Esther actually doesn’t start with Esther.  It starts with another queen, a woman by the name of Queen Vashti.  And today we are going to see how Vashti takes a stand against those in power and how that models something powerful for us.  If you have your Bibles or your devices, open them to Esther chapter 1.  The book is tucked away before the Psalms, just to the left of the centre of your Bible.  I’ll be reading the narrative from the New Living Translation…   

“These events happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. 2 At that time Xerxes ruled his empire from his royal throne at the fortress of Susa. 3 In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. He invited all the military officers of Persia and Media as well as the princes and nobles of the provinces. 4 The celebration lasted 180 days—a tremendous display of the opulent wealth of his empire and the pomp and splendor of his majesty.

5 When it was all over, the king gave a banquet for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were in the fortress of Susa. It lasted for seven days and was held in the courtyard of the palace garden. 6 The courtyard was beautifully decorated with white cotton curtains and blue hangings, which were fastened with white linen cords and purple ribbons to silver rings embedded in marble pillars. Gold and silver couches stood on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.

7 Drinks were served in gold goblets of many designs, and there was an abundance of royal wine, reflecting the king’s generosity. 8 By edict of the king, no limits were placed on the drinking, for the king had instructed all his palace officials to serve each man as much as he wanted. 9 At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.”

Let’s pause for a moment here and talk about power dynamics because we have to understand that in order to understand the book of Esther.  This king, Xerxes (which is his Greek name, history also records him as Ahasuerus - He is also mentioned in Ezra 4:6) ruled from 486-465 BCE.  History records that he was a very powerful ruler.

He was son of another powerful king, Darius and he is known for massive building projects as well as for successful wars against the Greeks.  His empire encompassed most all of the known world at the time, stretching from the Indian subcontinent to Ethiopia in Africa to Greece – this is a MASSIVE empire of 127 provinces.  He really was the most powerful person in the world at the time.  Like by a long shot!     

And so Xerxes wanted to show off and display how powerful and how rich he was.  So the biblical record gives us details on the powerful men at the feast, the duration of the feast, the décor… We are to read this and go “wow… this guy is powerful.  He is a man to be feared!”  Let’s keep reading and see what happens because we are going to see someone perhaps unexpected stand up to him and speak truth to power.   

Esther 1:10 “On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him…to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. 12 But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.

So again, let’s pause for a moment and explore this request a bit.  This is not a polite, well mannered ‘would you like to join me at my banquet’ kind of request.  In fact, the ancient historian Plutarch notes that it was the habit of a Persian king to have his queen beside him at a banquet, but when he wished to riot and drink, he sent his queen away. 

And Vashti is a smart woman.  She knew that once men start to drink in the volume at which they were drinking for the length of time that they were drinking, that nothing good was going to happen if she walked into that room.  The king was calling her for one purpose and one purpose only.  So that he could show off his most prized possession – his beautiful queen.  With that crown on her head saying to all who gazed upon her, this is mine.

Let’s be clear… This is not an innocent request. This is sexual objectification of the most base and degrading and demeaning kind.  Xerxes is turning his queen Vashti, into a commodity to impress others instead of honoring her personhood or even her position.  It’s no different than the king saying “bring out a bottle of chateau Lafitte from my wine cellar so I can impress my friends” or “go get have a look at my collection of rare cars so I can impress my drunk buddies.” 

It is never, never, never OK to treat a human being like an object.  This is what was and is so insidious about slavery or racism in any and all of its forms.  Because every person you have ever or will ever encounter is an image bearer of Almighty God and you do not have a right to treat them as less than such.  It mocks the Creator when you commoditize other human beings. 

And this is also what makes patriarchy, the view that somehow men are superior to and thus should rule over women, so disturbing.  This is a powerful differential that is undone in Christ – old hierarchies, old divisions are done away with.  Galatians 3:28 says “There is no longer Jew or Gentile slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” The ground is leveled at the foot of the cross.      

But back to Vashti…the power differential here is massive and cannot be understated.  This is not a marriage of equals, like we like to think of a king-queen thing.  In the ancient world, kings married to forge stronger political alliances (so you would marry the daughter of your conquered rival, for example).  We don’t know much of anything else about Vashti;’s background or her status but we do know that saying no to the most powerful man in the world was not an option.  Yet she said ‘no, I’m not coming” and this infuriated the king. Let’s keep reading…

12 But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger. 13 He immediately consulted with his wise advisers, who knew all the Persian laws and customs, for he always asked their advice. 14 The…seven nobles of Persia and Media. They met with the king regularly and held the highest positions in the empire.

15 “What must be done to Queen Vashti?” the king demanded. “What penalty does the law provide for a queen who refuses to obey the king’s orders, properly sent through his eunuchs?” 16 Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. 17 Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king.

18 Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. 19 “So if it please the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked.

It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she. 20 When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!”

21 The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel. 22 He sent letters to all parts of the empire, to each province in its own script and language, proclaiming that every man should be the ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases.[c]

So in a bid to preserve what they saw as an attack on the very social fabric of the empire, they send out a threat letter to the all 127 provinces saying “wives, do what your husbands tell you to do.” Again, let’s step back from this for a moment and ask “um how powerful is a king who is so insecure that he is going to spend the time and effort to reprimand all the women in his kingdom for the “disobedience” of one (1:12).

Yes, King Xerxes might be powerful, but it seems that his power is wielded arbitrarily, with fragile vanity and ego-driven pride.  Kind of sad and pathetic, isn’t it? And in 2:1, we see that upon sobering up and after his anger dissipates, he actually kinda regrets his decision!   

But the question for you and me is “what are we to make of all of this?”  What are we to DO with this text?  I mean, it is not very likely that you or I will ever be in a position like Vashti. Or is it?  You and I will not face the specific challenge that she faced, but we will face the challenge of having to take a stand for what is right when we don’t hold the keys to the levers of power. 

When faced with the choice to be objectified or to be cast aside, Vashti chooses deposition over dishonor.  She takes her stand, knowing that this will likely mean the end of her place of favour and privilege.  Unfortunately, aside from being deposed, we don’t know what happened - The biblical and historical record goes silent on her - but I want to pause for a moment and honour the incredible courage she modeled to stand up to those in authority in the way she did. 

And this is something that you and I will likely have the opportunity to do at some point in our lives.  I think, for example, of people who are a police or military officer and you see a superior doing something inappropriate but then you are told explicitly or implicitly not to say anything.  The chain of command or the old boys club kind of mentality is exerting a kind of power on you in that situation to cover up the truth by keeping silent. 

And speaking up when the balance of power is not in your favour takes incredible courage, as we have seen women within the Canadian Armed forces who have been victims of abuse do over the past number of years.

Here I want to say something very specifically about abuse and the power dynamics the perpetuate it.  If you are suffering abuse, emotionally, spiritually, physically or otherwise, you are not in a relationship that is healthy and you need to stand up, speak up and get out. 

We have many courageous women and some men here at Jericho who, when faces with the difficult challenges of a relationship where they have been disempowered and subjected to abuse, have made the difficult choice to take a stand and to get help.  And if that is you today, reach out to us. We are here to stand with you and for you on this difficult but courageous journey.  You need to hear that staying in a relationship where abuse is occurring is NOT OK.  The covenant has been broken. Be safe. Be smart. Reach out to Pastor Jenna or myself and get help.      

A word to students and kids: it takes courage when you are in a friendship group and someone is leading the group down a pathway that is inappropriate and wrong to take a stand and say ‘I am not going to that event with you’ or “I don’t feel comfortable with us watching this show”.  The social pressure to do what is right can be very high and can cost you something.  When you break ranks for reasons of doing what is right.  

Sri Lankan author and advocate Jasmine Obeyesekere Fernando says that “ We are Vashti when we break ranks from our tightly knit groups — family, friends, church, or community — and refuse to speak and act as they do when we feel it isn’t right, causing our group to feel uncomfortable and angry or even feel that they’ve lost face. We brace ourselves for the consequences. Perhaps a friend we like will stop hanging out with us. Perhaps we will have to live with the discomfort of constant tension with a loved family member. Discarded. Disregarded. Maybe even publicly humiliated like Vashti was.”

There are times when taking a stand is costly. So before we rush to applaud Esther for her wisdom and amazingly courageous work to save her people, we have to pause and acknowledge that Esther got to the place that she did because Vashti was brave enough to choose to pay a price for attempting to smash the patriarchy.  She took a stand against the power dynamics at play. She stood up for herself and for what is right and just.  But she paid a cost for that. And you might as well.    

And friends, this is true of any group as well when an imbalanced power dynamic is at play.  Historically, our forbearers as Mennonites were oppressed and even killed for their convictions by State actors and even other local churches because they were convinced of the need for personal repentance and the expression of water baptism.  And there are sisters and brothers around the world even today, even right now, in places like Myanmar and Syrian and Sudan and India who are persecuted because of their Christian convictions that are not in keeping with majority culture viewpoints in their society.

There are places where historic, orthodox Christian convictions will and do put you and I at odds with the majority opinion in our culture here.  And we have to name that and acknowledge that this means there is a cost to taking a stand for your conviction.       

Like we talked about last weekend, following Jesus is not always comfortable and safe.  Sometimes it puts us in conflict with the values and visions of this world.  But the invitation of God is still extended: Will you follow Me despite there being a cost?  Will you walk with Me and trust my care for you?  God is gentle and non-coercive in that invitation.  God will not demand something of you unjustly like Xerxes.  Yet when it becomes clear that there is a cost to following Jesus, be it financial or relational or vocational, will you and I still be willing to still say yes to that?    

This is a question that may not be in front of you right now but my hope and prayer is that when you come to that place where you need to take a stand and follow God, you will have the courage and the wisdom and the humility to say “though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back.”    

Maybe God is inviting you to something specific today.  Maybe to take a stand for something that you have let slide before.  Maybe to take a step of obedience and faith that have been putting off.  We would love to stand with you in that journey.  If you are watching out church online platform click the “Request Prayer” button now and that will put you into a private and confidential chat with one of our staff.  If you are watching online or YouTube or Telus TV, email us at and we would love to be in touch.

In invite you to sing these next two songs together with me in the posture of a prayer.  A prayer where we say “God, I may not be ready yet to follow you, But would me make me want to be ready.”  To stand for and with you for what is right and to walk in obedience in the good times and in the hard times.  I will follow you.