Esther 2 - Compromising Integrity

In Esther 1:9 we meet Vashti. She was the Queen of Persia and was giving a banquet for the ladies at the same time the king was giving a banquet for the men. At that time Persia was the largest kingdom in the world, including 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. This banquet had gone on for seven days and earlier verses tell us that quite a bit of drinking was going on. In 1:10 we see that when the king was “merry with wine” (in other words drunk) he commanded the queen to come before all the men “in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was beautiful.” There is not a reason mentioned as to why he did this, but we can guess that his intentions were not honorable.

We learn early in life that boys and men are at least initially attracted to girls and women by the way they appear. In my opinion too much stress is placed on the outward appearance. There is much more to a relationship than physical appearance, but many relationships seem to be built on that. We see television shows and movies where that appears to be the prime factor in a relationship. As you develop relationships I encourage you to do that based on the character of the people you meet rather than their outward appearance.

In verse 12 we see that Queen Vashti refused to come. She must have been aware of the potential consequence of her actions which could have included death. No one disobeyed the king’s command. One of the most important things we can learn from her is that she was not willing to compromise her integrity. She recognized the king simply wanted to treat her as an ornament or sexual object and was not willing to allow him to do that. The king’s request was very unusual in that culture because women did not allow themselves to be seen in public. She was brave, courageous and willing to take a stand.

You will face times in your life when you need to take a stand; when you know you should say “no”. There will be tremendous pressure to give in and say “yes”. That pressure may come from someone else or it may come from within your-self. When those times come I urge you to do what is right, regardless of what you think might happen. I can guarantee you that God will honor that decision. Each time you do that you will be strengthened and the next time the situation arises it will be easier to say “no”. However, if you give in once, it becomes extremely difficult to say “no” the next time.

As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives we develop convictions as to how God would have us live them. I pray you will remain true to those convictions regardless of the situation you face.