Read Vashti’s story in Esther 1:1–21.
Vashti seemed to have it all. Her very name meant “lovely.” And Vashti was lovely. She also had a grand title: Queen Vashti. Her husband was the mighty King Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
Vashti and the king were wintering at the citadel of Susa—the winter home of the Persian kings. In his third year as king, Xerxes hosted a banquet for his nobles and officials and military leaders and princes. For one hundred eighty days, the king showed off his great wealth and his glory.
Then he gave a seven-day banquet in the palace garden for people of every class, from the least to the greatest. And this wasn’t your ordinary garden. Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of white linen and purple material attached to silver rings on marble pillars. Gold and silver couches sat on mosaic pavement of marble, porphyry, mother-of-pearl, and other beautiful stones. Servants served wine in goblets of gold.
Because it was improper in Persian culture for men and women to be entertained in the same place, Queen Vashti hosted the women in the palace.
On the last day of the banquet, the king was drunk and commanded his seven eunuchs to go and bring the queen to him. He wanted to put Vashti on display like a trophy. The king’s men crashed Vashti’s party and delivered the king’s message to her.
What would she do?
He was the king, and he usually treated her very well. Vashti did enjoy a lot of nice things and special privileges because of her position as queen. But Vashti chose to tell the king, “No way.” She refused to parade around in front of a bunch of drunken men.
Vashti’s refusal wounded King Xerxes’s pride, and he threw a fit. The king took his concerns about law and justice to the men who served him. “Queen Vashti didn’t obey my command,” he told them. “According to law, what must be done to her?”
One of them said, “Queen Vashti messed up big time. All women will learn she said no to you, and if you don’t do something drastic to her, we’ll all lose control of our women.”
King Xerxes kicked Vashti out of the palace. She could never enter the king’s presence again. Vashti lost her crown, her position in society, her home, and all the nice things that came with it. But she didn’t lose her values.
Vashti didn’t lower herself to the king’s drunken level. She didn’t give away her dignity. Yes, it was a high price to pay, but Vashti left the palace with her self-respect intact.
How important are material things to you? Do you value the latest fashions, designer electronics, and iffy friendships more than your reputation? Are they more important to you than your godly character? More important to you than your faith in God and making decisions that please him?
Are you willing, like Vashti, to give up temporary and material things to do the right thing?
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
— Proverbs 22:1
I will choose integrity over human praise and material things.
God, thank you for giving me your name through Jesus. Thank you for making me your daughter. Help me learn your ways and remain loyal to you. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Poorphyry is purple volcanic rock that formed large crystals.
Mother-of-pearl is the hard inside layer of an oyster shell.
A citadel is an armed castle or well-protected fort.
Eunuchs were men who no longer had their external genitalia. Because of that, kings trusted them with the women in the royal palace.
Real beauty is beauty people can recognize even when they can’t see your face. They can talk to you on the phone or read an email from you and know you have beauty of character. True beauty is a gorgeous heart that seeks to know God and to follow his ways.
If Vashti sat around with you and your friends while you all plaited, or braided, each other’s hair, I think she’d talk to you about boys. Yep, boys. And modesty.
She’d tell you that sometimes we girls are tempted to wear things and do things for boys because we think that will make them like us more. We might be talked into showing off our bodies with inappropriate clothing. Vashti would probably tell you not to parade around like that just to get some guy to notice you and like you more—even if he’s king of his own little universe.
It’s super important to be decent in the way you dress and act around boys. You don’t want to give them the wrong idea. You don’t want them to think they can treat you like a piece of property, the way King Xerxes treated Vashti.