On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
On day seven of the king's banquet, his heart merry with wine, he sends seven named officers to bring Queen Vashti out before the crowd. That one order turns the whole book.
The seven men sent
These were not ordinary servants. Each of the seven ran a department of the palace, as one writer explains:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe seven chamberlains were eunuchs who held important positions. Mehuman was the chief officer. Biztha, going by the meaning of his name, was the treasurer. Harbona was the chief of the bodyguard. Bigath had charge of the women's quarters. Abagtha was the chief baker. Zethar was the chief butler. Carcas was the chief commander of the castle. The king sent these high officials to escort the queen to his feast.
A dictionary of Bible words defines the office:
Morrish Bible DictionaryEunuch who had care of the king's wives and concubines.
Why the king wanted her brought
So why send for her at all? One writer traces the order back to plain pride.
Leslie M. GrantOn the last day of the feast, Ahasuerus had no doubt consumed too much wine, and commanded seven eunuchs to go and bring Vashti back with them with the object of displaying her beauty before all the people (vv. 10-11). Why did he need to do this? Simply because it was to his credit that he had such a beautiful wife, just as all the glory of the kingdom was to his credit. Such is the pride of the natural man.
Commentators differ on what her refusal meant. One writer notes the Persian custom behind the scene: the king treated everyone as a slave except his lawful wife. Was her refusal open defiance, or self-respect? She may have refused to be ordered about by a drunken husband. She may have been unwilling to show herself in the middle of a drinking party. Or perhaps she simply had a feast of her own. Another writer holds her at fault: the refusal was an insult the king could not let pass, and obeying would have done her no real harm.
Splendour with God left out
What was driving a display on this scale?
William KellyIt is a vivid picture of earthly splendour, with no thought of God, true or false... Xerxes seems to be the king who held the general title used here. As Daniel had said long before, he showed himself far richer than all the kings before him. He thought of no one higher than himself, and he gave himself up to showy self-indulgence — all the more after his invasion of Greece failed completely. Under such unmatched grandeur you can make out shame and fear.
A hidden hand at the height of the party
This is where the celebration peaks — and where it breaks. The king's limitless power meets a limit it cannot cross.
H. L. RossierA weak woman resists Ahasuerus, and his limitless power is stopped. A grain of sand humbles all the pride of this huge, well-ordered empire. Vashti may be divorced, but her act stands, and the humiliated king has no power to make her appear in public... Right from the start we see the hidden providence of God at work. Man is full of grand plans: a feast lasting seven days, the high point of these long ceremonies, ends in Vashti's revolt against the king's decision.
The king gives the order. What comes of it is not his to control.
The picture it paints
One writer sees in this a pattern that reaches far beyond Persia.
William KellyIn what this points forward to, how true it is that the Gentile has been unfaithful and stubborn, going his own way and completely failing to show the world the beauty of one so favoured! The result will be what it was here: the call of Zion to be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD and a royal diadem in the hand of her God.
Another writer applies the warning to pride in a place of privilege:
Michael HardtVashti stands for that pride. Her humbling pictures in advance the judgment on those who carry the Christian name without the reality. After that, the "natural branches" will be brought back into the place of blessing and testimony — the olive tree — just as Esther is accepted once Vashti is gone.
Summary
- Wine — the order came on day seven, when the king's heart was merry with wine. What a man commands in that state shows what he is.
- Pride — the king put his wife on show as the last item in a display of all he owned — "such is the pride of the natural man."
- Emptiness — the whole display was earthly splendour "without a thought of God," and shame and fear lay under it.
- Providence — at the feast's high point, one refusal humbles the empire, and God's hidden hand begins to move.
- Reversal — Vashti is set aside and Esther takes her place. Judgment falls on pride, and blessing returns to those brought back in.