Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment,
The king is furious at Vashti's refusal, but he does not pass sentence himself. He hands a private insult at his own feast to the men who "knew the times" — and it becomes business of state.
Who the Wise Men Were
The verse calls them wise men who knew the times. One writer names who they were, and what the king then did with the case.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAt once the king called the wise men — the astrologers, the magi and the sorcerers. His private council was made up of seven princes, the princes of Persia and Media, who ranked next to the king. They sat with him and the wise men to take up this serious matter. The question is what should be done to Queen Vashti according to law, because she has not obeyed the command King Ahasuerus sent through his officials. So the king hands the case over to the wise men and the seven princes.
A Private Insult Made Public Business
The insult was personal to the king. His advisers told him it struck at the whole state — and that, one writer says, exposes the king himself.
H. L. RossierViolence is never a sign of strength. On the contrary, it shows the weakness of a man who cannot govern himself. That weakness shows itself again in another way. Ahasuerus claimed to be a god-like ruler, yet he is the plaything of his favourites. He lets them take his place, and the price is that he turns on them in revenge if they displease him. Let us add this too. The decision about Queen Vashti concerned him alone, yet he surrounds himself with counsellors who persuade him that the queen's act strikes at the whole organisation of the state.
Why He Had to Ask at All
The king asks what should be done according to law. That one phrase separates Persia from an older kind of kingship.
Leslie M. GrantThe Medes and Persians took pride in having just laws that could not be changed. So the king's question was what should be done according to law. Nebuchadnezzar would not have needed such advice. He was an absolute dictator: he executed anyone he wished, kept alive anyone he wished, raised up anyone he wished and put down anyone he wished.
What the Counsellors Were Afraid Of
The advisers were not weighing Vashti's motives. They were weighing the example she set for everyone else in the empire.
H. L. RossierIn the chapter before us now, we see Vashti, the Gentile wife, showing her rebellion, her disobedience and her lack of submission toward the one whose favour had lifted her up to the throne. She is proud of her position and her privileges. She is not afraid to show her independence from the head she depends on, and she refuses to display her beauty in public. According to the wise men who surround Ahasuerus, Vashti's revolt, if it were tolerated, would give approval to individual independence throughout the kingdom.
The Limits of Absolute Power
The king had to call a council because he could not get what he wanted by ordering it.
H. L. RossierOne weak woman resists Ahasuerus, and she holds his limitless power in check. A grain of sand humbles all the pride of this huge and well-organised empire. Vashti may be divorced, but what she did stands, and the humiliated king has no power to make her appear in public.
Another Hand at the Council Table
The counsellors thought they were settling a quarrel in the palace. One writer names their advice as a step in something much larger.
C. H. MackintoshHow clearly all this is seen in the book of Esther. Vashti's beauty, the king's pride in it, his improper command, her angry refusal, the advice of the king's counsellors — all of them are simply the unfolding of the Lord's ripening purposes. Of all the beautiful young women gathered at the palace in Shushan, not one could be allowed to win the king's heart except Esther, the daughter of an unknown Jewish family, an orphan left all alone.
Summary
- Anger — the king's fury at a refusal shows a man who cannot govern himself, and who lets his favourites take his place.
- Counsel — the king calls in astrologers, magi and seven ranking princes, and a matter that touched him alone becomes business of state.
- Law — he asks what to do according to law, because Persian rule bound even the king, unlike the absolute rule of Nebuchadnezzar.
- Limit — one woman's refusal stops the whole machinery; a grain of sand humbles the pride of the empire.
- Providence — the pride, the refusal and the advice all worked out purposes no one in that room could see. They cleared the throne for an orphan girl.