Esther 1:4

It was in the third year of his reign that he gave a great feast lasting 180 days (v. 4). He entertained all of his officials and servants, including representatives of the many provinces. What was his object? He wanted to impress them with the splendour of his own glory! The wealth spent on this celebration must have been enormous. No doubt he had many things to show these visitors to make them marvel that he had grown so rich.

The prophet Daniel had predicted this ostentation, saying: "Behold… a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece" (Dan. 11:2). History places "the third year of his reign" in the year when he decided on his mighty expedition against Greece. Greece had already resisted Darius, his father, and won. We have no doubt that all this display of luxury and power was meant to prepare that expedition. He planned it together with the princes, nobles and chief men of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of this immense empire.

It is a vivid picture of earthly splendour, without a thought of God, true or false. Nebuchadnezzar brought in religion of a base sort, and sought to force it on everyone. Xerxes seems to be the man holding the general title used here. As Daniel said long before, he showed himself "far richer than all before him." He thought of no one higher, and gave himself up to showy indulgence — all the more after his invasion of Greece failed completely. Under worldly grandeur, in efforts so unmatched, you can detect shame and fear. You can also see his wish to please the peoples of his vast lands, and to wipe out the memory of a foreign disgrace that might ruin him.

All the haughtiness that showed itself in Nebuchadnezzar reappears in Ahasuerus. This man of the earth shows no spirit or fruit of repentance. He learns nothing about himself, or about what suits him as a creature. The lie of the serpent, which shaped man at the beginning, is at work as earnestly as ever. The old desire to be as God speaks out in the Persian now, as it had before in the Chaldean. The one had built his royal city. He looked at it in pride and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" The other now makes a feast. For a hundred and eighty days he shows the princes and nobles the whole power of his realm.

God uses this monarch to picture for us divine authority and power at work as sovereign. His purpose is to show grace to His people and to hand administrative power to the man of His choice. Yet this king's limitless ambition seeks only to make himself equal to God, while he satisfies his passions. Only the Sovereign has the right to show grace; and this truth, hidden in the shadows, brought some comfort to this afflicted, miserable people.

Ahasuerus held his feast in the third year of his reign. It was to show the riches of his kingdom and the splendour of his greatness. God invites us to a gospel feast, prepared in His Son, who died and rose again on the third day. This feast displays the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us... While the Persian king displayed the glories of his great kingdom, God displays the glory of His grace.