Esther 1:5

The great feast that Ahasuerus held with his nobles and princes for seven days was apparently not held in any of the halls inside the palace. It was held in the open air, "in the court of the garden of the king's palace."

The capital of his empire was Shushan. It had a beautiful setting, surrounded by high mountains, crossed by streams and full of rich plant life. From the time of King Darius it was the home of the Persian kings. The word "palace" is better translated fortress or castle. The king showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and entertained the nobles and princes for six months.

It is a vivid picture of earthly splendour, without a thought of God, true or false. Xerxes seems to be the king who held the general title used here. He showed himself, as Daniel said long before, "far richer than all before him." He thought of no one higher, and gave himself up to showy indulgence. He did so all the more after the utter failure of his invasion of Greece. Under such unmatched grandeur you can detect shame and fear. He also wanted to please the peoples of his vast dominions and to wipe out the memory of a foreign disgrace that might ruin him.

The king wanted a grand conclusion to this event. So he invited all the people to a feast lasting seven days, held in the court of the garden of the king's palace (v. 5). Verses 6-7 describe the luxurious surroundings. This shows how the religious world likes to adopt principles it recognises as beautiful, but which become only a show without reality. White and blue linen speak of the purity (white) and heavenly character (blue) of God's testimony among His people. Purple speaks of royal character and the silver rods speak of redemption. All of these have vital value for those redeemed by the blood of Christ.

The great feast which he made reminds us of another feast which the Lord has spread... Ahasuerus invited all to come to his feast, with no other condition but to come. In the same way God wants all men to be saved. He offers the riches of His grace without money and without price. While the Persian king displayed the glories of his great kingdom, God displays the glory of His grace.

The guests who receive and accept the invitation have an entertainment far beyond the one Ahasuerus provided (Esther 1:1-8). It is like the light of the unclouded noonday sun above a glow worm's gleam. But the main idea is not how the guests will fare, or even how they will be dressed. It is what is worthy of Him for whose glory the feast was held, and who is in all things to have the first place.

The princes and nobles were entertained first. Then came the seven days for all the people in Shushan, small and great. But at the close, when it was least expected, a check came and gloom fell over everything.

This king had limitless ambition. He wanted only to make himself equal to God and to satisfy his passions. Yet God uses him to show us divine authority and sovereign power at work, with a view to showing grace to His people... God had turned away from His people. Even so, to the eyes of faith one principle of authority remained: the right to lift up and to bring low, the right to show grace.