There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones.
The Persian king has thrown his palace garden open for a seven-day feast, and verse 6 stops to describe the furnishings. Why does Scripture list the fittings of a pagan banquet, and what is all that beauty worth?
Splendour with God left out
The verse reads like an inventory of wealth. One writer notes what is missing from it, and sets this king beside Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king before him.
William KellyIt 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 one 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.
The old ambition in a new empire
This is not just expensive taste. One writer traces the display back to Babylon, and back further still to the serpent's lie.
J. G. BellettThis man of the earth shows no spirit or fruit of repentance — no learning about himself, or about what suits him as a creature. The lie of the serpent, which shaped man at the beginning, is working as hard 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 that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour 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.
A word that covers both linen and marble
The word behind "marble pillars" here simply means white. One writer shows how far that one word stretches.
J. N. DarbyThe Hebrew shesh means white, and so is sometimes used for linen — if it is not cotton instead. It is also used for white marble, Song of Solomon 5:15; Esther 1:6.
Beautiful things without the reality behind them
One writer takes the colours and metals of this verse one at a time, and asks what is left when religion copies them.
Leslie M. GrantVerses 6-7 describe the luxury of this feast. It shows how the religious world likes to take up for itself principles it sees to be beautiful, but which become only a show without reality. For 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 are of vital value to those whom the blood of Christ has redeemed. In the hands of people who are only religious in form, however, it is imitation, taken up because it looks attractive.
The feast this one only imitates
Another writer turns the picture around. The couches in this verse, and the king's open invitation, point to a better feast.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe couches of gold and silver at the king's feast were for rest. Gold and silver are symbolic of righteousness and redemption, and these are the couches, the resting places, for the believer. Ahasuerus invited everyone to his feast, and set no condition except 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.
What holds the King's eye
One writer sets this verse beside a wedding feast, and asks what the king in that story looks at.
The Bible TreasuryDo you ponder the hangings, the couches of gold and silver, and the marble pavement of Esther 1:6? Are these, or even greater glories, the furniture that attracts the king's attention? No. The wedding was "furnished" with guests. And every guest there spoke to the King's eye and heart of the unequalled sufferings of His Son.
Summary
- Display. The verse lists earthly splendour with no thought of God in it — a king showing off his riches and majesty.
- Display of self. Behind the hangings is the old desire to be as God. Babylon said it first, and Persia repeats it.
- Borrowed display. White, blue, purple and silver speak of purity, heaven, royalty and redemption. Here they are imitation, chosen because they look good.
- True display. Gold and silver stand for righteousness and redemption, and the couches are the believer's rest. Ahasuerus displayed his kingdom; God displays the glory of His grace.
- Whom the display is for. At God's feast the furniture is not what the King looks at. The guests are, because each one speaks to Him of the sufferings of His Son.