Esther 1:8

The king displayed his enormous wealth and his abundant possessions. The wine of the kingdom flowed in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. There was perfect freedom; each could drink to his heart's content. The king had instructed the officers "to do as each man desired."

Ahasuerus had the wealth for it. So he could show a most generous spirit in this great provision, and at the same time fully indulge the people's own wish about whether or not they wanted to drink. This is a striking imitation of the grace of God. God provides every need with no legal bondage, and He encourages each believer to act on his own faith. But even in Christendom, ungodly men turn the grace of God into lewdness (Jude 4) — just as the king was thinking only of his own pleasure.

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 compel it on all. Xerxes seems to be the king who now held that general title. As Daniel said long before, he showed himself "far richer than all before him." He thought of no one higher, and he gave himself up to showy indulgence, all the more after his invasion of Greece failed completely. Under such unmatched grandeur you can see shame and fear. You can also see his wish to please the peoples of his vast dominions, and to wipe out the memory of a foreign disgrace that could ruin him.

I take it, however, that it was really Xerxes. One reason is the character of the man: a man of enormous resources, unbounded wealth, immense luxury and vanity. He was also a man of the most arbitrary and unpredictable character... He was simply a man who lived to please himself. He gratified his tastes and passions with the ample means that God's providence had put in his hands.

The king had his joy with his subjects at this earthly feast. In the same way, God rejoices in those who come to the table of His love, and those who accept His invitation rejoice in Him... Ahasuerus invited all to come to his feast, with no other condition than 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.

But a check came and a gloom was cast over everything when it was least expected, at the close, after the princes and nobles had been entertained, and the seven days had followed for all the people, small and great, present in Shushan.

Man is full of grand projects. A feast lasting seven days crowns these long ceremonies — and it leads to Vashti's revolt against the king's decision. Her dismissal is decreed and cannot be reversed, yet no one carries it out until Ahasuerus returns. Only then can the Jewish wife, prepared by Providence, come on the scene and take the place of the Gentile wife at the right moment.