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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 21 January 2025:
Note: Check out this video summary on Esther: https://youtu.be/JydNSlufRIs
Esther 1:1-4 — Now in the days of Ahasuerus….
The book opens not with God’s name, but with empire. Power, wealth, spectacle, and scale dominate the scene. The king of Persia rules from India to Ethiopia, and his greatness is measured in territory, luxury, and duration of display. For six months, he showcases his glory. The point is unmistakable: this is a world obsessed with visible power and self-exaltation.
Yet the absence of God’s name is itself instructive. God is not absent; He is unseen. The narrative begins by immersing us in a world that appears self-sufficient, confident, and sovereign. This is precisely where God often does His quietest and most decisive work. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that human power, however vast, is still temporary and derivative. The New Testament later exposes the same illusion, warning that the rulers of this age pass away even as they boast in their strength.
- Luke 1:5, Matthew 2:1 — In the days of Herod, king of Judea … Jesus was born in Bethlehem….
Esther 1:5-8 — When these days were completed, the king gave a feast….
The feast is extravagant, unrestricted, and indulgent. Everything is permitted; nothing is restrained. The text emphasizes excess — golden vessels, endless wine, no compulsion. This is freedom defined as appetite without limits.
But Scripture never treats unchecked indulgence as neutral. When restraint is removed, character is exposed. A culture that celebrates pleasure without boundaries inevitably confuses desire with entitlement. The New Testament echoes this warning when it describes societies that exchange self-control for self-expression and mistake indulgence for freedom. What appears generous is often corrosive.
Esther 1:9-11 — Queen Vashti also gave a feast…. Then the king commanded… to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at.
The narrative turns sharply. Vashti hosts her own feast, exercising dignity and leadership in her own right. But intoxication shifts the king’s posture. He summons Vashti not as queen, but as an object, to display her beauty before others. Some scholars believe the king was commanding Vashti to present herself with nothing on but her crown. Power now demands validation, not honor.
This moment reveals the heart of fallen authority. When power is disconnected from humility, it begins to consume rather than protect. The king’s command reduces a person made in God’s image into a spectacle. Scripture consistently shows that abuse of authority begins when leaders forget that power is entrusted, not possessed. Christ later reverses this entirely, redefining authority as service and leadership as sacrifice.
Esther 1:12 — But Queen Vashti refused….
Vashti’s refusal is brief, but seismic. She resists humiliation. She refuses to participate in her own degradation. The text does not moralize her motives, but it does highlight the consequence: defiance disrupts the illusion of absolute control.
This moment exposes the fragility of unchecked power. Authority that depends on compliance cannot tolerate dignity. The king’s anger reveals not strength, but insecurity. Throughout Scripture, pride is always destabilized by resistance, because it is built on fear of losing control. The gospel later reveals a radically different kingdom—one that advances not through coercion, but through willing surrender.
Esther 1:13-20 — Then the king said to the wise men….
What follows is almost absurd in scale. A personal insult becomes a national crisis. Advisors fear that Vashti’s refusal will inspire women throughout the empire to assert dignity, and so a decree is crafted to preserve male dominance under the guise of order.
Here Scripture exposes how injustice often masquerades as stability. Systems threatened by truth respond with legislation rather than repentance. Fear, not wisdom, drives policy. The New Testament later confronts this same dynamic when religious and political leaders seek to silence Christ, not because He is wrong, but because He threatens their authority.
Esther 1:21-22 — So when the decree was proclaimed….
The chapter ends with irony. A king who cannot govern his own household issues commands to control every household. A ruler who cannot master his own desires legislates dominance. The empire appears orderly, but it is already fractured.
This closing note sets the stage for the entire book. God will not work through overt miracles or prophetic speeches, but through the unraveling of human pride. Esther begins by showing us what happens when authority is divorced from humility, when power is severed from righteousness, and when control replaces trust.
The gospel ultimately answers this failure. Where Ahasuerus demands honor, Christ lays it down. Where the king asserts power through decree, Christ establishes His kingdom through the cross. Where human systems collapse under pride, God’s redemptive purposes advance quietly, faithfully, and irresistibly.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 21 January 2025: Examine how you respond when control is challenged or dignity is asserted. Ask yourself: Do I use authority to serve or to secure myself? Do I react with humility when resisted, or with defensiveness? Choose one intentional act today that reflects Christlike leadership — honor someone’s dignity, relinquish control where pride has crept in, or respond to resistance with restraint instead of reaction.
Pray: “Father, You see through every illusion of power and every display of pride. I confess how easily I confuse control with strength and affirmation with worth. Guard my heart from using influence to serve myself instead of others. Teach me to honor dignity, to lead with humility, and to trust Your sovereignty rather than assert my own. Thank You for Christ, who shows me true authority through obedience, true power through surrender, and true kingship through love. Shape my heart to reflect His way, not the world’s. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 