King Xerxes was hosting a celebration! He sounds like a teenager throwing a party for his peers while his parents are away! After 180 days of pomp and ceremony, he then extends an invitation to all the people who were in the fortress of Susa to attend a banquet for another seven days in the courtyard of the palace garden. Scripture tells us, that "at the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes." King and Queen both hosting festivities of grandeur, but one is about to be interrupted.
Under the influence of a great deal of wine, the King on a whim, decides he wants to give a little "show and tell". Vashti was a beautiful woman and her husband wants to put her on display for all to see. His pride had turned to perversion. King Xerxes desires to present his queen as a "living trophy of his power and glory" (Karen H. Jobes). This was a summons that would accentuate his control, not only over his kingdom, but his wife.
However, when the eunuchs issued her the king's command, Vashti refused to comply. We are not told why she rejected the orders, but she did. We can surmise reasons. Maybe out of loyalty to the women she was currently hosting she didn't want to leave her celebration. It's been suggested that she could have been pregnant and so she didn't want to appear before the men in public. She may have been carrying a grudge from some earlier marital argument and in anger was not about to let her husband tell her what to do. Whatever the cause, she said 'no' to her king.
Have we ever said 'no' to our King? Oh, I'm not referring to our "Prince Charming" for those of us who are married. I'm wondering, have we ever responded with a definite 'no' when the King of Kings has asked us to come to Him? How He longs to spend time with us. Obedience is the focus of our faith. We are taught to trust and obey, but do we always? What if He seems to be clearly leading us where we don't want to go or do something we definitely don't want to do? And what if we say 'no', will God continue to love us?
I think, more often than not, we table the request God has presented, the one with which we are struggling, turning off our hearts to the matter. Rather than wrestle through to a decision, we delay an answer until a later time, probably hoping that in the interim the Lord will remove the ask. Most often fear and inadequacy are the basis of our refusal. God wants to hear our thoughts as we battle through to a place of acceptance and peace.
If we are honest, and possibly without realizing it, we say 'no' to God daily. We might not outwardly, blatantly and boldly disagree with our Sovereign Ruler, but when considering His commands throughout Scripture, do we always say 'yes'? Maybe we hear a convicting message that stirs our hearts and we know the Holy Spirit is prompting us to act, but we walk away unchanged. Possibly we have become aware of a sin that we have not only refused to confess, but still indulge. Our actions are saying 'no' to God. What about God's Word today to our heart that asks us to forgive another or pray for those who despitefully use us? Are we continually saying 'yes' to His teachings?
When God asks us to do something that we want to avoid, or it just sounds too hard, He is gifting us a new opportunity to experience Him. There are many others here on earth we will and must say 'no' to, but our King should not be one of them. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 18:30, God's ways are perfect and any invitation He extends to us will be for our good and His glory. Today let's say 'yes' to our King.
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