From a Vashti to an Esther Mentality Woman

From the book of Esther we know about the story of Vashti who was sent for by her husband after he had knocked back a few drinks during a large celebration. He sent some of his main guys to deliver the message that he was requesting the Queen’s presence.  She was busy with her own celebration with the ladies and was not interested in being summoned so she declined to answer him and instead stayed with her ladies eating, gisting and having her own fun.

This understandably angered the King, not only did she not respond and thereby robbing him of his desire to show her off to his friends and acquaintances gathered, her disobedience publicly made him look like he was not in control and embarrassing for him.

Now we can all relate to this can we not? Perhaps you are tired? You are having your own important gathering or busy doing something and therefore when your husband calls you or needs you for something you do a hand flick and say you are too busy to respond. Maybe you are not in the mood because you know he is calling you for something that in your view might be trivial (like Vashti who decided the husband was probably calling her in a semi-drunk state to be paraded in front of his friends and acquaintances).

However, there are always consequences to disobedience. The timing of this disobedience had a huge impact on Vashti one that might be debated, as being too harsh? Maybe unfair?. Whatever emotion you might want to use to refer to it the one thing that is clear is that it made her fall out of favor permanently and she was never heard of again.

The result of her disobedience led to the decision that she be dethroned, demoted and replaced with someone “better than she”. The men also had another motive to ensure that this behavior was not condoned else the other women, their wives would believe that it was okay to disobey their husbands this way. They were not willing to let this public show of disobedience to the whole king make their wives more defiant.

Anyway don’t you think that in hindsight Vashti wondered what she had been doing or talking about that seemed like a good enough reason not to answer her husbands call? She would most definitely have wished she could turn back the hands of time and not be sent away.  The men who advised the king to send Vashti away were sure to help in the replacement exercise before the King reconsidered his decision.

We see further on in the book Esther, who was a humble, beautiful and well brought up lady was made the queen. Later on there is another gathering that Esther requested for, her gathering was a godly gathering, she was fasting and praying with other women to be able to make a request of her husband, the same king, Vashti’s ex-husband.

The analogy here is how the same person the king, was affected by two different women able to use gatherings in two different ways. One was purely social which lead to disobedience and a fall while another was a gathering focused on God towards a positive outcome.

How can we turn Vashti gatherings into Esther gatherings? Not that there should not be time for social gatherings, to relax hang out and be with your girls. But have we considered using these gatherings in a positive way to change the state of affairs? As women using these gatherings, fasting and praying to positively influence our husbands? Pray for our children? The nation? Our marriages, families, homes and so much more? What about a session to pray about the internet and its effect on our children positively and negatively?

Let us use our gatherings to answer Gods call and not miss the opportunity to turn our gatherings into a positive tool. May we not be dismissed but instead by calling on God and being united in our goals be used as agents of change for good around us.

Move from a Vashti mentality to an Esther mentality.

Read more from Esther 1:1-21; 4:15-17

photo source

Scroll to Top