When I say the Bible has examples for all circumstances in life; you can believe me, it does. Have you ever noticed when watching a movie, the hero is fully clothed and maybe even wearing a bad boy leather jacket? Have you noticed the heroine will either have on a muscle shirt or a skintight cat suit? Music videos are notorious for the men having on baggy jeans and a humungous jacket while the female in the video has on a skimpy dress or a two-piece swimsuit. Why must women be almost nude to be considered sexy? I think having a bit of mystery as to what is exactly underneath the clothes is more tantalizing to a man and let's face it, the nude girl is not the one he takes home to momma.
In the book of Esther, King Xerxes was showing off his vast wealth to all the nobles, officials, military leaders of Persia and Media, and princes. Xerxes ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to the upper Nile region known at that time as Cush. His display of his wealth lasted 180 days. After the 180-day display, he gave a banquet in his garden lasting for seven days. To this banquet he invited the everyday individual as well as the powerful. Wine flowed freely during the banquet. While her husband was entertaining the drunken men, Queen Vashti held a banquet for the women in the royal palace.
On the last day of the banquet a drunken King Xerxes ordered his seven eunuchs to bring his wife bedecked in her crown so he could display her to the other men as he had done with all of his riches (property). The king was angered when his beautiful wife refused to be displayed to his court of drunken guests. The king asked seven wise men, nobles, from Persia and Media what must he do to his wife for disobeying his command. The wise men told the king not only did his royal wife insult him by not obeying but insulted every man present and if he let his wife go unpunished other women would do as Vashti and disobey their husbands. Her punishment must be public, law, and severe. Vashti would no longer be allowed in the presence if the king and her position was now to be given to someone else. A proclamation went forth throughout the entire land that from the least to the greatest every man should be ruler over his own household Esther 1:1ff.
In this story the position of the woman is not even considered. Any husband following God, it seems to me, would not want to parade his wife, who we guess he loves, in front of a crowd of drunken men. We understand that Vashti was disobedient, but WHAT WAS THE KING. The wise men the king consulted were not concerned with a MARRIAGE but concerned about making sure their own wives remained obedient. In this entire account, the men did not display any wisdom.
When a couple married in the Old Testament, God declared the two became one. I wonder if the king would have paraded himself around in front of a drunken hoard of people at the Queens request. I also wonder when the Old Testament defined the Proverbs woman was Vashti trying to live up to that standard and not let herself be trotted around men for their carnal delight? Who in this chapter of Esther was behaving in accordance with God's commands? How far must a wife go in being obedient to her husband until her own soul in in jeopardy?
Nabal was a wealthy man married to Abigail. David and his army, while in his time of fleeing from Saul came into the territory where Nabal lived. David sent a messenger to Nabel reminding him that his army did not harm any of his servants when they had come upon them and asked for whatever he could spare at sheep shearing time, which David called a festive time. Nabal replied with a stern NO. David, not the least bit happy with this reply, gathered 400 men armed with swords and headed out to have a face to face with Nabal. A servant of Nabal's told Abigail of the exchange between her husband and messenger. Abigail wasted no time. She gathered 200 loaves of bread, 2 skins of wine, 5 dressed sheep, 5 bushels of roasted grain, 100 cakes of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs loaded them on a donkey and headed out to find David. She did all of this without telling her husband of her plans. She found David, pleaded her case referring to Nabal as a wicked man and accurately named - FOOL.
David blessed her and let her know she stopped the bloodshed of her husband, household, and people with her wise actions. When she returned home, her husband was drunk. The next day she told him what she had done and 10 days later Nabal fell dead; struck dead by the Lord. When David heard Abigail's husband had died, he sent word asking this wise woman to be his wife 1 Samuel 25: ff. Two examples of women who thought for themselves. Which woman was more of a Godly woman? Being pro woman is not anti-man. Being pro woman is being able to safeguard your soul and life
No comments:
Post a Comment