The Precursor to Freedom

by Shannon Steuerwald

The account of the rebellion of Vashti in the book of Esther was written with a fair amount of detail.  The rebellion and eventual replacement of Vashti took place almost five hundred years before Christ; but even then, people recognized that actions speak louder than words.  When Vashti refused to obey the king, the princes and the king himself were worried that this act of defiance would give the entire female population permission to defy their husbands.  Sin is contagious, and the king and his princes knew it.

The king and his administration acted quickly to issue a simple decree that wives should “give to their husbands honor, both to the great and small” (1:20).  The decree was published over the entire empire and in every language of the empire.  The king was serious about this decree!  I think you could say that Vashti’s lack of submission probably woke up many a stale marriage.  We know it woke up the king.

The story of Esther gets even more interesting, and the lesson learned is not necessarily written in the pages of this story but rather in between the lines.  I read that Esther went against social culture, royal practices, and the king’s laws twice in order for her to save the Jews.  So why did the king not see her actions as defiance?  Why did he not issue a decree warning women that they should not defy their husbands?  What made the king listen to Esther or even entertain her actions that were against royal procedures?

The first thing I noticed was the timeframe leading up to Esther’s attempts to save the Jews.  Esther married the king during the king’s seventh year of his reign (2:16).  It was not until the twelfth year of his reign (3:7) that Esther had to confront him with the wickedness of his top officer Haman.  For five years Esther had been married to the king; and she must have honored him, respected him, and valued him because it mentions that when the king saw her, Esther immediately “obtained favor in his sight” (5:2).  Do I show my husband honor, respect, and value to the extent that when I walk in the room, he immediately sees my presence as favorable and desires for me to be near him?  It was not the king’s immediate thought to ban Esther from his royal presence.  He did not shame her by telling her what she should have done in order to see the king.  No, he immediately gave her permission to enter and then asked her what she wanted.  And believe it or not, he offered her half of the kingdom before she could even answer.  This man loved this woman!  Set aside royal culture, Jewish poverty, and kingly laws—these two people had a respect for each other that evidenced itself in their actions.  Grace and mercy prevailed in their relationship.

The second thing I noticed about this relationship was the king’s response to the injustices done to Esther and her people.  He dealt with the foe, he gave power to the Jews, he promoted Mordecai, and he allowed Esther to undo the wrong that Haman devised.  The king trusted Esther to do the right thing (8:8).  He welcomed Mordecai because Esther told the king how much Mordecai had done for her (8:1). (This may be the first mention of a man enjoying his in-laws.)  And together with the king’s permission, Esther and Mordecai played an instrumental role in saving the Jews from destruction.  But it was all made possible because leading up to these events, Esther must have handled herself properly as the wife of the king.

I am reminded of John 8:32 where we are told the “truth shall make us free.”  Esther is a prime example of this principle—the truth is that submission brings freedom in a marriage.  I am not talking about freedom to do wrong, but rather freedom to be trusted, freedom to approach our husbands humbly without fear of negative consequences, freedom to appreciate differences and enjoy the similarities, freedom from undue criticism that comes from resentment and disrespect, freedom to love completely without insecurities, freedom to make mistakes and room to learn how not to make them, freedom to grow together in dependence upon God, and freedom to show each other unconditional love.  The truth will make us free if only we can do the truth.  I John 1:6 mentions that when we say we have fellowship with God but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not the truth.  As a wife, I want to say I love my husband and I want to actively show him that I love him so that I am not a liar to myself or others and so that I can say that I am walking in the truth.  The truth is our precursor to freedom, but the catch is that we have to do the truth to enjoy the freedoms.

Although the Bible does not directly write that Esther honored her husband, respected him, and loved him with all her heart, it is obvious that she did all of the above.  Only a man that is honored, respected, valued, and loved unconditionally would respond to Esther the way the king did.  The truth made Esther free—in more than one way!