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My wife, Mary and I were out shopping with my oldest son who at the time was 1½ years old at the time. We were shopping because Mary was expecting our youngest, and we were preparing for his arrival. We spent about two hours shopping; by that time Gabe was getting tired and hungry. To try and calm him down I handed Gabe a bottle of Ensure that we had gotten from a goodies bag at one of the stores we visited. I handed it to him and he drank it down.

We drove to my folks who agreed to watch Gabe for the evening. That night when we arrived to pick up Gabe my mom asked us, “What did you give him to eat?” Because shortly after we left, Gabe became very animated, he was like a crazy child climbing on the walls. We could not think of anything that we gave him that would wind him up so much. That is until we remembered the bottle of Ensure. And as we read the label, we all broke out in laughter, because it said Ensure for pregnant women with extra energy. Unbeknownst to us we gave my son his first energy drink!

Some decisions we make can have repercussions. Like filling our child up with sugar and leaving him in the hands of my folks. It would be wise to read the small print on the label. Today I am starting a new series on Esther; my main topic today is on the subject of wisdom.

Esther is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. It has a message that I believe is very important for us today. As Romans 12: 2 says, “Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Esther chapter one gives us a detailed description of King Ahasuerus. (his Hebrew name). But his Greek name is probably more familiar to us. This is King Xerxes I. This is the same King Xerxes who fought King Leonitus at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. He was the king of Persia from 486-465 BC. The Bible tells us that Ahasuerus reigned over 127 providences from India to Ethiopia. The narrator wants us to understand that King Xerxes basically is the king of the known world. He was the world’s superpower at the time. He nickname was “The king of kings.”

In our text for today we are told that Ahasuerus threw a massive party, and we read the length of this party was six months. At the end of the six months, he throws another party for seven more days and he opens it up for even more people. This might all sound very exciting, but our author is painting a picture of how lost humanity is.

Then we are then introduced to Queen Vashti. The drunken king orders seven eunuchs to get Vashti and bring her back so that all present could look at her beauty. But Vashti refused the order of Xerxes. Why? Rabbinical tradition states that Ahasuerus wanted Vashti to appear in front of him wearing only the crown. This was horrible; the king did not have the greatest intention in asking his wife to be viewed by all those drunk princes & leaders. It is interesting that Vashti was the one who was honorable and not the king. Yet her decision came with grave consequences.

See the narrator is painting a picture for you and me to see, that King Xerxes looks like a god to the people. He is just a man. In fact, we are meant to laugh at this. This is satire. We are able to see that this guy who claims to be “the king of kings” cannot even get his wife to obey his command. This is all meant to be comical. Well, King Xerxes is not laughing. He calls a committee to let them know that Queen Vashti will not listen to him. This would be like if the president of the USA had a fight with his wife and he calls his cabinet together to figure this out. This is what’s taking place here. These guys are just as ridiculous as Xerxes is. His advisors tell him to write a decree that forbids Vashti from being anywhere near the king. That’s the story, but what are some of the lessons that we see from this story?

#1 – All your wealth and glory will fade and never bring true happiness. Imagine this is the wealthiest man in all the known world at this time. Where is all the wealth of king Xerxes now? Not with him. Friends, no matter how wealthy you are or how powerful you become, it will all fade one day. There are many people spend their whole lives pursuing more. More money, toys, house or a bigger whatever. The issue is not money, but the love of money. Do you love money? King Ahasuerus loved money. He loved to show his money off, his power off. Yet all that faded.

# 2. There really is only One “King of kings”, and His name is Jesus. King Xerxes thought it was him, it was not. We are given this picture of who he is. He might have reigned over 127 providences. But guess what? Jesus, He rules and reigns over the universe. There is no comparison. Where every Persian king would come and go, God reigns forever. Do not miss that. There are powerful people in our world. There are celebrities that draw our eyes and attention. We can be tempted to live for that, or long for that, or to worship that. All those things will fade. But there is one who will not fade, and His name is Jesus. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the true King.

Esther shows us the emptiness of the things that we pursue and the reality of God’s power and providence. Friends all your wealth and glory will fade and will never bring true happiness.

Until Next Week When We Meet at the P.E.W.

(Pastor’s Encouragement Weekly)

Pastor Joel