Esther 1 - Rash Decisions

Have you ever made a rash decision that you regretted? The book of Esther starts with a rash decision made by King Xerxes, while he has had too much to drink. His wife Queen Vashti refused to come before him and he banishes her from his presence.

This bring up one of the things that often happens for me when I read a Bible story, and that is the fact that their is information missing that I want to know. In this case, why did Queen Vashti refuse? We could speculate all kinds of reasons, but I guess we have to fall back on the idea that if it was important to God's message, it would be there. So obviously the reason is not important, just the outcome.

Now ultimately we know (for those of you familiar with this book) that the outcome on the king's decision to Banish Queen Vashti is good for the Jews, but let's take a closer look at this decision and see what we can learn from it.

So the circumstances:

• The King is in the middle of a long celebration that he has called to show off his wealth.
• The King allows everyone to drink as much as they want.
• Queen Vashti is holding her own celebration for the women at the same time.
• The King's motive was to show off the beauty of Queen Vashti.

So the King is trying to impress people, is certainly dealing with his pride and is buzzed with alcohol. Sounds like a pretty bad combination. When the Queen refuses, he feels shamed because he looks bad in front of his guests and he is not thinking straight because of the alcohol. Have you ever made a decision in this state of mind? If you have, it probably wasn't one of your finer moments, just as it wasn't the Kings.

I have a 24 hour rule that I try to follow as often as possible. When I have to make a big decision, I always try to sleep on it, give it 24 hours. This gives me time to pray about it and if I still feel like it is the right decision the next day, then I feel like I can make it with more confidence. Imagine if King Xerxes had followed this rule. Aside from the good that came from this situation eventually, a lot of regret and hurt could have been avoided if King Xerxes had taken a little time.

The next time you are walking into a big decision, remember King Xerxes, think about the decision and the circumstances surrounding it. Will a little humility on your part go farther than the consequences of a rash decision? Will time had give you more clarity? The decision will still be there if you give it time. Yes, you may have some people around you upset over the delay, but consider the end outcome!