The guests drank from gold cups, and each cup had a different design. The king was generous and said to them, "Drink all you want!" Then he told his servants, "Keep their cups full." While the men were enjoying themselves, Queen Vashti gave the women a big dinner inside the royal palace.
(Esther 1:7-9, CEV)
You have to admit. King Xerxes really knew how to throw a party. Again, there had to have been hundreds, if not thousands, of guests, and each cup had its own design. “Drink all you want!” he said.
Needless to say, “the men were enjoying themselves.”
Ahh. But now we add a new character to the story—a minor, but very important character.
Queen Vashti.
I actually like Queen Vashti quite a bit. She’s self-confident and steadfast in her ideals. She will prove to be a stark contrast to her king.
We don’t know much about her. She’s only mentioned in a few verses, but let’s speculate. We know King Xerxes had a harem—many wives and concubines. But only Vashti was queen. We can then guess she must have been quite beautiful, both in face and figure. She may also have been articulate and a good communicator.
But mostly, as we’ll soon learn, she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes to be right.
Even to the king.
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