THE STORY OF JESUS: Esther 1:19-22
“Let the king issue a royal decree… that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes.” (Esther 1:19)
Where do we find our worth, who gets to decide our value?
Queen Vashti was valued by Xerxes until she disobeyed him, now she is trash to be discarded.
Now he is advised to find “someone else who is better”, i.e. beautiful and obedient.
Does our value lie in what others think of us, or in what God thinks of us?
How many people feel less valued because they do not measure up to societies standards.
Unattractive by today’s tastes, the wrong body shape or size, unmarried, birth defects.
Unofficial standards of beauty or strength are promoted.
Look at magazine covers or media celebrities, what does our society value?
See how fashions change: today it’s Vashti, tomorrow its someone ‘better’.
At root, value is based on self, what you do for me determines your worth.
The king’s advisers are looking to elevate a submissive queen, to make all women be submissive.
Our world is so twisted, where worth is determined by someone else’s self interest.
Jesus does not seek out the beautiful or the popular, He seeks out the rejected and the ignored.
Those who have been pushed out of the worlds presence, these are the ones Jesus spends time with.
Society’s outcasts are Jesus’ precious ones, of great worth and value to Him and to God.
It is not that He did not value the elite, but they were too self-absorbed to accept it.
He did not qualify as beautiful or acceptable, and they cast Him out too.
God has issued a decree that ALL are welcome and valued.
Your worth, your value, is NOT determined by what others think about you.
In God’s world, everyone is beautiful, is welcome, a part of His royal family.
May we not be too self-absorbed to miss out on this great, great news.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, our world is really messed up. Many people are discarded, unappreciated, or treated as worthless. Thank You for treating us all as equals – equally loved and forgiven and welcome in God’s presence!
Jesus follower
trying to find His way
Observations/Application
The king wanted to show off his ‘trophy’ – his beautiful wife but Vashti also had an inner beauty that those who partied were not interested in. This beauty can be seen by her disobeying the king’s order this time for she did not want to be on display. It is what is on the inside that counts.
Remember Samuel searching God’s next anointed to serve as king. It wasn’t the tallest nor the handsomest but the youngest who was chosen because God does not look on the outside but what is in the heart. From the heart comes the issues of life.
Men pleasers or God pleasers?
The nobles pleased the king and had come to the party for their own gain and privilege. Even the royal edit can not make one obedient to the king and his trite wishes. Remember Daniel and his friends.
Today we are still raising the position of women especially in third world countries be be their own and worthy of their place in society and not a slave in their household or society.
It is the heart of the person that makes a difference and a heart that serve God is all the difference in the world.
Heart and mind, possessions, Lord,
I offer unto Thee;
All these were Thine, Lord;
Thou didst give them all to me.
Wondrous are Thy doings unto me.
Plans and my thoughts and everything I ever do
Are dependent on Thy will and love alone.
I commit my spirit unto Thee.