Queen Vashti’s Objected to Objectification

How do you make decisions? Especially when a “yes” to an order clashes with your conscience but a “no” lands you in trouble with those who have power or influence over you?

Objecting to objectification dealt dire consequences to an oft-overlooked woman who briefly appears in the Bible. Queen Vashti appears in chapter one of the book of Esther. Vashti is the dethroned Queen of Persia who is replaced by Esther.

What was Queen Vashti’s fault? The king wanted her to appear at the banquet he was hosting and “she refused to come.” We are told this was “in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.” Her refusal to comply with the king’s order infuriated him. [1]

Queen Vashti had been hosting her own party for the ladies of the land. She was being a dutiful. We read that it was “when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine” that he gives the order for her to be brought into a room full of excessively drunken men like himself. He wanted to “display her beauty” to the men because “she was lovely to look at.” [2]

Queen Vashti did not want to do it. In refusing to come, she set herself apart from the king’s property. He had been showing off his vast wealth to people for 187 days. [3] She was not a thing. She was a person. Her decision was wise compared to his foolishness.

The king’s ego was injured. He commanded a vast domain. He asked his counsellors for a just punishment for her disobedience. His final decision to dethrone Queen Vashti was spun as a saving act for other men whose wives might dare disobey their orders. [4]

“Later when King Xerxes' fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.” [4] Regret came, but was fleeting, as his attention turned to the process of finding a new bride.

Queen Vashti was not able to change the culture, but her act made way for God to send another woman (Esther) behind her. Esther was a woman of strong faith in God. She leaned on God with the fasting and prayer support of others. [6] God empowered Esther to save both the king’s life from assassins [7] and from a coups by his righthand man (Haman). [8] These victories led to the preservation of the Jewish people from evil plot to have them all exterminated. [9]

Queen Vashti’s refusal to cave to abuse preceded Queen Esther’s reign. Both queens were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the cause. [10] Esther had the extra benefit of godly counsel from Mordecai [11] as well as the prayer support of others who were willing to fast for her situation. God, a godly man, and godly people empowered her. Towards the end of the story, we read that Queen Esther issues a royal decree, most likely a first for a woman in the kingdom of Persia. [12] Queen Vashti’s objection to objectification was the right choice.

[1] Esther 1:9-10
[2] Esther 1:11-12
[3] Esther 1:3-8
[4] Esther 1:16–19
[5] Esther 2:1
[6] Esther 4:16-17
[7] Esther 2:21-23
[8] Esther 6:6-9; 7:6
[9] Esther chapter 9
[10] Esther 1:12; 4:16
[11] Esther 2:20
[12] Esther 9:26-32