Who has never made an important decision under the pressure of the moment, or out of vanity, only to realize the size of the damage afterward? Xerxes, the most powerful man on earth in his day, went through this more than once, and nearly paid a terrible price for it.
He ruled the Persian Empire, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Cush (Esther 1:1). After displaying his wealth for a hundred and eighty days, he gave a seven-day banquet for the people of Susa, and on the last day, already merry with wine, he sent for Queen Vashti to show off her beauty before everyone. She refused, and he deposed her that same day, in a fury (Esther 1:4-19).
Years later, a young Jewish woman named Esther entered the palace and won the king’s heart more than any other woman (Esther 2:17). Xerxes crowned her queen without knowing that she was hiding her origin, or that this choice would one day save her people from destruction.
The king trusted those close to him too much. He promoted Haman to the highest position in the kingdom and, without investigating, authorized a decree to exterminate all the Jews of the empire, simply because Haman hated one of them (Esther 3:1,10-13).
A decree sealed with the king’s ring could not be revoked (Esther 1:19), so Esther risked her life to plead, “Spare my life, this is my petition. And spare my people, this is my request” (Esther 7:3). Before that plea, on a sleepless night, Xerxes had already read the record that proved the forgotten loyalty of Mordecai, Esther’s cousin.
Faced with her plea, the king turned against his own advisor, ordered Haman executed, and issued a second decree, allowing the Jews to defend themselves (Esther 7-8). The same man who had authorized the death of a people became the instrument of their salvation.
Xerxes’ story is unsettling because he never seems to have sought God, and yet God used his throne, his wine, and his sleeplessness to protect his chosen people. Anyone who has ever regretted a decision made under pressure knows how easy it is to sign something serious without weighing its reach.
The book of Esther never mentions God’s name, and perhaps that is the point: he remains in control even behind the scenes of the mightiest empires, moving even kings who do not know him to fulfill his purposes.
