“Overlooked Stories: Queen Vashti”
Preached Sunday, August 10, 2025
CONTENT WARNING: This sermon discusses the Biblical story of the rape of Tamar.
We are continuing our “Overlooked Stories” sermon series this morning with Queen Vashti. This week I told someone I was preaching on Queen Vashti and she said, “Who?” And I said, “exactly.” No, I actually said, “The woman who was deposed as queen so Esther became queen.” And she went, “ohhhhh.”
Now, we heard part of her story today in the Scripture but it is not all of it, so allow me to share more. I, once again this week, gave myself a Scripture with many hard names to pronounce. Even more so than last week…so now I’m going to try and tell you the version without all the hard names.
Once there was a king. A very, very rich and powerful king. This very rich and very powerful king threw an extremely large banquet to show off his wealth and power. The banquet was not just for those in his inner circle but whole armies, the elite ruling class, the governors who ruled under his name - this banquet hall was overflowing with men - rich and powerful men - of which he was the most rich and powerful. And this king wasn’t just in it for a good time - he was in it for a long time - what a better way to show off his wealth and power. He could host a banquet, overflowing with food and alcohol, lots of alcohol, for 180 days.
And THEN, once those 180 days were over, he threw another party! Not just for powerful men but all men - and this party was also extremely lavish, over the top, ornate, a display of power, once again lots of alcohol - I am just going to quote the Scripture here: “Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. Drinking was by ordinance without restraint, for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as each one desired.” In other words…everyone was drunk and was given full permission by the king to do whatever they wanted without consequences. What could possibly go wrong? …but really, use your imagination, I am sure it wasn’t a very wholesome time.
And then there is this line that Queen Vashti, the wife of this very rich and powerful king, also threw a banquet for the women.
On the 7th day of this opulent party, when the king was, well, drunk - he commanded his wife be brought before this raucous seven day party full of drunk men who were given permission to do whatever they wanted. He wanted to show his queen off. Now, there are some interpretations that the King wanted her to not only come wearing her crown - but only her crown. Whether this is the case or not, it would seem that the King viewed his beautiful queen as yet another thing to be put on display to show his wealth and power. He showed off his ability to make the wine overflow, marble pillars, mosaics made with colorful stones and gems… why would he not also show off his beautiful wife to brag what a rich, powerful and “blessed” man he was.
Queen Vashti, however, said “No.” And the king was irate and burned with rage.
We can imagine that this rich and powerful king was not used to anyone telling him no. And certainly no one told him no for the last 187 days as he feasted and got drunk. But Vashti…Vashti said no. We don’t know the reason she said no. The text doesn’t tell us. Perhaps she knew she would not be safe in such a crowd of men. Perhaps she did not want to be humiliated and degraded in such a way. Perhaps she was just tired of her husband treating her as another fine possession, made a thing, treated as less than a full person.
We should not downplay the courage it took Vashti to say “no” in this scenario. The “Me Too” movement has highlighted how even in our modern day, power imbalances make it hard, if not impossible, for women to say “no” to men who have power over them - causing them to endure harassment and abuse.
And while Vashti was a queen - she was also a woman - and did not have the power to say no without consequences. The angry king consulted his advisors and they told him that Queen Vashti had committed an unforgivable and dangerous act. By her saying no to him, she would inspire other women to say no to their husbands, and perhaps even whole regions to say no to the king - her simple act could cause rebellions and was a threat to the king’s power. (To which I say…really?) She was to be banished - although some rabbinic traditions guess that she was actually executed - and another queen was to take her place.
It is at this point that the story may get more familiar to our ears. The king holds a beauty pageant of sorts, causing Esther to become queen and through her acts, she stops the genocide of the Jewish people, she is told by her cousin and father figure Mordecai: “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”
But first, let’s look back to poor Queen Vashti. By all measures that I use, Queen Vashti did the right thing in saying no to the king, her husband. She protected her dignity and safety. She refused to be paraded around as an object - especially in front of many drunk men. And while she may have done the “right” thing - she paid dearly for it.
And that, in essence, is the takeaway from this sermon today. The thesis, if you will: this world is unfair and filled with darkness, and as such, doing the right thing isn’t always easy and can come with consequences - but take heart, for God will always be with you.
This thesis, if you will, is in direct opposition to the popular heresy known as the prosperity Gospel that espouses that if people just simply do the right things, follow God, be faithful, pray right, etc, etc - then God will reward those people with health, wealth, and general well-being and happiness.
To preachers who preach this message I simply want to say: the disciples would like a word. The martyrs would like a word. Queen Vashti would like a word.
Because it’s actually the opposite. Faithfully following God and doing the right thing - which includes standing up to injustice and saying no to rich and powerful people who perpetuate injustice, like the king in our Scripture today - can have consequences. It can hurt our reputations, put us at odds with people in power, and have adverse effects - like Vashti being banished.
The fact of the matter is, we live in a world where there is darkness. There are forces - and people - in our world who value profits over people, often profits at the literal expense of people - including their lives; who value being right over relationships; who value power over mutual care and interdependence. Following God means always choosing love - love over profit, love over being right, love over independence. These are not popular choices in our world. But take heart - for God is always with us. And as our Gospel reading from John said this morning, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”
And yet, in the midst of the darkness of this world, we may ask ourselves, “Where is God in all this?” That’s actually a very appropriate question to ask when discussing Queen Vashti and the book of Esther as a whole. The book of Esther is kind of famous for being the only book in the Bible where God is not specifically mentioned.
Queen Vashti is not the main character in this story. She is used as a plot device to show what kind of man this king was - one who valued wealth over people, who listened to his advisors, who treated his wife as a thing rather than a person - and so she is cast out and enter Esther, a woman of Jewish descent, although she is to keep that a secret, and it is through her coming before the King, and pleading her case, something that well could have gotten her cast out like Vashti - that she stops a genocide of Jewish people that the king’s advisors were telling him to carry out.
But God - God is never mentioned specifically. To the astute reader, however, God is all over this story. God is with Esther and she assumed her position. God is with Esther as she pleads her case before the King. God is with Esther when the Jewish people are saved. God raised Esther up “for such a time as this” to do the right thing and save God’s people. And...God was also with Vashti. God was not just using Vashti as a plot device to bring Esther onto the scene. God was with Vashti when she claimed her courage, God was with Vashti when she said no. God was with Vashti, even as she was banished. For God is with all of us at all times.
The Bible is full of what we call “texts of terror.” The Bible depicts child sacrifice, rape, murder, genocide, and a plethora of violent acts. It is a good reminder that although something is Biblical, it does not make it Christlike. Our Bible is full of absolutely horrid things. I have preached on many of these horrid things before - but at a domestic violence awareness themed sermon that comes with many trigger warnings. I am not prepared to dive into all these texts today. But I will, briefly share, one story that has always stuck with me when asking the question, “Where is God in all this darkness, evil, and violence?”
In 2 Samuel, Tamar, the daughter of David, is raped by her half-brother, Amnon. Unfortunately, many people conspired to make this act of violence happen. And Tamar pleaded with her brother, begging to be spared from this violence. But she was ignored and this horrendous act of violence and evil was done against her.
Where in the world was God in the midst of all this?
God was in her no.
God was in her voice and agency when she said no. When she said no to protect herself. When she protected herself with her voice.
God was ignored by the perpetrators of violence in this text, we all have free will and can all ignore what God desires and choose evil - but that does not change the fact that God was with Tamar in her powerful no.
God was with Tamar in her weeping and screaming and rending of clothes that happened after.
God is with and in every voice that says no to violence. God is with and in every person who is harmed and weeps at injustice. God is saying no to violence with them. God is weeping at injustice with them.
While the story of Queen Vashti is not as explicitly violent as the story of Tamar - God was still with her in her courageous no. And in her banishment. God always sides with the outcast, the oppressed, the trodden on, the forgotten.
For some people, this may not sound like the Good News of the Gospel. What do you mean that horrible, violent acts still happen to people? Or could happen to me? What do you mean that my faith isn’t a magical amulet that assures me protection against bad things? And yet. I have found, for many, especially for survivors of acts of violence or those who are oppressed, there is nothing more Good than this Good News: God is on your side. God is in your “no” as you say no to the violence and hate in this world. God weeps with you when you weep. God does not want this for you or for anyone. God wants the day when all are treated as the beloved children of God that we were all created to be. The day when it is, on earth as it is in heaven…and until that day. God is with you. God is with them. God is with us. Take heart. No matter what darkness you have walked through, are walking through, or will walk through - you are never alone. God is with you.
The story of Queen Vashti - and of Esther - who was raised up to “such a time as this,” reminds me of a favorite quote from The Lord of the Rings. In the book this conversation happens between Frodo and Gandalf, in the movie it’s Pippin. But in the book there is a conversation that goes like this:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
For those who have lived to see dark times, in their lives and in the world, we wish these dark times had never come to us. And yet…we have to choose what to do with the time given to us.
My prayer and hope for us as we encounter dark times is this:
May we have courage.
Courage to stand up like Queen Vashti and Tamar and all in Scripture and our world who say, “No” to injustice and violence.
May we have assurance of God’s presence with us in all and every circumstance.
May all who are downtrodden, oppressed, cast out - may they, through us sharing God’s love and care with them, know that God is with them.
May we be faithful disciples of Christ who were chosen for such a time as this - to shine light in the darkness.
May it be so. Amen.
We are continuing our “Overlooked Stories” sermon series this morning with Queen Vashti. This week I told someone I was preaching on Queen Vashti and she said, “Who?” And I said, “exactly.” No, I actually said, “The woman who was deposed as queen so Esther became queen.” And she went, “ohhhhh.”
Now, we heard part of her story today in the Scripture but it is not all of it, so allow me to share more. I, once again this week, gave myself a Scripture with many hard names to pronounce. Even more so than last week…so now I’m going to try and tell you the version without all the hard names.
Once there was a king. A very, very rich and powerful king. This very rich and very powerful king threw an extremely large banquet to show off his wealth and power. The banquet was not just for those in his inner circle but whole armies, the elite ruling class, the governors who ruled under his name - this banquet hall was overflowing with men - rich and powerful men - of which he was the most rich and powerful. And this king wasn’t just in it for a good time - he was in it for a long time - what a better way to show off his wealth and power. He could host a banquet, overflowing with food and alcohol, lots of alcohol, for 180 days.
And THEN, once those 180 days were over, he threw another party! Not just for powerful men but all men - and this party was also extremely lavish, over the top, ornate, a display of power, once again lots of alcohol - I am just going to quote the Scripture here: “Drinks were served in golden goblets, goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. Drinking was by ordinance without restraint, for the king had given orders to all the officials of his palace to do as each one desired.” In other words…everyone was drunk and was given full permission by the king to do whatever they wanted without consequences. What could possibly go wrong? …but really, use your imagination, I am sure it wasn’t a very wholesome time.
And then there is this line that Queen Vashti, the wife of this very rich and powerful king, also threw a banquet for the women.
On the 7th day of this opulent party, when the king was, well, drunk - he commanded his wife be brought before this raucous seven day party full of drunk men who were given permission to do whatever they wanted. He wanted to show his queen off. Now, there are some interpretations that the King wanted her to not only come wearing her crown - but only her crown. Whether this is the case or not, it would seem that the King viewed his beautiful queen as yet another thing to be put on display to show his wealth and power. He showed off his ability to make the wine overflow, marble pillars, mosaics made with colorful stones and gems… why would he not also show off his beautiful wife to brag what a rich, powerful and “blessed” man he was.
Queen Vashti, however, said “No.” And the king was irate and burned with rage.
We can imagine that this rich and powerful king was not used to anyone telling him no. And certainly no one told him no for the last 187 days as he feasted and got drunk. But Vashti…Vashti said no. We don’t know the reason she said no. The text doesn’t tell us. Perhaps she knew she would not be safe in such a crowd of men. Perhaps she did not want to be humiliated and degraded in such a way. Perhaps she was just tired of her husband treating her as another fine possession, made a thing, treated as less than a full person.
We should not downplay the courage it took Vashti to say “no” in this scenario. The “Me Too” movement has highlighted how even in our modern day, power imbalances make it hard, if not impossible, for women to say “no” to men who have power over them - causing them to endure harassment and abuse.
And while Vashti was a queen - she was also a woman - and did not have the power to say no without consequences. The angry king consulted his advisors and they told him that Queen Vashti had committed an unforgivable and dangerous act. By her saying no to him, she would inspire other women to say no to their husbands, and perhaps even whole regions to say no to the king - her simple act could cause rebellions and was a threat to the king’s power. (To which I say…really?) She was to be banished - although some rabbinic traditions guess that she was actually executed - and another queen was to take her place.
It is at this point that the story may get more familiar to our ears. The king holds a beauty pageant of sorts, causing Esther to become queen and through her acts, she stops the genocide of the Jewish people, she is told by her cousin and father figure Mordecai: “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”
But first, let’s look back to poor Queen Vashti. By all measures that I use, Queen Vashti did the right thing in saying no to the king, her husband. She protected her dignity and safety. She refused to be paraded around as an object - especially in front of many drunk men. And while she may have done the “right” thing - she paid dearly for it.
And that, in essence, is the takeaway from this sermon today. The thesis, if you will: this world is unfair and filled with darkness, and as such, doing the right thing isn’t always easy and can come with consequences - but take heart, for God will always be with you.
This thesis, if you will, is in direct opposition to the popular heresy known as the prosperity Gospel that espouses that if people just simply do the right things, follow God, be faithful, pray right, etc, etc - then God will reward those people with health, wealth, and general well-being and happiness.
To preachers who preach this message I simply want to say: the disciples would like a word. The martyrs would like a word. Queen Vashti would like a word.
Because it’s actually the opposite. Faithfully following God and doing the right thing - which includes standing up to injustice and saying no to rich and powerful people who perpetuate injustice, like the king in our Scripture today - can have consequences. It can hurt our reputations, put us at odds with people in power, and have adverse effects - like Vashti being banished.
The fact of the matter is, we live in a world where there is darkness. There are forces - and people - in our world who value profits over people, often profits at the literal expense of people - including their lives; who value being right over relationships; who value power over mutual care and interdependence. Following God means always choosing love - love over profit, love over being right, love over independence. These are not popular choices in our world. But take heart - for God is always with us. And as our Gospel reading from John said this morning, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.”
And yet, in the midst of the darkness of this world, we may ask ourselves, “Where is God in all this?” That’s actually a very appropriate question to ask when discussing Queen Vashti and the book of Esther as a whole. The book of Esther is kind of famous for being the only book in the Bible where God is not specifically mentioned.
Queen Vashti is not the main character in this story. She is used as a plot device to show what kind of man this king was - one who valued wealth over people, who listened to his advisors, who treated his wife as a thing rather than a person - and so she is cast out and enter Esther, a woman of Jewish descent, although she is to keep that a secret, and it is through her coming before the King, and pleading her case, something that well could have gotten her cast out like Vashti - that she stops a genocide of Jewish people that the king’s advisors were telling him to carry out.
But God - God is never mentioned specifically. To the astute reader, however, God is all over this story. God is with Esther and she assumed her position. God is with Esther as she pleads her case before the King. God is with Esther when the Jewish people are saved. God raised Esther up “for such a time as this” to do the right thing and save God’s people. And...God was also with Vashti. God was not just using Vashti as a plot device to bring Esther onto the scene. God was with Vashti when she claimed her courage, God was with Vashti when she said no. God was with Vashti, even as she was banished. For God is with all of us at all times.
The Bible is full of what we call “texts of terror.” The Bible depicts child sacrifice, rape, murder, genocide, and a plethora of violent acts. It is a good reminder that although something is Biblical, it does not make it Christlike. Our Bible is full of absolutely horrid things. I have preached on many of these horrid things before - but at a domestic violence awareness themed sermon that comes with many trigger warnings. I am not prepared to dive into all these texts today. But I will, briefly share, one story that has always stuck with me when asking the question, “Where is God in all this darkness, evil, and violence?”
In 2 Samuel, Tamar, the daughter of David, is raped by her half-brother, Amnon. Unfortunately, many people conspired to make this act of violence happen. And Tamar pleaded with her brother, begging to be spared from this violence. But she was ignored and this horrendous act of violence and evil was done against her.
Where in the world was God in the midst of all this?
God was in her no.
God was in her voice and agency when she said no. When she said no to protect herself. When she protected herself with her voice.
God was ignored by the perpetrators of violence in this text, we all have free will and can all ignore what God desires and choose evil - but that does not change the fact that God was with Tamar in her powerful no.
God was with Tamar in her weeping and screaming and rending of clothes that happened after.
God is with and in every voice that says no to violence. God is with and in every person who is harmed and weeps at injustice. God is saying no to violence with them. God is weeping at injustice with them.
While the story of Queen Vashti is not as explicitly violent as the story of Tamar - God was still with her in her courageous no. And in her banishment. God always sides with the outcast, the oppressed, the trodden on, the forgotten.
For some people, this may not sound like the Good News of the Gospel. What do you mean that horrible, violent acts still happen to people? Or could happen to me? What do you mean that my faith isn’t a magical amulet that assures me protection against bad things? And yet. I have found, for many, especially for survivors of acts of violence or those who are oppressed, there is nothing more Good than this Good News: God is on your side. God is in your “no” as you say no to the violence and hate in this world. God weeps with you when you weep. God does not want this for you or for anyone. God wants the day when all are treated as the beloved children of God that we were all created to be. The day when it is, on earth as it is in heaven…and until that day. God is with you. God is with them. God is with us. Take heart. No matter what darkness you have walked through, are walking through, or will walk through - you are never alone. God is with you.
The story of Queen Vashti - and of Esther - who was raised up to “such a time as this,” reminds me of a favorite quote from The Lord of the Rings. In the book this conversation happens between Frodo and Gandalf, in the movie it’s Pippin. But in the book there is a conversation that goes like this:
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
For those who have lived to see dark times, in their lives and in the world, we wish these dark times had never come to us. And yet…we have to choose what to do with the time given to us.
My prayer and hope for us as we encounter dark times is this:
May we have courage.
Courage to stand up like Queen Vashti and Tamar and all in Scripture and our world who say, “No” to injustice and violence.
May we have assurance of God’s presence with us in all and every circumstance.
May all who are downtrodden, oppressed, cast out - may they, through us sharing God’s love and care with them, know that God is with them.
May we be faithful disciples of Christ who were chosen for such a time as this - to shine light in the darkness.
May it be so. Amen.
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