I have been Vashti.  Up until these past few years, I have not respected nor submitted to my husband.  In fact, I would say rebellious would be the word for me.  And the saddest part, other than my disobedience to God, is that my “kingdom” witnessed my rebellion and they too lost respect for the king of our home—their daddy.  I wish I could say that I didn’t know what I was doing, but the truth is, I did know!  As women, we can be manipulative, and have selfish motives. Maybe Vashti and I thought we would look stronger in the eyes of our people and the respect that we so deserved would be ours alone.  But it didn’t work out that way. Nor did it for Vashti.

Physically, she paid with her life.  Spiritually, I paid with mine.  It’s no coincidence that the Scripture Darlene referred to were the verses that changed my family.  Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

Did you see that word, everything?  That means we can’t pick and choose what we submit to, nor can we pick and choose which laws of God’s we are going to obey.  God doesn’t say “If your husband is a believer, then respect him and obey him,” does He?  No, He doesn’t.  And even if you are the spiritual leader in your home, like I was for a time, you still have to respect and pray for discernment and obey him.  God is going to honor your obedience and protect your decisions from harming your family.  He will place a hedge of protection around your children as He promises.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to be your guide and to fill your husband with wisdom as you practice obedience in this season of your life.  Submission comes easier to some, while others have to swallow some pride and realize it is not about that, it’s about being obedient in your walk with Jesus.

This verse also applies to Jesus and the body of believers known as the church.  We have trusted Jesus as our Savior and received eternal life.  In the New Testament, Jesus, the Bridegroom, has sacrificially and lovingly chosen us to be His bride.  Our responsibility is to be faithful to Him (Ephesians 5:24).

2 Corinthians 11:2 says, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him.”  As believers, we who are the Bride of Christ await with great excitement for the day when we will be reunited with Him. Until then we remain faithful to Him, and faithful to our earthly husband.

“The Queen must submit to the King” is the most important message of all. Who is our King? Jesus.  Who is His queen?  We are!  God commands that He is to be King over His household…that means all of us.  Esther 1:20-22 are the verses of today’s lesson.  We know that Vashti, for whatever reason, disobeys the king and does not show up at his banquet. As a result, he sends out a decree to his entire empire commanding that all husbands everywhere are to receive proper respect from their wives. The NLT translation says, “every man should be ruler of his own home and should say whatever he pleases.”  This is the way the chapter ends.

God is never mentioned in this book nor does He show up in any form.  No one prays and no miracles are spoken of either.  But God is in the shadows throughout the book.  He works behind the scenes, not with a visible hand of miracles, but with His invisible hand always providing.  For those of you who wonder if God is in your life because you haven’t seen Him in a while, or heard His voice in quite some time—Esther’s life is like yours, and God’s work in her own life will show you God’s work in yours.

Used with permission.
www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com

Let’s Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, we are weak.  We know that You have hidden things in this book that are deep and hard for us to grasp.  Help us to see that here is a story of all that You are able to do in our lives as we commit to being submissive and obedient to You.  Help us to tear down the veil of pride and bitterness and open up to being that respectful wife that You have called us to be.  Lord, if we aren’t married, may we submit to You in such a way that Your people will be led to You by the way we are living our lives.  Thank You for this book.   Thank You for the Holy Spirit interceding on our behalf. We love You and praise You.  In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.