Sometimes, the irony is so good, you can almost taste it.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is January 24, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called The Irony is Delicious. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Our readings for today are Genesis 25, Matthew 24, and Esther 1. Please open your Bibles to Esther 1.
When I was in college, I drove a red Jeep Wrangler. It was really fun: top down, doors off. I also enjoyed driving it in cold weather. It was especially fun in the snow. Except for when it wasn’t. About a year after the lovely Mrs. Whitacre and I were married, there was a giant snowstorm in our area and we got snowed in at my in-laws’ house. There was a lot of snow, a couple feet maybe, and I thought it would be fun to drive my Jeep around a bit in the snow. But I underestimated how deep the snow was in the road and I had barely backed out of my in-law’s driveway when I got stuck.This was very embarrassing. You know what was even more embarrassing? We had to use mother-in-law’s Ford Explorer to rescue my Jeep. I tell you this story not only because it is embarrassing and it is good for me to grow in humility, but also because it is ironic. There was irony in getting a Jeep stuck in the snow and having to get rescued by what I thought was an inferior vehicle.
Irony is simply a state of affairs that is contrary to what is expected, often with humorous results. In today’s Scripture for Students, we are beginning the book of Esther, which is another story that is loaded with irony. There are a number of twists and turns and at some points, the irony is so rich, you can almost taste it.
A little background here: King Ahasuerus is proud of how rich and powerful he is and he hosts a huge party with his noblemen and leaders. Follow along with me as I read Esther 1:10–22 and see if you can spot the irony.
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at.
12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.
13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment,
14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom):
15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”
16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.
17 For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’
18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.
19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.”
21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.
22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
Did you spot the irony in this story? It’s actually kind of a sad story: the king has had too much to drink and he calls for his wife to come because he wants to impress his friends by showing off her beauty. There were probably a lot of ways he could have honored her, but this wasn’t it. And she refused to come. And that throws the king and his friends into a tizzy.
The irony is in what the king and his friends do next. There is a lot of handwringing, because they all say to each other: if the king’s wife won’t listen to him, my wife won’t listen to me, either. So they propose a new law: if the queen won’t come to the king when he calls her, then she won’t be allowed in his presence at all! I’m sure there was a lot of cheering and high-fiving as these geniuses put into law what the queen seemed to want anyway.
And the irony is that now, the king needs a new queen. “Ahh, sorry about that boss.” This is ironic because the king does not have nearly as much control as he thinks he does. The first verse of the book makes the point that he is the king of all the land from India to Ethiopia. But he can’t even rule over his own house. And all these other guys are afraid that their wives will follow Queen Vashti’s example, too.
Sure, they could become the kind of men who earn a woman’s respect and don’t feel the need to boss her around or show her off. But… there’s the irony. If they can’t get what they want, they’ll just make a law. The story doesn’t tell us how this worked out for those guys, but it doesn’t have to.
There is an even bigger piece of irony going on here, but we’re going to have to read for a few more chapters to see what it is. But over the next week or so, we’ll see the irony that the king’s rude and wrong act towards his own wife and this ridiculous attempt to mandate respect from all wives would end up being used by God to deliver God’s people from a treacherous plot to destroy them. There is a lot more irony yet to come, so as we read over the next few days, keep an eye out for it. It’s delicious.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!