"let a royal edict be issued by him and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is more worthy than she."The statement begs the question, what were the qualifications to be "more worthy" than Vashti? Her offense was refusing to come when the king beckoned. While this was an issue of compliance that put the king in a bad light, the basis for choosing a new queen was youth, virginity, and beauty. Hardly reflective of Vashti's offense.
How would the king know if he was getting a more compliant queen? Perhaps he conducted interviews in that regard prior to the night's activities, but I highly doubt it. Ahasuerus lived in excess and power, and the way he chose a new queen was the way he conducted his life and his empire. He took whatever he wanted, just as he took the young girls for his own harem (history tells us 400 of them). His passions were insatiable. If the next queen didn't suit him, she, too, was dispensable.
I suspect a question that continually lingered in Esther's mind was what is it that suits the king at the moment? Hardly a romance story, as it's typically depicted.
Image ~ Esther haram, Edwin Long 1829-1891
public domain via Wikimedia Commons
