In Esther, a constitutional law passes to subjugate women and exalt men

Esther 1:19-22

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.” Esther 1:19

King Ahasuerus, who was narcissistic and grandiose, got what he wanted from the lawmakers: a legal way to ruin the reputation and influence of his wife, Queen Vashti. She had publicly humiliated her husband by refusing to jump when he said to jump. He demanded her submission, but she sought her empowerment. Their heads clashed in a stubborn conflict. A law was passed that banned her from the king’s presence and would give her high-profile position to someone who the king considered worthy of him. That law was like a constitutional amendment that could not be altered and would become the law of the land.

In the global culture of today, an implicit rule demands that people admire and submit to the governing power. This power gives people their thoughts, feelings, actions, and words to animate the image of the beast to live and speak through them. Those who resist its influence are ostracized from its social network and stripped of their social approval, dignity, and esteem. Therefore, people around the world conform to the beast’s culture and are groomed to the mark of the beast through their words and deeds.

“When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small. And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. Then he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.” ” Esther 1:20-22

The constitutional amendment aimed to give men authority over their wives, regardless of their social status. The king, who was narcissistic and grandiose, had written the new law to suit his own desires. He wanted to legally subjugate and objectify women, and to blame the queen for the unpopular law. Such an action would cause widespread resentment and hostility towards the queen from people of all classes.

The phrase, “…all wives will honor their husbands…” does not reflect the Spirit of the scripture that urges wives to honor their husbands. The king’s law, driven by his narcissism and grandiosity, reduced women to commodities, objects, or dolls, rather than human beings. The king’s law also unleashed the worst of human nature by allowing men to treat their wives like livestock and provoking resentment, revenge, contempt, and violence among women.

The Scripture advises women to respect men as a way of overcoming the animalistic human nature. By putting Jesus Christ in charge of the household, the Holy Spirit removes the need for one spouse to dominate the other. A home where Jesus Christ is the leader is a home where women are not abused and where women do not harbor resentment or revenge.

These verses should be repeated, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.” Ephesians 5:25-28

People who are narcissistic and grandiose prey on the vulnerable ones whom they perceive as weak and defenseless. In that light, they would view women as the weaker vessel and a thing to be dominated and subjugated. The Holy Spirit has a word to say about how we should treat the “weaker vessel”, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11