Idiocracy and the Quiet Goodness of God
As our friend and teacher Kay Higuera Smith pointed out on Sunday, the writer of the ancient book of Esther begins the story by inviting us to be amazed, even to laugh aloud, at a ludicrous depiction of wealth and of power run amuk.
4 For a full 180 days [King Xerxes] displayed [at a banquet for his nobles and officials and military leaders] the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. 6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. 7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality… 10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. - Esther 1:4-12
So much opulence, so much drinking, for more than six months… It is ridiculous! And then to see how the wealthy and powerful overreact in the face of a small slight… Vashti, Xerxes’ queen, refuses to display herself before this drunken crowd of men, and they quite simply lose it. This great wealth and lack of discernment combine in what Kay described so aptly as an “idiocracy.”
Why does the writer of Esther begin this way? Because this is empire, made glaringly obvious. It is the powers and principalities described in Eph. 6 and Romans 8, the human systems and structures designed to lift up a few while flattening so many more - trying to separate us from the redeeming love of God and the rich wholeness God intends for us. But never ultimately succeeding.
Public theologian Rachel Held Evans considers this fascinating book of the Bible, which stands alone in never explicitly referring to God, and she puts it this way:
“Power, the author [of Esther] seems to be saying, is ultimately an illusion. Beneath the golden chairs and packed harems and drunken parties and patriarchal edicts are a bunch of sinful, insecure, and weak people...people whose attempts to puff themselves up only make them look silly… This would all be terribly frightening were it not for the quiet, and at times hidden, hand of God, working all things together for good.”
Can you look around yourself today and name some of the forces of empire at work? Can you see how their attempts to puff up actually reveal their weakness and fear? What if you asked God to show you more clearly as well where They are present, to help you see the often subtle traces of His/Her powerful goodness at work in the world? Invite Jesus to talk these things over with you.