ESTHER 1-5 Wisdom vs Folly 

Rom 1:22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools sums up the king of the Persian empire. The king wanted to seek praise from his kingdom so he planned a banquet for all his royal officials and his servants for 180 days! Imagine being a cook for those many people and days! History reveals that the purpose was to show his wealth even though he was a defeated warrior. So, in essence, the king was trying to cover up failure by wining and dining his court so they would forget his disaster at the hands of his enemies. The king was foolish to think that this would change the future of his kingdom, but I digress. Let’s see what really went on. He became drunk for many days and in that drunken stupor decided to humiliate his queen who was wiser than her husband by refusing to “cow-tow” to his demands. She may have lost her role but he lost the prestige he sought. 

Several months later, after following another foolish decision, the king revealed he was a fool from the beginning, but God had a plan to reveal his foolishness by using an evil man and a new queen named Esther. She was not only beautiful, but wise. Esther was made the new queen with all its wealth and perks and yet she remained silent about her heritage. In this time, Mordecai reveals  a plan to destroy her people, the Jews. With help from her uncle Mordecai she planned how to circumvent Haman’s plan. End of story; Haman is executed, Mordecai is raised and the king learns a lesson in humility and grace through one very wise woman. 

What are we to learn from this story that is remembered each year as Purim. You may be in “exile” but God sees and protects His own in ways that we could not even fathom! As Joseph noted, God can use even what men design as foolish or  evil to protect His own.