Daily Devotionals

'Every Day Light' with Selwyn Hughes

Devotional: June 5th

For Reading and Meditation:
     Esther 1:10-12

The next person we meet in the kingdom of Xerxes is his wife, Vashti, the queen. We know very little about Vashti except that she was, to all appearances, a sensible, respectable and very beautiful woman. On the seventh day of the great banquet, King Xerxes, heavily under the influence of alcohol, directs his chamberlains to go and get Vashti that he might display her beauty to the guests. On the surface, this appears a harmless request, but some commentators believe what he was really wanting her to do was to disrobe in front of his guests. If this was so, then it would explain why she refused to obey the king's command. Although the Bible commands a wife to obey her husband (Ephesians 5:22), such obedience is not to be seen as unconditional. If a man orders his wife to do something lewd, dishonest, or immoral, then she has every right to refuse to submit to such a command. Those who teach the submission of a wife to her husband often overlook this point. God does not require a wife to submit to her husband when he wants her to do something that goes against Scripture. But the matter must not be left there. Any woman faced with a command from her husband to do something wrong, improper and unscriptural ought to ask God for wisdom to come up with a creative alternative. Remember what Daniel did when asked to violate Scripture? He came up with a creative alternative that went some way to meeting the king's desires but did not compromise his convictions (Daniel 1:8-16). Many a wife could be saved from being intimidated spiritually by remembering this.

Heavenly Father, I see that although submission to authority is a clear biblical principle, I am never expected to obey any command that violates Your word. But whenever it is necessary to disobey, help me to do so wisely, creatively and in love. Amen.