Esther Chapter 1. Family Breakdown.
Praise the Lord! We are venturing into yet another book of the Bible.
The king was upset when the queen refused his command to her. After consulting the wise men, they told the king if you do nothing about this there will be a breakdown in the families and women will think they don't have to listen to their husbands.
They seemed to be concerned about a breakdown in the family unit if no punishment was issued for the Queen's disobedience to the king.
I'm not sure how they defined a family unit, but God is very much concerned for the families today and wants very much to see them strong and functioning properly. When a breakdown in the family occurs then people suffer. Marriages suffer and the kids suffer.
We do need fathers who will be spiritual leaders within the families. They need to set the tone. But today we have single parent homes and fathers don't know how to be spiritual leaders.
Ephesians chapter 5:21 talks about the value of the husband and wife submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
There needs to be a mutual love and respect for one another because of one's mutual love and respect for Christ. If we have the proper love and respect for Christ, then that will flow over onto our families: first our spouses and then our children. A strong family unit can develop from that.
If a husband and wife puts this into practice, then verse 22-30 would not be seen as overbearing husband's ruling with a hard hand. If a family could learn to operate with such great love and respect for one another then:
Men would rule with utmost love and respect. He would value her words and input in the marriage and
Women would welcome his leadership with utmost love and respect.
There's a lot that could be said about this chapter, but as a husband, I feel a wise husband will gain much when they learn to submit to his wives as mentioned in verse 20. This is done when they not just hear what their wives have to say but also listen and obey it. Not because he's henpecked, but because he loves and respects and values her thoughts and ideas. A wife probably wouldn't mind her husband being the head of the house if he knew how to love her, respect her, value her, hear her, and listen to her.
There are 4 songs I know of by ApologetiX that go along with Esther. I’m sharing them here and hope that you enjoy them.
Sorry about the delay on these. The links have to be approved by a moderator before they become available.
Xerxes’ Song is a parody of Mississippi Queen by Mountain.
https://youtu.be/L7D79u4ChR8
The other three were submitted the other day, but it may take some additional time for them to show up. Thanks for your patience.
Here’s a list of the other three songs without the youtube links.
Sufferin’ Just Finished is a parody of Suffragette City by David Bowie. Little Esther is a parody of Little Sister by Elvis Presley.
Desperate Queen is a parody of Dancing Queen by ABBA.
Sometimes in marriages wives can be more spiritually driven or the leader of the faith household. I wonder if this isn’t the way it’s meant to be? If the man should always have a stronger faith leadership desire than the woman… maybe God uses strong women to help men become stronger in their faith… but both the husband and the wife have to put in the work to strengthen and grow on their faith journey.