Before there was Esther, there was Vashti

Before there was Esther, there was Vashti.

Before the courage to risk everything for her people, there was the courage to say no.

Vashti’s refusal was a quiet revolution. In a kingdom where the king’s word was absolute, she dared to reclaim her own dignity. She would not be paraded, she would not be objectified, she would not submit. And for that, she was cast aside.

But history is strange, twisting through exile and redemption, through silence and speech. Because Vashti said no, there was an empty space. And into that space stepped Esther.

Now imagine if Vashti had been obedient.

Imagine if she had lowered her eyes, swallowed her pride, and walked into that hall full of drunken, raucous men. There would have been no need to replace her. No search for a new queen. No Esther in the palace at the moment she was most needed. And if there had been no Esther, the Jewish people might have been annihilated.

Vashti’s defiance was the first crack in the foundation of a corrupt empire. Her no set the stage for Esther’s yes. One woman refused to be controlled. Another woman refused to let her people be destroyed. Both acts were necessary. Both acts were revolutionary.

And yet, we tell only half the story. We exalt Esther, as we should, but we diminish Vashti. We let her fall away, erased just as the king intended.

But not today.

Because
“And who knows whether it was for just such a time as this that you attained royalty?”

Esther was placed exactly where she needed to be, in the moment she was needed most. But she did not get there alone.

If Vashti had been silent, there would have been no Esther.

If Vashti had submitted, there would have been no salvation.

If Vashti had obeyed, the Jewish people might not have survived at all.

These women—both of them—are the heroes of our story. One had the courage to say no.

One had the courage to say yes.

And today, in a world where both survival and resistance are still necessary, we must carry them with us.

Vashti and Esther. Defiance and sacrifice. Self-preservation and collective redemption.

We survive because of both these women.

And I love them both.