Vashti (Negative Contrast)
Category: Failure of submission & humility
Could endure: Show respect to the king (though imperfect king, she was called to honor her position).
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as you do to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22 — principle, not direct OT reference)
Cross-Refs: Esther 1:10–11; Colossians 3:18.
Chose wrongly: Refused the king’s command.
“But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come.” (Esther 1:12)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 14:1; Romans 13:1–2.
Endured (negatively): Lost her royal position.
“Then the king became furious and burned with anger.” (Esther 1:12)
Cross-Refs: Esther 1:19; Proverbs 19:12.
Why (wrong motive): Pride, defiance.
“Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree… that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes.” (Esther 1:19)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 16:18; 1 Peter 5:5.
Result: Banished; replaced by Esther.
“Then let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.” (Esther 1:19)
Cross-Refs: Esther 2:17; Daniel 2:21.
Haman
Category: Failure of humility & hatred
Could endure: Accept Mordecai’s refusal humbly, live in peace.
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people.” (Leviticus 19:18)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 24:17; Romans 12:19.
Chose wrongly: Plotted to destroy Mordecai and all Jews.
“Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews.” (Esther 3:6)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 37:12–13; Daniel 6:4–5.
Endured (negatively): Humiliation and execution on his own gallows.
“So they hanged Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai.” (Esther 7:10)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 26:27; Psalm 7:15–16.
Why (wrong motive): Pride, hatred, lust for power.
“When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.” (Esther 3:5)
Cross-Refs: Proverbs 29:23; James 3:16.
Result: Legacy destroyed, family judged.
“The king said, ‘I have given Esther the estate of Haman…’” (Esther 8:7)
Cross-Refs: Job 18:17–19; Psalm 109:13.
Enemies of the Jews
Category: Failure of hatred & rebellion
Could endure: Live peacefully under Persian rule.
“Seek peace and pursue it.” (Psalm 34:14)
Cross-Refs: Jeremiah 29:7; Romans 12:18.
Chose wrongly: Attacked the Jews on the appointed day.
“On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month… the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them.” (Esther 9:1)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 83:4; Isaiah 54:17.
Endured (negatively): Defeated and destroyed by the Jews.
“No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them.” (Esther 9:2)
Cross-Refs: Exodus 23:27; Zechariah 12:3.
Why (wrong motive): Hatred, antisemitism, violence.
“All the nobles of the provinces… helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them.” (Esther 9:3)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 2:1–4; Acts 9:4.
Result: Destroyed; Jews preserved and strengthened.
“The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword.” (Esther 9:5)
Cross-Refs: Psalm 37:20; Revelation 19:19–21.