Memucan Influence on Leadership? (Part 2)

Scripture — Esther 1:16-20 (NRSV)

Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Queen Vashti has done wrong not only to the king but also to all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with contempt on their husbands, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ This very day, the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will rebel against the king’s officials, and there will be no end of contempt and wrath! If it pleases the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be altered, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, vast as it is, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.”

Devotion

What does Memucan’s advice say about his overaction? What is really going on with Memucan? He turned a simple issue into a dogma and a system that allows him to be frustrated. When people are devalued into systems, finding something wrong with them is a lot easier. The context was a husband and wife—domestic. Memucan turned the domestic issue into a political issue. The context was a woman who did not choose to respond to a summons—choice. Memucan turned a human agency issue into an authority issue. The context was an opportunity for Ahasuerus to see Vashti face-to-face, neighbor. Memucan turned it into a power, honor, and glory issue.

The symptoms demonstrate that Memucan could have issues of the heart. Where the Spirit dwells, there is peace (John 14:27; 2 Corinthians 3:17). But outside Christ’s abiding presence, the hauntings of the fall dwell—the lingering hyperbole of threat and danger. One only has to delve into history in Scripture or dare to accept recent history to find Memucan’s advice for people who are considered a threat to perceived sovereignty, authority, power, and human glory.

Memucan advice demonstrates a hyperbolic fear of the heart. One simple “no” from Vashti led to Memucan to conclude: (vs. 16-18)

• She has offended her mate and every official in the Persian government.
• She has created a revolt in every household.
• On this very day, women in 127 provinces will revolt against the officials.
• There will be no restraint among the people.

It makes one wonder how much more extreme his response would have been if they had cell phones and social media. This was a disagreement between a man and a woman; a king and a queen. Memucan saw it as a universal crisis.

And even disciples of Jesus have some Memucan within us. It’s sending people home because there is not enough to feed 5,000 men, women, and children. It’s the cutting off an ear because of threats from soldiers of political opposition. It’s something as simple as getting up and moving to another table when religious authorities will not like who you are eating with and what you are eating.

Advice can be heard without being adhered to. Jesus comes into the world to rid the world of fear and overreaction in the heart. Memucan’s suggestions came from a position that the king had something to lose. The Gospel advises us that we can’t lose what is stored in heaven, nor can we lose what we did not earn (Colossians 1:1-4).

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Esther and Work.