God's Precious Vessels

Today I read about when King Ahasuerus hosted a great feast in Shushan.  In the third year of his reign he displayed the power of Media and Persia, inviting nobles and rulers from the 127 provinces he ruled for 180 days.  That would be quite the gathering!  When those days were completed, he hosted a feast for 7 days and all in Shushan were invited to the court of his garden palace.  Esther 1:6-7 describes the elaborate and luxurious decor:  "There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. ⁷ And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king."

It must have been a treat for the people of Shushan to partake of the generous bounty of their king.  The value in gold of even a single goblet for drinking wine might have been more gold a poor person would ever earn in a lifetime, and for 7 days there were free refills of royal wine!  The drinking vessels are described as being made of gold and each one being unique in design.  These details may seem unnecessary, but the truth of God's Word is significant.  Passages easily glossed over can contain great insight and provide observations and comparisons which enlarge our understanding of God and His grace.

The wealth of King Ahasuerus greatly exceeded that of his people, and the wealth of God is infinitely greater than all kings in this world.  Ahasuerus did well to invite rulers from 127 provinces, but God's subjects are more numerous than the sands of the sea and every star in the universe He knows and calls by name.  The golden vessels of the king of Persia, though numerous, were limited in number and value.  God's wealth cannot be measured, weighed, and is beyond compare.  One similarity between the drinking vessels of Ahasuerus and God's vessels of honour is they are all made distinct and unique.  Our lives are compared to earthen vessels fashioned in the hands of a divine Potter who makes us for His purposes.  Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

The value of the vessels of gold could be determined by weight, but our value is determined by the precious blood of Jesus Christ who redeemed us.  This is spelled out in 1 Peter 1:18-19:  "...knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."  The satanic deception is to imagine we are worthy of redemption because of the love God has for us or the price He paid, but not one of us is worthy of God's grace.  We are corruptible, perishing earthen vessels, but God treats us as if we were more valuable than gold because He is good.  King Ahasuerus received glory in the eyes of his people because of his monetary wealth and abundance of gold, yet God is worthy to receive infinitely greater glory because of His love and grace freely offered to all who trust in Him.