The Vast Glory of a Kingdom 

 

Esther 1:

1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this Ahasuerus which reigned from India to even unto Ethiopia, Ethiopia over an hundred and seven provinces:)

2. That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace

3. In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him

4. When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.

 

The Setting and the Background

 

Our story began 486 years before Christ came physically to the earth. So we are looking at events that took place about 2509 years ago (this is year 2013). It took place in a kingdom historians love to call Medio-Persia empire. The word empire doesn’t occur in the bible; it’s always kingdom.

Medio-Persia kingdom? Yes, the two kingdoms whose combined military forces defeated the Babylonian empire. A man ascended the throne of the Medio-Persia kingdom in the year afore mentioned and our story started 2503 years ago, three years after the ascendancy of the Medio-Persia kingdom. The Hebrew name of the king was Ahasuerus; his Persian name was Khasgayarsha while the Greek called him Xerxes (Xerxes 1).