It Was Customary To Do What?

Esther 1:13
Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times

During a banquet the king organized to appreciate his workers, he got drunk and in his drunken stupor, he asked for the queen to come and parade herself before the guests. The queen refused to come before the king and his guests. This was an act of defiance. This was an unprecedented occurrence in the kingdom. Nobody expected such a response from the queen or anyone else. How can one defy the king in the presence of senior government officials?

The queen must be applauded for resisting spousal abuse. The queen must be applauded for her self-respect. She may have paid bitterly for her decision, but she deserves respect among all people who care about the human dignity and welfare of women. She refused to be used as an object of male pleasure for she too was a human being with self-respect. This story is placed in the Bible because human dignity is God-given but must be upheld by each of us as a God-given responsibility. Do not let anyone parade you as an object of their own pleasure. Not a spouse, not a boss, not a government, and not even a religious organization. Strive to be free and with dignity!

The king got very angry at the decision of the queen to defy him. In his drunken stupor, he could have ordered her immediate death. In his drunken stupor, he could have had her forced to come before him and the guests. In his drunken stupor, he could have made a silly regrettable decision. But we are told by the scriptures that, the kingdom had a custom that even at the height of alcohol intoxication no one could forget to apply the custom. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

If you have good long-lasting customs in a family, in a church, in an organization, or even in a government, it will serve you well in times of crisis. But if the customs keep changing depending on who is in power, you lack institutional culture or family culture, or national culture. You stand for nothing but the whims of your rulers. In times of crisis, you will keep changing rules to fit your interest until eventually, you fail. This heathen kingdom must be credited with having good organizational culture on how to deal with issues. The king had to consult. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

The assumption this kingdom had is an assumption we all need to have. No single person can know everything or perceiving everything correctly. The king may be above us. The king may have the status of a god (as per those cultures), but the king does not know everything. The king must and should consult under all circumstances. Isn’t that a good culture for every husband, every wife, and every family member? Being the father or husband doesn’t mean you know everything, you must consult your wife and adult children (children you brought up well to be consultable). Isn’t that a good culture that should be imposed on all leaders in the church, the government, and non-governmental organizations? It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

Anyone with any amount of power even a primary school class prefect would always attract supporters and sympathizers. It is normal for anyone in power to have sycophants around him or her. People who do not think rationally or correctly but cheer on the leader even in the wrong direction. These people give unquestioning support even in the most outright insensible things, they pledge their support. Even when they ultimately get harmed by the choices of the ruler, they will blindly support the ruler even to their own death.

This kingdom knew that such people exist, therefore, they required that the king gets advice from experts he is given. Advise and decision-making must be arrived at after consulting experts. Not supporters, not sycophants, and not people who update the king with rumors on who said what, but experts. Experts who have a logical predictable way of arriving at sensible decisions. The king must and should consult experts only. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

The king had relatives but advice should come from experts. The king had friends but advice must come from experts. The king had bootlickers who sought to please him but advice must come from experts. The king had people who only say yes and never challenge him in anything, but advice must come from experts. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

The Bible tells us that these experts were wise. They had been tested and found wise. These experts understood the times. They could read the people’s mood. They understood the times, meaning they knew what factors were against them and which ones were in their favor. Their advice took consideration of the times they lived in. These experts according to Esther 1:14, were closest to the king and had special access to the king, and were highest in the kingdom.

The king was not allowed to be consulting nondescript characters whose only value is gossip. The king could not be a regular consumer of gossip and conjecture. Not any Tom, Dick, and Harry would come to tell the King what to do. These experts were the highest in the kingdom, they were high ranking. Experts cannot be miscellaneous characters, but people with rank. People were appointed therefore according to expertise and relevance to the kingdom. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

What is our custom? Who do we consult? Do we appoint experts around us? Are they tested and wise? Is it customary for us to consult experts before taking any decision? Who are your experts? When you get sick do you consult experts or you search the internet? When in a relationship crisis, do you consult your friends whose marriages long collapsed? Who are your experts? Are you copying that business idea or you consulted your experts? In your personal life, in your business and employment, do you consult experts? You are in your current situation courtesy of the experts or non-experts you consult. It was customary for the king to consult experts before taking any decision!

Dear God, may it be customary for me to always consult experts before taking any decision, and may you be my above all expert, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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