King Xerxes & The Exiled Queen

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. The city of David had fallen, silent, covered in darkness, Hope flickering feebly beneath the ruins. Rough ropes bound the children of Israel as they stumbled forward, each step a grim reminder of their stolen freedom. 00:00:22 Speaker 2: This is what we've taken in five years, sileus Ekbatana Susa. 00:00:27 Speaker 3: From the mountains to the sea. 00:00:28 Speaker 4: My armies have marched. 00:00:30 Speaker 1: Mercy hides in margins. The God who once thundered from Sinai knows how to set a table. Even in Babylon, ash still covered Zion like a burial cloth. Bones still littered the valley. The temple was still gone, The king was blind, the ark was missing, the songs were faint. But Hope, Hope was eating dinner in Babylon. And the Lord was not done, not even close. 00:01:09 Speaker 5: Shello, my friends, from here in the Holy Land of Israel. I'm ya l Extein with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. Each day we'll hear a dramatic story inspired by the Bible, stories filled with timeless lessons of faith, love, and the meaning of life. Through Israel's story, we will find this truth that we are all chosen for something great. So take a moment today to follow the podcast. If you're feeling extra grateful for these stories, we would love it if you left us a review. I read every single one of them, and if you're interested in hearing more about the prophetic, life saving work of the Fellowship, you can visit IFCJ dot Org. Let's begin. 00:01:59 Speaker 1: The art of the world's greatest empire. Power was not whispered. It was shouted from palace rooftops and poured into ornate goblets. And King Xerxes was not a man of half measures. For one hundred and eighty days, he wined and dined the nobles and officials of his empire, impressing them with his wealth, his dominion, and his unstoppable might. Almost fifteen thousand of the most important men from King Xerxes one hundred and twenty seven provinces in the Empire of Persia, from India to Kush came to feast with the king. The banquet was endless for nearly six months. The capital city of Susa saw the glorious wealth of King Xerxes his kingdom on full display. Decadence aboundary politics and treaties were discussed over broiled meats, hot baths, fine wines, and palace prostitutes. It was power on display. Xerxes was a man of indulgence, yes, but also a man of remarkable tact. He used these events to test loyalties, securing alliances, and collect rumors. When it was all done and the officials from the far corners of the empire had gone home, King Xerxes invited the people of Sousa, the great and the small to join in the revelry for another seven days of feasting. Silk banners blowed in the warm summer air, their edges catching the glow of intricately hammered bronze oil lamps. Solid gold couches adorned with plush cushions lining the palace gardens, nessel beneath twisting vines, and the fragrant blooms of imported flowers. A menagerie of exotic animals wowned freely, captivating the guests. Brilliant birds with iridescent plumes and stilt like legs flitted through the trees, while pigmy deer and docile reptiles meandered about. It was a marvel. It was a show. It was power on display, and at the center of it all, Drinking in the admiration, sat King Xerxes himself, surrounded by his admirers and his seven loyal eunuchs. He basked in his own greatness, utterly assured that nowhere, for thousands upon thousands of miles, was there anyone who would dare question him. 00:04:55 Speaker 4: Have you seen such a kingdom, such splendor, such a king? No, No, not a king? Oh God. 00:05:16 Speaker 1: The applause washed over him. Satisfied, Xerxes leaned back, stretching lazily upon his throne. Then suddenly he straightened as a thought struck him. 00:05:30 Speaker 4: My friends, you have seen my wealth, you have seen my empire, but you have not yet seen my greatest treasure. 00:05:40 Speaker 1: He smirked at the men around him, both prominent and plain. Being king came with many advantages, but there was one that was perhaps the most advantageous of all. 00:05:53 Speaker 4: Bring me, Queen Mashidi. 00:05:57 Speaker 1: Surprise rippled through the nobleman, as King Xerxes could have any woman he desired. Men tripped over themselves to offer their most beautiful daughters. Every nobleman was eager for the power a royal marriage would bring. Queen Vashti was more than a renowned beauty. She was a strategic match. Her family was powerful and wealthy. But Xerxes was no ordinary husband. He was the king of the greatest empire on earth, and it was this thought that inspired his next. 00:06:35 Speaker 4: Tell her to wear her royal crown. Let my guests behold the jewel of Persia. 00:06:43 Speaker 1: There was a dangerous frivolity to this request. Emboldened by the wine, the men hollered and laughed like teenagers at the thought of the Queen of Persia parading before them in her crown. Across the palace, a similar, albeit more subdued banquet was being held for the women of Queen Varsiti's court. Queen Varsiti was seated slightly above them all. She was regal composed, a woman accustomed to power. Varsiti's keen politically savvy senses picked up on approaching footsteps down the hall from their gathering. They were heavy and authoritative. Queen Varsiti arched a brow as she turned her head and saw that her suspicions were confirmed. A messenger from the king slowed his pace as he approached the knot of noble women around Queen Varsiti. The man hesitated, as if unsure of how to proceed, and the other women hushed as they took notice of his approach. The messenger bowed. 00:07:55 Speaker 3: Ah, your majesty, the king summon zu, he's demanded you come at once. 00:08:03 Speaker 1: Queen Varsity assessed him in her severe and exacting way, though she didn't indicate that she noticed. She reveled internally at the man, struggling not to shrink under the intensity of her gaze. 00:08:18 Speaker 3: To what end, why so immediate? To display your beauty before the nobleman and to wear your royal ground? 00:08:27 Speaker 1: The words assaulted Queen Varshiti like a slap to the face. A concubine was acquired for beauty and spectacle, but not a wife, not a queen. The request was beyond insulting to Varshiti's noble birth and royal status. Her eyes narrowed and anger thrashed against her carefully crafted mask of indifference. My husband asks that I parade the symbol of my status before the The messenger winced at the undercurrent of anger in her non question, Yes, your majesty. 00:09:08 Speaker 4: My husband would your. 00:09:10 Speaker 1: Majesty Vashdi's most loyal handmaiden placed a gentle hand on her elbow Hettoc. Vashdi's adviser gave her a stern look of warning as well. The King's words were law over customs and etiquette, but Varshdi's pride was too wounded and her anger too stoked to turn back. Now in her mind she could see the entire room of drunken men, jeering and carking, and hers standing there, crown on her head, stripped of dignity. She might as well parade in their naked and dance on their table. The blood roared in her ears. She fixed the messenger with a lethal predatory stare and gave her answer, Tell the King now. The air in the chamber shifted. The messenger flinched as if struck. Like Queen Vashti met his gaze, unwavering, unshaken. She heard more than saw her handmaiden's gasp and shrink back in fear. My answer is no, the messenger lingered, uncertain, then, realizing there was no room for negotiation in her answer, he turned and hurried from the chamber. The doors closed behind him. The air in the chamber remained tense, but Vashti's closest handmaid plucked up her courage and asked the question. They were all thinking, your majesty, what would think you do? What will happen to you? Varshiti inhaled, deeply, steadying herself for the fallout to come. Her husband was not a man who was accustomed to being denied anything. Vashti and Xerxes had that in common. If the king is so eager to parade me like a spectacle, then reason has left. 00:11:14 Speaker 3: I will not be degraded. 00:11:16 Speaker 5: To the status of a concubine or a common entertainer. 00:11:20 Speaker 4: He can summon it will. 00:11:22 Speaker 2: I am the queen of Persia. 00:11:26 Speaker 1: And if my husband was just a struggle of that title, he can come and take the crown from my head himself. And with that she made her choice, a declaration of will. But there was only one will that ruled the day in Persia, and Varshiti had just challenged it. Choices in Persia came with consequences. The mood had soured in the king's banquet hall, and the laughter had faded. The crowd of men stood transfixed on the messenger, kneeling before Xerxes, his head bowed low, says again the messenger swallowed audibly and desperately tried to suppress his fear. 00:12:17 Speaker 3: She refuses. 00:12:20 Speaker 1: My king Xerxes slammed his goblet down on the table, anger sharpened his wine, dulled senses. Wines spilled across the gleaming surface, dripping onto the floor, mimicking the king's rising anger. The men avoided his gaze. No one dared breathe. The weight of silence was heavier than gold. 00:12:45 Speaker 4: She refuses. The queen refuse, says me. 00:12:53 Speaker 1: Once filled with revelry, the room, now trembled under the weight of the king's fury. 00:13:00 Speaker 4: Is in subordination. This is humiliation in front of my court, in front of my king. 00:13:08 Speaker 1: Though he rose too quickly, and his chair scraped against the marble, his hands curled into fists, trembling with rage. A murmur rippled through the gathered nobles. But where others panicked, others saw an opportunity. Memucan stepped forward. He was one of the king's eunuchs, one of his inner circle of wise men. Long ago, the kings of Persia and neighboring nations put into practice castrating the young men who served them, so they would have no illusions of starting their own dynasty. But where they could not start a dynasty of their own, they could still bend them to their will. 00:13:55 Speaker 2: My King, your anger is justified. 00:14:00 Speaker 4: This is an outrage. The woman has forgotten her place. 00:14:05 Speaker 1: Xerxes's eyes narrowed, and the other men around the king piled on to Mamukin's inflammatory comments, seeking the king's favor. But there was another in the shadows of the court. Haymon, an aegergyte noble, stood silently, observing His rise had been swift. In Haymon's visits to court. He had found the eunuch Mamukin useful. A whisper here, a subtle nod there, and the puppet's strings tugged, and Mamukan performed out Haymon's schemes. Haymon's gaze lingered on the king's flashed face, calculating he knew unstable men were easily directed, even king's Haymon leaned over to Mamukan in the chaos and whispered in his ear, so only Mamukan could hear. 00:14:57 Speaker 3: Remind him who ruleses house or soon none will. 00:15:04 Speaker 1: Mamu Can's spine stiffened at Hayman's words, then a slow smile crept across his face. Mamukan stepped forward again with new confidence. 00:15:17 Speaker 4: If heard offense goes ons. 00:15:20 Speaker 2: One message doesn't seem If the queen can refuse the king, will not every wife in Persia refuse her husband, Your majesty, what. 00:15:30 Speaker 4: Is a kingdom of the order of the whole is broken? 00:15:35 Speaker 2: Chaos becomes in wisps and birds. 00:15:38 Speaker 1: An her ripper moved through the grand hall and even out into the garden as new as spread. Some nodded, others murmured. The suggestion took root, and Xerxes, ever influenced by the tide of opinion, noted the room's consensus. 00:16:00 Speaker 2: He must be made one that ensures this defiance is never remeded. Let that st be vanished or banished, that is to say, let her name be struck from the annas of history. 00:16:14 Speaker 3: And let another more words. 00:16:18 Speaker 1: Mamucan turned back to Hayman, who gave him a smile and a slow nod. It was working. The king's pride was stroked, arousing a swell of anger and childish indignation. Xerxes exhaled sharply and stood. He slammed his royal scepter into the marble floor. 00:16:41 Speaker 4: Its echo was sharp, So it shall be Queen Bashidi shall be banished. 00:16:49 Speaker 1: And with that the decision was sealed. Xerxes nodded to his guard and they efficiently marched from the chamber and toward the other side of the palace. Varshiti's fate was sealed with each echoing footstep. When the doors to the queen's chambers burst open, Varsity did not rise, She did not speak, She did not fight, she did not need to. Instead, she lifted her chin as she was led from the palace. Her silence her final act of power, and just like that, she was gone. The throne was empty, and a new search was ripe to begin, a search that would bring forth a new queen, a queen whose name would echo throughout the annals of history, a queen who would change the course of God's chosen people forever, and somewhere, far from marble halls and golden thrones, an orphan girl would soon step to a story no one could imagine. 00:18:06 Speaker 5: If your faith has been kindled by this podcast and it has affected your life, we'd love it if you left her review. We read them, and me personally, I cherish them as you venture forth boldly and faithfully. I leave you with the biblical blessing from numbers six IV. Hashem vishmerechra yeah Heir hashempanave ele y Sa hashempanavelera. 00:18:35 Speaker 3: Shalon. 00:18:36 Speaker 5: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May he be gracious to you. Made the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace. 00:18:47 Speaker 3: Amen. 00:18:49 Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Exstein add free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot Com app today. This pray dot Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yil Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Lshinsky, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, KAYLEB Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile extin, please rate and leave a review.