Esther 1

In the third year of his reign, King Ahasuerus holds an extravagant, months-long display of his wealth, ending in a great feast at Susa. On the seventh day, drunk and wanting to show off her beauty, he summons Queen Vashti, who refuses to come. Fearing the example will embolden all the empire’s wives, the king’s advisers persuade him to depose Vashti and seek a new queen, unknowingly setting the stage for God’s deliverance.