Achashverosh is the biggest control freak I have ever encountered. But for a big control freak, he doesn't know how to make his own important decisions. He constantly asks his advisors for advice about how best to rule the kingdom. He usually listens to their advice and acts upon it. He cannot depend on himself for much. He sent a handful officers to fetch Vashti to show off to all of the diplomats at his party. He was sending his officers in on a mission, a forceful mission. This is an example of when he is acting extremely controlling. When Vashti refused, he was furious. He didn't know how to handle the situation himself, so he asked his wise advisors for help. He listened to his advice and moved on with his life. For a very controlling person, he did not listen to himself and make his own decisions very often. Usually people today who are extremely controlling,, look at their own ideals and want to make everyone do what they want. But instead he basically gets everyone to do what his officers want in his name.
Achashverosh mainly just wants power to his name. He doesn't care about what is best for his districts and the citizens. All he cares about is that everyone knows about his ultimate power. He doesn't want to have to think too hard, so he just lets his advisors decide, and he put the law into place.To show his power he created a feast for all the really important people for 173 days and the last 7 days were for the citizens of שושן. He put many decorations up to show off his wealth. He did not want anyone to rebel against him, and this is how he showed them not to mess with him.
I think Achashverosh is pretty much the epitome of superficial. He's all talk about everything. He shows of his wealth and his palace to imply that he has power, even when it was really nonexistent. Even when he is looking for a new wife, all he cares about is how beautiful she is. What an idiot! How he even remains king is beyond me. He can't make any decisions for himself, even when it comes to his own wife. And (at least from what I remember) the people don't ever rebel against him, even though he was such a terrible king.
ReplyDeleteI love Purim as well! It's such an interesting, super fun holiday, with many applicable themes, as we have seen throughout our study. In response to Shani, I don't think the people could have rebelled against the king, even if they wanted to. In order to mandate freedom, a law had to be passed! Imagine a rebellion. Also, until the decree of Haman, there wasn't much to rebel against. Achashverosh didn't specifically target the Jews. When the decree against the Jews was declared, that's when they took a stand. To me, this was one of the most shocking revelations, as I had never really examined the kingdom. It definitely gave me a new perspective on the way Achashverosh ruled his lands.
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