The question was asked of whether people living after the time of New Testament should use accounts in the Old Testament as models or justification for their personal relationship choices. Specifically of whether Esther’s being as they put it “a second wife” is an example that God condoned remarriage after divorce. It must first be noted that the interpretation that King Xerxes divorced Vashti before eventually marrying Esther is unsupported. Xerxes was polygamous and kept a harem. Vashti was Queen in that she was the Chief Woman if that harem and her children alone would have royal legal right to the throne. When the book of Esther recounts her dismissal as Queen, the inference is that she was sent back to harem to “live as a widow” as we hear both Tamar, Judah’s daughter in law, and several of David’s secondary wives ie. concubines had to do. Vashti was not divorced and set free to remarry, she was banished to the harem to live without hope of sexual contact or children again. “
I found this link while reviewing some of the references listed in the Christian Worldview Press posts I've previously posted about. It was VERY rewarding to see the revelation Holy Spirit had brought me to via meditation on Mark 10 being clearly explained here . If I had found this earlier maybe it wouldn't have taken so long for me to see it! Since this was posted in the very early days of webpages, I decided just to copy and paste it in its entirety for you. I didn't write any of this (all emphasis, whether bold or italics, was already in the text) and claim no credit for it, obviously! Click the above link to go directly to the source.
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