Esther 1:17
For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.
The verse belongs to a feast marked by indulgence in wine that did not glorify God, when Vashti refused to be brought in to appear before the king's drunken guests. Her refusal answered a degrading demand, made with a pure conscience, and she expected the king to approve her decision once he was sober. The verse records the advisers' warning, voiced by Memucan, that this deed of the queen would come abroad to all women throughout the kingdom, so that they would lose respect for their husbands in their eyes and be emboldened to despise and defy them. That claim that contempt would spread was used to justify a royal decree against Vashti herself and a command published through the realm that wives should give honor to their husbands.
The judgment rendered against Vashti was unjust, and it came from counselors whose minds were clouded by wine. Despite its intemperate and unjust origin, her refusal and removal became part of God's providential working for Israel's good, for through them the way was opened for Esther to come to the Medo-Persian throne, so that what was done under the influence of wine was overruled to benefit His people.