The very first beauty contest

Esther was beautiful. The most beautiful girl in the kingdom. Or so the king thought. And he is the one who matters in this story recounted in the Book of Esther.

He’d banished the Queen, if you remember. Queen Vashti had stood up to him and refused to be ‘shown off’. And had been exiled for her defiance. He’d needed a replacement. And his advisers had come up with a proposal –

‘Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’  Esther 2:2-4

The very first beauty contest. With the highest of stakes.

Of course, we who live here and now will probably have major issues with this suggestion. We cannot imagine how this can have been seen as acceptable. We have no idea of what it was to live in that context and thank God, we don’t have to……although we obviously do think it’s OK to judge people for their voice and their X Factor and their survival skills in a jungle and their top model looks and whatever we judge them for in Big Brother…..and to have it screened all over the world for all to see!

Enter Esther –

Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.  Esther 2:7

There is something about using beauty in this way that makes me uncomfortable. Makes me think of the whole ‘If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’ thing. Although in this case, Esther does not appear to flaunt it. She simply seems to be accepting a natural gift that she has for what it is and acting with obedience and humility a willingness to be her best in every situation. It reminds me of how Nehemiah became cupbearer to the Persian king because of his obedience and humility and willingness to be his best. How further on in the story of the Jews, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all gain favour and positions in the court of the Persian king because of their obedience and humility and willingness to do their best. All serve. All work hard. All are faithful and loyal. All gain respect.

Ready for when God has a special role for each one of them to play for Him.

When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. She pleased him and won his favour. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.   Esther 2:8-9

Maybe beauty should be seen as any other gift that any one of us may be born with. A gift that is undeserved. Unearned. Like the gift of musicality or sporting excellence or intelligence. Maybe it is just about using whatever we have been given naturally for good. For the greater good. Whatever that looks like for us in our situation. Acting with obedience and humility and a willingness to do our best at all times.

Ready for when God has a special role for each one of us to play for Him.

Mordecai keeps his eye on Esther. He visits her every day. He advises her to keep her nationality and family background a secret.

And so twelve months passes. A whole year!

Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.  Esther 2:12

And Esther proved to be the firm favourite –

And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her.  Esther 2:15

And most importantly of all, the king’s favourite –

Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.  Esther 2:17-18

Esther has won.

The king has chosen her.

The stage is set.

So if we have been born with a natural gift of some kind, this should not make us feel proud or superior. We were born with it. We did nothing to deserve it or earn it. We should accept our gift with humility and gratitude. We should treat this precious responsibility with care and work on it with diligence and care and use it for good. For the greater good. Accept it. Own it. Be grateful for it. Never take it for granted. Treasure it. Share it. Celebrate it.

And maybe at some point, we will be called upon to use this gift from God in some high profile way like Nehemiah and Esther and Daniel. Maybe not.

But let’s make sure we’re ready.