“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. And this is how she would go to the king: Anything she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor 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.”
Twelve months! Twelve anxious months passed while Esther underwent the finest beauty treatments. Daily, Esther watched young women leave the harem to visit the king for one night, and daily she learned that yet another young woman had been sent to stay in the section of the harem reserved for the concubines. Daily, Mordecai continued casually walking past the courtyard of the harem in hopes of getting some word about Esther. The strain for both Mordecai and Esther must have been unthinkable. Daily, the two of them prayed for each other, begging God to bless and keep them and to one day unite them.
Esther watched as other young women carried all kinds of things with them from the harem to impress the king – jewelry, seductive clothing, special perfumes, musical instruments, and anything else the lady thought might make her stand out. Finally, Hegei informed Esther that it would be her turn tomorrow. “What should I take with me?” Esther asked Hegei. Hegei advised Esther, “Don’t worry about playing instruments or dancing, or making a big show. The king is really looking for someone loving, kind and virtuous, someone who will care about him and who can be counted on to be discrete. Your character, your grace, and your virtue shine from you, and those are the best things you can carry with you. For the rest of it, allow me to suggest the garments you should wear, for the king is searching for a queen, not for a prostitute. Rest assured, you have endeared yourself to all of us, and you will also endear yourself to the king.”
Esther listened and followed Hegei’s advice. Wearing a simple but striking gown, Esther came to the king without any gimmicks or strategies. Before entering the king’s presence, Esther prayed, “Lord God of Israel, help me!” And God did. Xerxes was enchanted by this lovely young woman who was well – spoken, kind, modest, and intelligent. The longer Xerxes spent in Esther’s presence, the more appealing he found her. “Finally,” thought Xerxes, “I have found my true queen!” Xerxes was so thrilled that he immediately crowned Esther and held a royal banquet in her honor. To celebrate the new queen, Xerxes distributed lavish gifts throughout all the provinces, celebrating Esther in a magnificent way.
APPLICATION: Esther won the heart of the most powerful king in her world, not through stratagems or tricks but by the obvious goodness of her heart and her character. Sadly, these days many young women are failing to follow her example.
In 1 Timothy 2:9 Paul advises Timothy to caution the women who are believers to “adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing.” Evidently, there were controversies about dress 2000 years ago just as there are today. And some of the ladies of the early church had evidently adopted the “if you’ve got it, flaunt it!” philosophy. But showing off one’s wealth or one’s physical assets scarcely promotes worship. Recently, one famous Gospel musician here in Ghana stated that he would no longer sing special numbers during church offerings because some of the ladies of the church were dressing in such a provocative fashion that it distracted him from worshiping the Lord. Years ago, we lived in mid-town Memphis in a tough area where prostitutes were flagging down cars less than a block from our house. These days, some of the dresses young women are wearing to church remind us a great deal of the outfits worn by those prostitutes.
Does this mean that we are horrible old fuddy-duddies who are opposed to young people dressing nicely? Far from it! But when young women appear in church with dresses so tight that they can scarcely breathe and with extremely short skirts and extremely low-cut tops, such dress does not glorify God, nor will it attract young men of good character. Young men will definitely look; however, the question remains that if the young woman is willing to dress like this before marriage, will she change or will she continue to dress like that after marriage? And if she dresses like that after marriage, why should she dress in such a fashion? Will she remain faithful? Such dress is more likely to attract rapists rather than husbands!
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” If we claim to follow God, we must reflect His character, His holiness, His righteousness, His goodness, His purity. Esther won a crown and ultimately saved her people from annihilation by her character. Who knows what we might accomplish?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please help us to please You in our mode of dress and not merely to dress to attract attention. Help us to remember that others are watching us and judging us on the basis of our behavior, just as all in that harem watched Esther for those twelve months. Let these scriptures speak to the hearts of all who read them! In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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