For several months now God has put the twelve month beautification process in my mind. A process that Esther had to go through prior to being able to go before the king. At first I didn’t understand why God was showing me this. I did not have a clear understanding of the beautification process and to be honest at first glance, it looked very vain. The more God revealed to me, the more I began to understand and in turn I was encouraged.
At first glance the beautification process seems vain and bigoted. It appears to be purely physical, but delving deeper it is actually an inward beautification that overflows on the outside as well. This was a process of purification, renewal, healing and cleansing. The outcome was not just a physical change, but a change from within that shined outwardly.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the key components of the beautification process.
“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)
Myrrh was a highly precious and valued oil used for purification and healing. Myrrh was used in the purification process to beautify the women who were presented before King. Myrrh was distinctive and wonderfully fragrant. It was a requisite that Esther and all the other women in the harem to spend the first half of the twelve months working on purification, healing, restoring and cleansing. Through this mandatory process it ensured a wholeness of the inside as well as the outside.
Although scripture does mention Esther’s physical attributes as, “lovely figure and was beautiful (Esther 2:7),” what was mentioned repeatedly was that Esther won favor above all the other beautiful women that could have been chosen. In Esther 2:8-9 she won the favor of the man who was in charge of the harem;
“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 favor. 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.”
We read further that, “Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her,” (Esther 2:15). When she finally had her turn (and possibly the only turn) with the King we read that, “the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the maidens, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti,” (Esther 2:17).
It was the beauty of who she was not what she looked like she was. It was her whole being, she was refreshingly honest, graceful and not self-seeking in all she did. More importantly, she was a woman of God and His scent was on her and dwelled everywhere she went. She was the Proverbs 31 woman in all ways.
Can you imagine, one shot with the King? One shot with the man that could be your Husband and earthly King? Honestly ask yourself, if you had that one shot right now would you be ready? Or would you be a bitter smelling flower carrying around dead weight from years past? Or would you have a beautiful scent, one from the Holy Spirit, winning unplanned favor before those who paths you cross?
Are you in the midst of the beautification process, including mind, body and soul?
I came across something the other day that really hit the nail on the head;
Today, not many young ladies want to wait for their King, they don’t want to go through the process that God has set aside for them to prepare to be Woman of God and the Queen she needs to be for the King of her life. Instead, we jump on the first good looking man that 'seems' to fit what we want and possibly what we think we need.
I urge you to submit to the beautification process that God has designed for you, without it you may never fully become the wonderfully deigned woman God designed you to be. Yes, I know the process seems like it takes forever, but really in the big scheme of your life it’s not a huge amount of time.
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