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- Beauty Tips from Queen Esther
The story of Esther in the Bible resonates with every lover of romance and adventure. It is also a lesson in humility and in the providence of God. Our focus is however not on the intrigues of Haman and his eventual judgment by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We are using Esther’s story to highlight the importance of taking care of our bodies for God.
We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 1 Corinthians 3:16 that are bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Romans 12:1 exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God as a form of true worship. To cap it all, 1 Corinthians 10:31 admonishes us to do everything for the glory of God.
In this edition, we are focusing on how a woman can take care of her body to make it pleasing to the Holy Spirit. We are drawing inspiration from the only woman in the Bible who had the fortunes of undergoing a beauty regimen to prepare her for marriage to a king. Our King is the Lord Jesus Christ and He deserves to indwell a body that is perfectly in sync with His aspiration for His bride.
The first step to unlocking Queen Esther’s beauty secrets is for the Christian woman to realize that she is of the Royal Priesthood. 1 Peter 2:29 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light”. In Revelation 1:6, we are told that Christ has made us “kings and priests to His God and Father”. How do royalties live? How do they dress? What is unique about them?
Royalty Personified- Esther and Her King
In the United Kingdom where royalties still command attention, there are fashion protocols that are applicable to all members of the royal family. For royal ladies, skirts and dresses should be kept around knee-length, while jeans are allowed at the most casual of events and appearances. Also, wearing clothes with low necklines or showing cleavage is considered inappropriate for a royal lady, while pastel and neutral colours are welcome.
In addition, royal ladies are expected to wear hats at formal occasions and to hold their purse in their left hand. Also, royal dressing includes fairly simple outfits that favour quality over showiness. For women, that means elegant dresses for more formal affairs, and simple blouses, blazers, and jeans for casual affairs.
The use of jewelry is tolerated as long as it is not overdone. For example, one or two pieces like earrings and a simple necklace can add class to a cocktail dress or any outfit. Chunky pieces are not considered suitable for royal ladies. When it comes to cosmetics, colourful nail polish is not allowed – the nail colour should be neutral or natural.
For day-time, royals are expected to keep their make-up minimal with light colours. A good concealer and face coverage are essentials, while light blush and highlighter are acceptable, but cat-eyeliner is frowned at. Thin eyeliner with mascara and subtle eye shadow are however acceptable.
Now, we return to Queen Esther. Before she was crowned the Queen of the Persian Empire, Esther was a simple girl under the tutelage of her cousin, Mordecai. She was not born into a royal family just like most of us. After she participated in the famous beauty pageant recorded in Esther 2:23, she was among those selected to undergo the beauty regiment approved by King Ahasuerus.
Esther Undergoing Beauty Treatment
Verse 12 says that before a girl’s turn came to go into the King’s chamber, 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. While we certainly do not have access to details of the beauty regimen, we can recreate something of worth for our readers based on information provided by the Bible.
The components listed in Esther 2:12-13 are oil of myrrh, spices (perfumes) and ointments (cosmetics). In verse 9, girls taken to the King’s harem were also allotted their food as part of the beauty program. For clarity, we present each component as they apply to our own lives.
Oil of Myrrh
Myrrh is a sap-like substance (resin) that comes out of cuts in the bark of certain trees. It has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. It is said that the oil of myrrh was favoured by King Solomon’s wives, as well as Queen Cleopatra, a woman still remembered today for her unending beauty. This timeless, fragrant beauty oil of myrrh needs to be still sought out today for its powerful properties in skin healing and overall health.
Myrrh
What makes this rich, smoky, balsamic-smelling oil so valuable to the beauty traditions of the past? Many were aware of the anti-inflammatory, anti-septic, and expectorant properties of this oil which made it irreplaceable as a medicine. With its therapeutic properties improving everything from mucous coughs to cancer prevention, its aroma was also solely used for uplifting, purifying and meditating.
Myrrh was also found to be a healer of dry, wrinkled and inflamed skin, including distressed skin conditions such eczema and boils. It was equally known to smooth over skin and balance uneven skin tone by fading spots and scars. Collagen and elasticity are the components of youth, and pure essential oils of nature such as myrrh assist in maintaining and increasing them in order to keep them at their maximum suppleness.
Several studies have shown that myrrh is able to reduce the proliferation or replication of human cancer cells, inhibiting growth in eight different types of cancer cells, specifically gynaecological, skin and breast cancers. Myrrh also has the power to increase the function of white blood cells, which is critical for would healing. Also, the oil is used to soothe chapped or cracked skin. Due to its antioxidant properties, myrrh is used for anti-aging, skin rejuvenation, removal of stretch marks and eczema.
Myrrh can be mixed with carrier oils such as jojoba, almond or olive as ointment. It can also be mixed with sandalwood oil for the treatment of vitiligo, a skin condition where patches of skin lose pigmentation. Oil of Myrrh mixed with homemade frankincense can treat and tone the skin.
Esther’s Allotted Food
While the Bible is silent on the kind of food eaten by Queen Esther, Jewish fables claimed that while she lived in the court of King Ahasuerus, she followed a vegetarian diet consisting largely of legumes so that she would not break the laws of ‘kashrut’ (Jewish dietary laws). For this reason, there is a tradition of eating beans and peas on Purim in her honour. Other Jews claimed that her diet consisted of nuts, seeds, grains and legumes. It is pertinent to note that Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates their deliverance from the hand of Haman the Agagite, an official of the Persian Empire who was plotting to kill all Jews in the empire.
We are not advocates of vegetarian diet because food is a personal choice. We however recommend a balanced diet comprising carbohydrates, protein, vegetables, nuts, legumes and vitamins. A balanced diet is one that fulfils all of a person’s nutrition needs. Humans need a certain amount of calories to stay healthy. By eating a balanced diet, people can get the nutrients and calories they need to avoid eating junk food, or food without nutritional value.
Esther’s Supposed Diet!
Esther’s Perfumes and Ointments
Although Scripture does not reveal much about this, it is believed that the women in the harem had daily massages with olive oil, cassis oil, myrrh oil and honey to moisturize, heal, disinfect and promote uplifting emotions. Olive oil is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities. It softens skin texture and is thought to cure dandruff. On the other hand, honey plays a role as a natural moisturizer. It is also possible that spices such as cinnamon and saffron could have been used as perfumes by the women.
In any case, we have many brands of perfumes in the market today that suit our different personalities. Ten of the best brands are shown below, along with cosmetics that can be used by royal ladies. We are not advertising these products though. Our focus is to help our Christian sisters appreciate the importance of taking care of their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. From the Scripture, we know that our Father is a fan of perfumes. In Exodus 30:35, God said to Moses, “With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy”.
We are not unmindful of the fact that some Christians view perfumes from the perspective of ‘worldliness’. We will not join issues with them, but rather let the Scripture speak to the issue. Proverbs 27:9 says, “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend”. Exodus 30:37 tells us that God forbade the Israelites from making their perfumes from the some compounds used to prepare the one He approved for the temple.
In the New Testament, Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with an expensive perfume (John 12:3), to the chagrin of some of His disciples who felt that the money could have served a better purpose. The Lord did not upbraid her for her extravagance nor the fact that she anointed His feet with perfume. If the use of perfume translated to worldliness, Jesus Christ would have been the first to condemn it!
We must emphasize that perfumes do not add to our relationship with God nor detract from it. However, it adds depth and context to a woman’s appearance. It can also boost her confidence and enhance her mood. Perfumes could complement the personality of a woman, as well as create a lasting impression in the minds of those she comes into contact with. Of course, you must not break your bank to buy a good perfume! Just pick the fragrance that suits your personality and mood. Or better still, ask the Holy Spirit to choose for you.
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