Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. What's true beauty? We learned about it in 1 Peter, didn't we? Here's true beauty. Peter said, It's the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Today we continue our journey through the Book of Esther, where we witness God's sovereign hand at work through the unlikely avenue of an ancient beauty contest. While the Persian king seeks only outward beauty, God is orchestrating events according to his perfect plan to protect his people. Here's Pastor John Monroe with his message, a beauty pageant. Did you know that there was a beauty pageant in the Bible?
It takes place in the Old Testament book of Esther, which we're considering. The setting is very different from ours. as the events occur about 400 years BC. and take place in the Persian Empire.
Some of the Jewish nation have been taken into exile. While some do return to the homeland in Israel, Others prefer to stay in Persia, which is the superpower of the day. We're going to meet King Ahasuerus, who is a very powerful man. And he has a very public disagreement with his wife, the Queen. We're learning how in this pagan culture God is at work.
His hand may be invisible, but he has not forgotten his people and is well able to protect them.
So let's open our Bibles. To Esther chapter 2. And we're going to read about a beauty pageant. And there's going to be the election. of Miss Peugeot.
Some of you have been in goodie pageants. I have not. Uh But let's read first of all In Esther chapter 2, verse 1, after these things, When the anger of King Hahasierus had abated, He remembered Vashtai. and what she had done. and what had been decreed.
Against her. And maybe in spite of his initial anger, he's missing her. And remembering beautiful Vashtai, Coupled with defeats by the Greeks, may have plunged the king into a mood of loneliness and even regret. But his attendance. have a brilliant solution.
At least they think so. Verse two. Then the king's young men who attended him said, Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. and let the king appoint officers in all of the provinces of his kingdom. To gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa, the citadel.
under custody of Haggai, the king's eunuch, who's in charge of the woman. Let their cosmetics be given them. And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashtai. This pleased the king. And he did so.
You understand? Throughout all of these provinces, 127 provinces. stretching from India Don't know they're in Africa, a huge Part of the globe. There is this search for all of the beautiful young virgins. They are to be gathered as possible successors to Vashtai as queen.
These women Notice the wording in verse 3, they don't volunteer. But they are gathered. for this kind of duty contest.
Now, to get a wife, the powerful king, king has your heirs, didn't need to do what a farmer did on a dating site. He posted farmer wants to marry a woman. around 35 years old. Who owns a tractor? Please post a picture of the tractor.
Yeah.
Now King of Haguarus didn't need pictures. He is going to personally choose his new queen. We don't know how many of them were in this contest, but they come from all over his province and they're gathered, and he's going to select one as his queen.
Now we saw in chapter 1 verse 19 That the woman must be better than she, that is better than Vanstey. What does that mean? Is she going to be more beautiful, more compliant? In any event, Vashta is replacement. must have three essential qualifications.
Qualifications for this contest. First of all, they must be beautiful. King doesn't want to marry somebody who's ugly, obviously. She's got to be beautiful. She's got to be young.
And she's got to be a virgin. And these women will be taken into the king's harem. There's many women there, but there's only going to be one queen. And the dark cloud of gloom that was over King Ahazueras perhaps begins to evaporate. We read at the end of verse 4: this pleased the king.
And he did so. And now we're introduced. to this fascinating character Mordecai. And notice the first thing we learn about them.
Now there was a Jew. Is that significant? There was a Jew in Susa, the Citadel, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shemmai, son of Kish, a Benjaminite. Who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther.
The daughter of his uncle. for she had neither father Nor mother. She's an orphan. The young woman Had a beautiful figure. and was lovely to look at.
And when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her As his own daughter. Here they are, they are Jewish. Their ancestors And in particular This couple They were taken in exile from Jerusalem. by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. Remember how he defeated?
Judah desecrated the temple, burned it. But now Babylon is defeated. Persia, the Medza Na Persia, is the superpower. Esther is a young orphan girl, we don't know how old at this point. who Mordecai, her cousin, takes into his home and adopts as his own daughter.
Now when we read verse 7 that the young woman that is Esther had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at. We're being set up for the drama which is about to happen. The fact that we're giving Her Jewish name Adassa, meaning myrtle. And her Persian name, Esther, star, is a reminder That Hadassah Esther is living in a sense in two cultures. She's an exiled Jew.
But she's living. in Persia. Two names, Adassa. And Esther. We normally know her as Esther, which was the Persian name.
And now Aster enters the beauty. pageant. She becomes a contestant. Verse. Eight.
So, when the king's order and the edict were proclaimed, And when many young women were gathered in Susa, the citadel, in custody of Haggai, Esther also was taken. into the king's palace. and put in custody of Haggai, who had charge of the woman. And the young woman pleased him. And won his favour.
And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food. and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place. In the hearing.
Now verse 10 is very important. Esther had not made known her people or kindred. For Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. I remember Mordecai It's like the father to her. And he commands her.
We don't know the age difference. Obviously older. An older cousin, he commands her. not to make it known. Uh that she's Jewish.
And so here she is. One of the young ladies gathered Put in the custody of this man Haggai and Susa. for the King's beauty pageant. She's provided with all she needs: the necessary cosmetics and food and servants. This is a serious Beauty pageant.
She's going to need all of that. If she's gonna win the p win the pageant. Yes, he's Jewish. But the writer of Esther is emphasizing, and we'll see this again later in chapter 2. that she is not to make it known that she's Jewish.
So there is nothing about her appearance. Nothing about her clothes, nothing about her way of life to suggest she was Jewish. She has so acclimatized to life in Persia That even by her looks, her accent, she'd obviously mastered Persian, that no one knows that she's Jewish. And no one in the palace knows her true identity. This is very key in the story, isn't it?
We ask of course, but isn't she compromising her faith? Shouldn't she be like Daniel, remember Daniel in Daniel chapter 1, who purposed in his heart that he was not going to defile himself in a pagan world by taking the king's food? Why doesn't Esther protest that she's a worshipper of the living God? She cannot take part in this very immoral beauty pageant. Why didn't she do that?
Interestingly, in the text there's no criticism. A Vestor. It is emphasized that she's commanded by Mordecai not to reveal her identity.
So there she is. Beginning of this beauty pageant, getting herself ready. Meantime, Mordecai keeps a fatherly eye on Esther. Verse 11. Every day He's walking in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.
He's very concerned. How is she getting on? in the palace.
Now, the rules and the regulations of the beauty pageant are clearly outlined. Verse 9.
Now, when the turn came for each young woman to go to King Ahasuerus after being. 12 months under the regulations for the woman. Since this was the regular period of their beautifying, Six months. with oil of myrrh. Six months with spices and ointments for women.
When the young woman went in to the king in this way, She was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem. to the King's Palace. In the evening, She would go in, that is into the king. And in the morning she would return to the second harem. in custody of Shaskaz, the king's eunuch.
who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go into the king again. Unless the king delighted in her. And she was summoned. By name.
Each contestant then has to go through a 12-month beauty treatment program. Verse 12, further beautifying. I read that seventy-five percent of women color their hair. 22% wear false eyelashes. Thirty-eight percent periodically wear wigs or hairpieces.
93% use nail polish. 98% wear some kind of makeup. And 100% of these women voted in favor of a resolution condemning all kinds of false packaging. Women working on their appearance can take quite a while. I'm always amazed when I officiate at weddings how long brides take to get themselves ready for their wedding day.
The preparation begins, of course, a long time before. They try the particular hairstyle, a particular makeup, particularly clothes. A long time. The Persians were well known. For their perfumes, their aromas, their beautifying treatments which improve the appearance of the skin.
and apparently removed facial blemishes. This is a serious contest. You got twelve months. to make yourself look spectacular. as you come in for this one night with the king.
At the end of the 12-month period, each candidate spends only one night with the king. We read in verse 13, she can dress any way she wants to make herself attractive and desirable to the king. After that, one night, Are we the king? She'll go to uh another part of the harem. Uh where She then will wait.
She cannot go back home. She cannot marry someone else. She is totally at the disposal and control of the king. You've got to remember, this is King Ahasuerus. They're all powerful.
Thank you. Versus fifteen Through twenty? We learn. As most of you know, that Esther wins the beauty pageant. Verse fifteen.
When the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Abihel, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter. to go into the king. She asked for nothing. except what Haggai, the king's eunuch, who had charge of the woman, advised.
Now, Esther. was winning favor. in the eyes of all who saw her. And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal palace, In the tenth month, Which is the month of Tabith, in the seventh year of his reign. Remember, we began chapter one, the beginning, the third year, this is now the seventh year of his reign.
The king loved Esther Moore. than all the women. The long-awaited night after this twelve months preparation arrives for Esther. She spends the night with the king. She didn't ask for anything special.
She followed the advice of Haggai. And she was winning. favor in the eyes of all who knew her. Again, we have to ask ourselves, why did Esther allows herself to participate in this immoral practice? Why did Mordecai, who had the charge of her, was like the father to her?
Why did he allow this? Did they have any choices in the circumstances? Was she glad to do this? Did she do this willingly? Or did she feel trapped by the powerful king?
To refuse me well have meant death. Did you realize as a Jewish young woman that God was placing her there. for reasons she didn't know. She becomes Queen. Where's The king loved Esther more than all the women.
And she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins.
so that he set the royal crown on her. and made her queen instead of Vashtai. When the king gave a great feast for all of his officials and servants, it was Esther's feast, a feast in her honour. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity. He's celebrating.
He wants the whole kingdom to celebrate. He gives them a break on their taxes. He gives them gifts. There's a feast. He himself personally puts the crown on.
Queen. Esther. Amazing story. Of course, as we began to read it, we're not really surprised, are we? That Esther, verse 17, won grace and favor in his sight more.
than all of the other virgins. The king loved her. She became his new queen. He crowns her with his royal crown and a great banquet. is given in her honour.
And Look at verse twenty. or nineteen now when the virgins were gathered together the second time. Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. Esther had not made known her kindred or her people as Mordecai had commanded her. For Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him.
The writer is emphasizing. that she is following The command of Mordecai who is in a sense her adopted father. Still And all that goes on, still no one knows. that she's a duess.
Now in verses 21 through 23, Mordecai uncovers a plot against the king. Verse 21, In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Big Than and Tarish, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai And he told it to Queen Esther. Notice she's now not just Esther, she's Queen Esther. And Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai, When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.
And it was recorded. in the book of the Chronicles. in the presence of the king. Mordecai reveals a plot to kill King Ahasuerus. It may be that through the intervention of Esther, Mordecai is in some position of authority.
Legal matters are settled at the king's gate. Perhaps Mordecai has been appointed a magistrate or a judge as a wise man, and when sitting there, he hears a couple of the king's officials. conspiring to kill. King Ahasuerus. This is Treason and he communicates the details of the plot to Emster, who informs the king And Esther makes it clear to the king that she got her information, verse 22, in the name of Mordecai.
The plot's investigated. It's found to be true. Both of the officials are hanged on a gallows. And very interesting for the story. The account is recorded in the historical record, in the official records of the kingdom.
But Mordecai, rather strangely at this point, is not rewarded. At least not yet.
Now think of that big picture. Here are two obscure foreigners, Jews. Living in Persia. And they have access to the king. One directly.
Queen Esther, and one indirectly. Mordecai. God's hand. Is that work?
Now let me First of all, say Three things, three features of Esther, and then some lessons for us. First of all, about Esther. Esther, to see the obvious, is a Jewish woman. There's much to commender, but we are puzzled. uh why a young Jewish virgin is marrying an im marries an immoral Persian king.
Wasn't her marriage to King Ahasuerus in direct violation of the law? Deuteronomy 7 verse 3, you shall not intermarry with them. Yet Esther is not criticized in the text. When Esther is selected as a candidate for this contest, Could it be that Mordecai sees an opportunity for Esther to play an important part. For the delivery of the Jewish nation in the coming crisis, which he may have got wind of.
He does instruct her very clearly, verses 10 and 20. not to make it known. her people and her kindred.
Now neither of them I believe have abandoned their Jewish faith? No. In fact, after the marriage, Esther in the text appears to be commended for her discretion in not revealing verse 20 her kindred or her people. She's a Jewish woman. Is she a godly woman?
In the book of Esther, we have to wrestle, as it were, with some of these ambiguities. questions that we have that are not neatly tied up in the way that we would like.
So first of all Cheese. Jewish secondly She's beautiful. She has outstanding charm and elegance. The rabbis in their writings held that Esther was one of the most beautiful. Women in Biblical history.
One of the four most beautiful women in the Bible, which the rabbis believed, were Sarah. Abram's wife. Rahab, strangely, the prostitute. And Abigail, who you may recall, was married to King. David.
Most beautiful women in the world. Sarah? Rehab Abigail and Esther. Josephus said that Esther surpassed. all women in beauty in the entire habitable world.
Scripture says that. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the first part of his message titled A Beauty Pageant. Today's study shows how God works through the most unexpected circumstances. In this case, a royal beauty contest. to position his people for deliverance.
As we explore the dramatic story of Esther, our Esther listening guide will help you follow along as we explore the historical context and theological significance of these fascinating events. To learn more, request your free copy of our Esther Listening Guide by visiting theverdict.org. These biblical broadcasts are heard all over the world, and your partnership makes this outreach possible. When you donate to the verdict, you're investing in the gospel as God's word reaches hearts and minds. Would you consider standing with us in this vital work through your financial support?
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Now here's pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? What do you think of beauty pageants? Do you think they're outdated or do you think they have a place? Certainly in ancient Persia there is this competition to discover who is going to be the new queen.
Well Few of us have been in a beauty pageant, but whoever you are, God sees you. His eye is on the sparrow. And I know he watches you. and me. This gives us a confidence in life that in the most difficult of circumstances, God is at work.
So Continue to trust them. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
