Lessons from Esther...

This morning I read to the kids from the Old Testament book of Esther.  The title character is a young Jewish girl whom God uses to influence a king and save a people.  While Esther’s story is certainly complex, one particular part of it really spoke to me, as if God Himself had highlighted it in fluorescent yellow!  (I am consistently amazed at the lessons I learn from the Children’s Bible!) 

In preparation for meeting the King of Persia (who ruled while many Jews were still living as captives in Babylon), Esther was given a year of beauty treatments.  A year.  A year of having massages, special ointments, perfumes and cosmetics.   OK, before you begin to feel jealous, thinking Esther had been pampered quite enough … let’s investigate the real beauty secret. 

Esther Chapter 2.12-13 states “…she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments – six months of oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments.”  Any bride-to-be would relish a full year at the spa, but Esther’s beauty treatment involved so much more than she could have imagined. 

As you may know, myrrh was used as burial spice as noted in John 19.39, when Nicodemus brought myrrh to anoint Jesus’ body following His sacrificial death on the cross.  Death.    Myrrh (which means “bitter” in Arabic) was also used for medicinal purposes, to promote healing because of its antiseptic qualities. Healing.

Through Esther, the Lord is showing me that death and healing go hand in hand and are meant to beautify His people.  Having experienced the death of both her parents, Esther had known great pain long before she was placed in a position of great influence.   Two friends of ours have suffered similar pain just recently. Each has lost a sibling unexpectedly.  I cannot imagine the difficulty of such a loss.  But after the death comes the healing … and after healing, beauty.  Both our friends know and walk with Christ, so the healing oil may not sting quite as much.  Nevertheless, it still stings.  I don’t profess to understand what beauty may come from this sorrow, but I trust in a Savior who never wastes a hurt. If the Jesus I am called to imitate did not exempt Himself from the most painful of experiences … separation from God … but rather let God use it to bring about unimaginable healing and beauty to the masses, then I must follow suit.  I must allow God to use not only the most pleasant parts but also the most painful parts of my life to minister to others.  

SPOILER:  Esther 2.17-18 “…the king loved her (Esther) more than any of the other young women.  He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen… To celebrate the occasion, he gave a banquet in her honor for all his princes and servants, giving generous gifts to everyone and declaring a public festival for the provinces.”