Strange Story: Esther 2 – This Was Not a Beauty Contest; It Was a Test of Character

Of course the new queen would be beautiful; that was assumed. But what the king was after was someone that “looked good” on the inside as well as the outside.

If he was most interested in inner beauty, why all the emphasis on beauty treatments? 

One possibility for why a year-long process was needed was because they were doing more than just opening the pores of the skin and making a beautiful appearance even more beautiful; they were trying to look inside the mind of each girl and evaluate her character.

If this was true, then it was more than a beauty contest, it was a test of character and perception of reality. However, they could not make known what the king’s true intentions were, or the women would tell him what they thought he wanted to hear. So outwardly they kept the emphasis on physical beauty.

If you put that many women together in close quarters, you are sure to have all kinds of “interesting” interpersonal issues develop. Unbeknown to them, the women were being watched carefully to see how they handled all those situations. It was a year of testing on a daily basis without even knowing it.

Also notice that Esther was given 7 personal maids to attend to her needs (2:9). I don’t know why she needed that many, but I believe the head eunuch and his staff of eunuchs were watching to see how the young ladies treated and dealt with the maids that were placed under them.

What’s more, I believe most of these young ladies were from the middle or lower classes because the upper class had become corrupted by a form of feminism, as exemplified by the former queen, Vashti. Therefore, they were also being watched to see how they would handle being thrust into the lap of luxury. If their eyes were on gaudiness, what we call bling, it would show in several ways, including what they chose to take with them when they went to the king.

The women thought it was all about physical beauty, but it was not. The eunuchs acted like evaluators who graded daily attitudes and actions, while the king gave the final exam. I imagine that the king and his advisors had come up with a final test that he could give each virgin as she came to him which would give him a good picture of what was in her mind and heart (not a written test, but questions he asked her or situations he placed her in).

After spending one night with the king, they went to stay at a different place, for two reasons. First, they were no longer virgins and were considered concubines (Esther 2:14), but secondly, they would not be able to tell the others what to expect when they were with the king. They could not tell others that is was about character, not beauty.

The king did not seem to be in a hurry to choose a new queen. Vashti was deposed in the third year of King Xerxes reign and Esther was chosen in October of the seventh year. This agrees with my theory that the king was not looking for physical beauty, but for someone who was fitting to be queen in a number of ways. He was looking for character. He did not want another bad experience with a queen who would not fulfill her role properly. In such a large kingdom, it was no challenge at all to find a beautiful girl who could give the king a good time in the bedroom; but it proved to be a huge challenge to find a young lady with the character traits he was looking for.

SPIRITUAL LESSONS FOR TODAY

Character and good attitudes should be shown always; we never know when someone might be watching us. If I am right with my test of character idea, none of the girls knew they were being watched for character traits, but Esther had a solid moral core and remained true to it.

Don’t let what others are doing shape your own actions and attitudes. When Esther found herself in the harem during the year of beauty treatments, everyone was trying to gain an advantage in whatever way possible. That is, everyone except Esther.  

Even in the situations when no one expects to find a person with good attitudes, be that person anyway.

How we treat those who don’t like us and how we treat the insignificant people under us are very important things. These two things will demonstrate whether our focus is on us, or on others.