The Lord is looking for a queen to share His throne, clothed in righteousness. We are being groomed for royalty, and therefore must go through a beautification process.
This led me to the book of Esther.
Esther’s Jewish birth name was Haddasah, which means myrtle and joy. This is derived from the Hebrew word hadas and signifies righteousness.
The bible calls the righteous a good tree with a pleasant fragrance.
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”
Psalm 92:12 ESV
In the story of Esther, she was led by a Eunuch to beautify herself in preparation for the King.
The ancient Hebrew word for beauty preparations comes from the root “to scour, to polish.”
I found this in a Bible commentary…
“Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, required all the candidates to undergo the twelve-month regimen; one could not opt out of the treatment. In a dry climate subject to drought and water shortage, people did not bathe frequently. The twelve-month process might be thought of as a cleansing, hygienic exfoliation, followed by a refinement with fragrances.”
It’s interesting to note that the Eunuch told Esther what beauty regimens were necessary, for he knew the King the best and could direct her on what would please the king.
“Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her.”
Esther 2:15 NASB1995
Esther had the ability to request anything from the king, but she only requested what the eunuch advised.
This is what God is looking for. He longs for His own special people, zealous for his good works. A people who only listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and joyfully obey all He reveals.
Titus 2:11-14
Jesus is holy and delights in the holiness and happiness of His Bride.
So, the Holy Spirit is like the eunuch to the bride. He leads us in the path of all that is right and holy, for His name’s sake. All things, therefore are worked together for our spiritual beautification…His righteousness.
He guides us to be righteous and pure. First, scouring away all the fleshly thoughts of our mind.
This reminds me of the process exfoliating your skin. You use something abrasive to rub against your skin. This helps to wash away impurities and dead skin cells. The under layers of the skin become oxygenated and, in turn, allows your skin to more readily absorb a moisturizer or oil.
“Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women—”
Esther 2:12 NASB1995
Myrrh is understood to symbolize the suffering of Christ.
This beautification process is not always enjoyable, but it an essential part of the preparation. To be beautiful, you must suffer. In fact, the more suffering and scouring you endure, the more radiant we become, shining in the light of His glory.
Once our minds have been transformed, our will then submits to His will. A submitted will then naturally changes our affections and desires.
This moral beauty, is displayed in our quality of love and delight in God, resulting in joyful obedience.
Purification on the inside results in beautification on the outside. This outward beauty is worship, which is symbolized in the spice, frankincense, that was also suggested by the Eunuch to use for beautification.
Beautification implies a relationship. If something is beautiful, that means someone is looking at the beauty of another.
Without the growing of Christ’s life and the denying of our individualistic self, we can’t properly be built up with our fellow believers.
Being built up with fellow believers is the Lord’s highest requirement.
We need to ask the Lord to deal with our independence, make us buildable, and join us together with others in His divine life that we may be built up in oneness.
Such a oneness with other believers is not merely some social connection. It is a building according to God’s divine attribute—His divine oneness.
Spiritual growth maturity are essential, but not enough. The bride of Christ is His built up, corporate Body. We each have a special portion needed for this great work. As we do the inner work the Lord reveals to us, an outer display of this work will join together divine relationships that will display the ever expounding beauty of His glory.
In Revelation 19- John is shown a vision of the Bride who had made herself ready.
“Let us rejoice and exalt him and give him glory, because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come. And his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, shining bright and clear, has been given to her to wear, and the fine linen represents the righteous deeds of his holy believers.”
Revelation 19:7-8 TPT
The Bride of Christ is clothed in fine linen, which represents the righteous works of the saints.
These works are done in love relationships.
“Now I decree, I will ascend my palm tree. I will take hold of you with my power, possessing every part of my fruitful bride. Your love I will drink as wine, and your words will be mine.”
Song of Songs 7:8 TPT
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
Revelation 19:7-8 NASB1995
