The Power Of Beauty Series

In its 4,000 years of history only one woman became Emperor of

China with absolute power. She was Wu tes-t'ien. She got to the

throne of China for the same reason Esther got to the throne of

Persia. She was a startling beauty. As a young girl she was

renowned for her beauty, and the Emperor made her his concubine.

Ordinarily a concubine like her would be relegated to secluded

quarters, after the death of the Emperor. She would live her life out

in quiet retirement. She was so beautiful, however, that the son of

the Emperor also desired her as a concubine. She was not only

beautiful, she was clever. She bore him several sons, and then

promoted them among the leaders as the legitimate heirs to the

throne. She gained many political allies, and so maneuvered behind

the scenes that when the Emperor suffered a crippling stroke, she

was made Empress in 655 A.D. She was brilliant as well as

beautiful, and was excellent in administration. She cut taxes, won a

war,and had a united prosperous country under her long reign.

It is rare, but the fact is, there are many cases in history of

women doing an excellent job of leading a whole nation. One

thousand years before Esther, in 1520 B.C. Hatshepst became the

first woman Pharaoh of Egypt, for 21 years she reigned, and

glorious monuments exist to praise her success. When Julius Caesar

marched into Egypt in 48 B.C. there was a vicious dispute going on

as to who the next ruler should be. Should it be Pothinius or his

sister Cleopatra. Cleopatra wanted to plead her case before Caesar,

but she knew if she tried to get to him her brother would have his

spies kill her. Nobody would dare interfere with a gift for Caesar,

however, and so a beautiful oriental carpet was sent from her palace

to Caesar. Imagine his surprise when the carpet was unrolled and a

19 year old girl stepped out to announce she was Cleopatra, the

rightful Queen of Egypt. Caesar fell in love with her beauty, and she

did become the Queen.

If you want to read of how Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain,

England, and other nations, were all ruled by greatly honored

women, you can find these fascinating histories in Mildred Boyds

book, Rulers In Petticoats. My interest in these stories for our study

of Esther is that they confirm what we see to be a major theme of

this book, and that is, there is power in beauty. Women know it,

and that is why one of the largest industries in the world is the

beauty industry. Billions are spent each year by women who know

their greatest asset is in looking beautiful. Brains and other

qualities are also vital, but it is beauty that opens the door for these

other gifts to get a chance to function.

Many modern women admit they use beauty to their advantage

in industry. They say they dress in a deliberate attempt to win favor

with those who have power, and thereby they are raised to positions

of power themselves. If conflict is developing between them and a

male boss, they can calm the waters by coming on with some

feminine charm. In beauty contests there is nothing subtle and

hidden. They are on open display to win prizes, prestige, and power

by means of beauty. Many object to the whole emphasis on beauty

as pagan perversion. They feel nothing is more secular than the

parading of female bodies before the world.

The book of Esther, however, forces us to focus on this type of

secular scene, for God in His providence uses just such a beauty

contest to save his people. It was Esther's beauty that got her into

the palace, and into a position of power where she could be used to

save her people. No other quality but beauty could have gotten her

there. King Xerxes was not looking for a female genius, or the best

woman runner, or sports figure. He was looking for beauty. His

demand for beauty was far beyond what is demanded for a Miss

America or Miss Universe contest. His contestants had to spend one

solid year doing nothing but beautifying themselves just to spend a

night with him. After a year of using oils, spices, and ointments,

they would be as soft and smooth as a baby.

Esther had to have been one of the most beautiful women to ever

live. Out of all the beautiful girls of the Empire, she won the favor

of Hegai, the keeper of the women. Verse 15 indicates she was also

voted Miss Congeniality by the other girls, for she was favored by all

who saw her. Now this really is a Cinderella story in that, aside