The Beauty of Holiness - Part 8

12Now 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...

Today we are continuing the study of  Esther 2:12, the last phrase of "six months with spices and the cosmetics of women" (NASB):

 

Cosmetics - the same word translated as "beautification"

Scraping/rubbing                                                                     

Spices   -  from a word meaning "sweet odors" or "spices"  and the King James adds "with other things for the purifying of women"                                                                                 

In essence, spices are perfume.  There is a perfume defined in the Bible - "All thy garments [smell] of myrrh, and aloes, [and] cassia" - the fragrance of Jesus as written in Psalm 45:8.
                                                              

Myrrh  -  Last week we learned it is a spice associated with Death (in this case, meaning death of the Old Nature, of the flesh), with anointing, with love, and with purification.  The fragrant oil is released when the spice is crushed; myrrh is a picture of the fragrance of Jesus being released when we are crushed...by life, by our own choices or the choices of another, by walking in a fallen world...

Aloes - these spices were from a tree native to India and which was very aromatic.  Aloes are often
             associated with the Fragrance of nature

Cassia - a cinnamon like powdered bark that is often associated with the Fragrance of Christ

Just as Esther was being prepared to be a possible queen, our days of beautification are intended to prepare us to be transformed into a citizen of heaven, infusing us with the nature, anointing, and fragrance of Christ Himself - and leaving behind conformity to this world's system.  During the beautification process we are setting our affections on our new home, instead of this earth home (Colossians 3:2)…

and this is how holiness is worked in us, a continuous scraping and scrubbing and cleansing from that which is old and dead and worthless, and a soaking in all that is found in newness of life with Jesus, being infused with His nature and fragrance...


and just why am I surprised when the pain of releasing that which is old comes?  Can I learn to quickly see His "beautification" process has come to me in that moment, in that way?


Work Your beauty in me, O God!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6 
Part 7 



Joining Emily at Imperfect Prose and Ann at Walk With Him Wednesdays