A year of preparation for one fateful night. That one night, Esther must win the king's heart, or else...
The survival of the Israelites depended on the turnout of that night when Esther was to go into the king's private chamber and please him. It was crucial. One wrong move, one wrong detail, spelled disaster of a monstrous scale. That one night.
The church is like that, being the bride of the bridegroom. The main difference is, the church should go into the King's chamber not just one night--but stay there forever, beginning now. If one night took 12 months of painstaking preparatory rituals, what more staying there forever to be with the King?
Esther took 6 months to soak her body in myrrh oil, conditioning her skin and cleansing it of impurities. And then spent another 6 months soaking in special perfumes and cosmetics, letting the delicate fragrances permeate her whole body. All these, just for the king. I wonder; how do we prepare to meet with God in worship? Or rather, how do we prepare daily for Him?
Wearing special clothes and expensive attire is out of the question. Only blind fools would think of it this way. Paul saw it as dressing modestly--with decency and propriety. And this meant more as a life covering of good deeds, "appropriate for women who claim to worship God." Twelve months of good deeds--deeds in line with God's will and Word. And this is for meeting with God for only a night.
Women of faith--or Second Eves--should understand the implications of Esther's life to how the church should meet with God--and likewise do this to their husbands, who were originally created in God's image. That's why Sarah called Abraham her lord. If we are going to stay in God's presence daily, we are to spend half a day soaking in holiness, and another half of it in God's Word. The Word is the perfume and cosmetics that give us the look and smell of Jesus, because only Jesus is approved to God. And to God, we are the aroma of Christ (2Cor.2.15).
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