The first and greatest pageant was arranged in Susa or Shushan, the ancient capital of the Elamite empire which was situated in the country now called Iran. The winner of that contest was destined to reign-not for twelve months, but for the rest of her life over an empire which reached "...from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces" (Esther 1:1). The girl who won that beauty competition could not have known that her name was to become famous throughout the world. She was destined to become the instrument of Jehovah, the unseen God, who planned and directed her every movement.
A well-known Bible character went through a beauty pageant of sorts. Esther was a young Jewish woman. She lived in the Persian capital of Susa in the fifth century B.C. King Xerxes had recently deposed his queen, so he held a competition to find a new one.
Beautiful virgins from across the kingdom were brought into his harem. After a year of beauty treatments, they would each “present” themselves to him. Whoever pleased him most would become his new queen.
Esther was entered into the contest by her cousin Mordecai. The Bible says, “The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen” (Esther 2:17).
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