In the Bible some of its characters described as being beautiful. Does the physical appearance is really so important in the Holy Scripture? Not really.
Because practically every Book and almost every chapter of the Scripture makes emphasis on the spiritual aspects of human being and revealed it to be as the true essence of human personality and character and its beauty in spiritual terms.
We always judging another person by looking first at the face and then over whole personal appearance, and this create for us the first impression of other human being. And in many cases such assessment of another being is false and does not give the right impression of the true spiritual qualities of the character and personally of a person we assessing and measure this way.
I was amazed to learn about beauty of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was so beautiful that even at her old age she was still very beautiful woman and still desirable by men. To make my point clear take a look at Genesis 12.4, it indicated that Abraham was 75 years old the he departed from Haran and went from the north, traveling to the south through the land of Canaan, stopping at certain places and then moving again.
So if Abraham was 75 at that point in time, it means that Sarah was 65, she was 10 years younger than him. How long actually Abraham traveled through the land is not specified, may be a year, may be two, or more, but let assume about two years, until famine struck the land and he and Sarah went to Egypt.
Now in Egypt Abraham said to Sarah "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman,...” (Genesis 12.11)
Ok, some men think that their wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, and of course they are entitle to have their own personal opinion, and we do not want to disappoint them.
But from the point of view of outsider, it may be a different opinion and assessment of a beauty. So for Abraham, she who was already at around 67 years of age, in his eyes she was still a beautiful woman, and we can understand this.
But here is a real twist of the following events in this story, and let see what the Egyptians think of her beauty when they saw her. “And it came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
And Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.” (Genesis 12.14-15).
I am not an expert on ancient history, and particularly on the taste of the pharaohs and king of antiquity then it come to women, but I know that like any other man they always preferred to have young and beautiful women as their wives, and the Bible provides some examples of it.
Beauties of women are short lived, their best years somewhere between 15 to 25, and then after those years their beauty starts to fading away, and they become less desirable.
But that is really surprising and striking about Sarah that the Egyptians not only appreciated her beauty, they even took her to pharaoh and she was accepted by him!
I always wonder when I read this passage about pharaohs’ desire to have her, and asked a question, what he will do if he will now the true age of a woman whom he just took as his wife because of her beauty?
Remember, at this point in time she is approximately 67 years old! Did she look at her current age as 20 years old woman? It seems like she did look like it.
But what kind spiritual qualities of the character and personality Sarah really have beside her extraordinary beauty?
We know very well how she treated Hagar and Ishmael when she told to Abraham to evict from their home her and her son into the wilderness. Sarah knew very well that location they are living in is desolate, and the nearest settlement perhaps far away, and most likely they both will perish in the desert if evicted, but she still insist on doing it.
This is truly revealed another side of Sarah, not her beautiful physical side, but her much less beautiful spiritual side of her.
For this reason the wise words of Proverbs always come to mind.
Proverb of Solomon (“peaceful”) 11.22
22.Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman without good sense.
Proverb of Lemuel 31.30 (Teachings of Lemuel’s mother)
30.Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Because practically every Book and almost every chapter of the Scripture makes emphasis on the spiritual aspects of human being and revealed it to be as the true essence of human personality and character and its beauty in spiritual terms.
We always judging another person by looking first at the face and then over whole personal appearance, and this create for us the first impression of other human being. And in many cases such assessment of another being is false and does not give the right impression of the true spiritual qualities of the character and personally of a person we assessing and measure this way.
I was amazed to learn about beauty of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was so beautiful that even at her old age she was still very beautiful woman and still desirable by men. To make my point clear take a look at Genesis 12.4, it indicated that Abraham was 75 years old the he departed from Haran and went from the north, traveling to the south through the land of Canaan, stopping at certain places and then moving again.
So if Abraham was 75 at that point in time, it means that Sarah was 65, she was 10 years younger than him. How long actually Abraham traveled through the land is not specified, may be a year, may be two, or more, but let assume about two years, until famine struck the land and he and Sarah went to Egypt.
Now in Egypt Abraham said to Sarah "See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman,...” (Genesis 12.11)
Ok, some men think that their wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, and of course they are entitle to have their own personal opinion, and we do not want to disappoint them.
But from the point of view of outsider, it may be a different opinion and assessment of a beauty. So for Abraham, she who was already at around 67 years of age, in his eyes she was still a beautiful woman, and we can understand this.
But here is a real twist of the following events in this story, and let see what the Egyptians think of her beauty when they saw her. “And it came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
And Pharaoh's officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.” (Genesis 12.14-15).
I am not an expert on ancient history, and particularly on the taste of the pharaohs and king of antiquity then it come to women, but I know that like any other man they always preferred to have young and beautiful women as their wives, and the Bible provides some examples of it.
Beauties of women are short lived, their best years somewhere between 15 to 25, and then after those years their beauty starts to fading away, and they become less desirable.
But that is really surprising and striking about Sarah that the Egyptians not only appreciated her beauty, they even took her to pharaoh and she was accepted by him!
I always wonder when I read this passage about pharaohs’ desire to have her, and asked a question, what he will do if he will now the true age of a woman whom he just took as his wife because of her beauty?
Remember, at this point in time she is approximately 67 years old! Did she look at her current age as 20 years old woman? It seems like she did look like it.
But what kind spiritual qualities of the character and personality Sarah really have beside her extraordinary beauty?
We know very well how she treated Hagar and Ishmael when she told to Abraham to evict from their home her and her son into the wilderness. Sarah knew very well that location they are living in is desolate, and the nearest settlement perhaps far away, and most likely they both will perish in the desert if evicted, but she still insist on doing it.
This is truly revealed another side of Sarah, not her beautiful physical side, but her much less beautiful spiritual side of her.
For this reason the wise words of Proverbs always come to mind.
Proverb of Solomon (“peaceful”) 11.22
22.Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman without good sense.
Proverb of Lemuel 31.30 (Teachings of Lemuel’s mother)
30.Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
