What does the Bible say about beauty?

A meek and quiet spirit in a Christian woman — this we read "is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Peter 3:4). Of no service that men can render is such a thing said, of no labour or toil have we such an eulogium; it is fragrant to God, as was Mary's ointment, it is beautiful in His eyes as the church is in Christ's. What could Christian women desire more than this? Here is fragrance that the skill of the perfumer cannot produce, here is an ornament that no jeweller can devise, here is beauty that surpasses everything that art or nature can show, and it is enduring, for that which is of great price in the sight of God, He will preserve for ever. And this is within the reach of every Christian woman. Why should they seek great publicity in service or prominence in the eyes of men? Let them ponder over this word of God and go in for this, and as they develop and show this meek and quiet spirit they will be, by what they are rather than by what they do, of use to others, because precious to God.

This world offers different types of beauty. Saul was “choice and comely; and there was not among the children of Israel a comelier person than he.” Eliab also had a handsome appearance that captivated Samuel's eyes, but such beauty alone is of no value except in men's eyes. There is another kind of beauty that may be joined with outward beauty in men of faith, but that God esteems as being the reflection of character: the beauty of a pure soul or of simple faith, the outshining of a heart from which evil and sin are excluded, of a guileless heart. This is the beauty of the little child Moses of whom the Word says: He “was exceedingly lovely,” literally, “fair to God” (Acts 7:20). This is the beauty of Joseph, “of a beautiful form and of a beautiful countenance,” but a Nazarite among his brothers (Gen. 39:6); this is the beauty of Daniel (Dan 1:4), humbly cleaving to his God in order to guard himself from the world's defilement; and lastly, this is the beauty of David developed in the wilderness by the pastures for the sheep where in secret he experienced the strength and the glory of His God.

But what is this moral beauty added to physical beauty, and yet always incomplete, in the presence of Christ's beauty? He had no form nor comeliness, His visage was marred more than any man, but all the moral glory that filled Him shone upon His face and shed light all about Him. Grace was poured into His lips, and so it is said of Him: “Thou art fairer than the sons of men … therefore God has blessed Thee for ever” (Ps. 45:2).

Proverbs 31:30 (Shin). "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." The favour of the world is deceitful, like natural beauty it does not last; but the woman who, in reverential fear, seeks to please the Lord, shall have a satisfying and praiseworthy life. And this is true for us all.

Now that we have heard the prophet's judgment of king Saul, there follows next the choice of Jehovah. The chapter gives us in a very striking manner the manifest sentence of death on all the thoughts of man. Then can lessons be more solemnly instructive than the contrast between Saul, universally admired and chosen because of outward appearance, and David, who even by his own father was entirely forgotten, and this when the question was raised by the prophet? He was of no account in the eyes of a single member of the family; yet this was the man destined to the throne. And indeed we have not to put our own construction on the incident; for God Himself has given us His. It is expressly and in this connection said, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks at the heart."

At this point we are told of the great beauty of Absalom. It is one of the miseries of a soul away from God, that every natural gift becomes evil instead of good; and among these there is none more ensnaring than that of personal beauty. Just as what is merely external, it is what is most surely appreciated both by its possessor and those around. Spite even of our better judgment also, it is hard to believe that this fair exterior does not represent aright the soul within. Absalom was conscious certainly of his power in this respect: who that has it is not? And if any, the exception would not be in this self-willed favorite of his father and of the people, whose vanity is shown in the long permitted growth and weight of his luxuriant hair.

David was ruddy and of a lovely countenance and beautiful appearance (1 Sam. 16:12). Similarly, Moses was ‘fair’ and exceedingly lovely (Ex. 2:2; Acts 7:20), and Daniel was ‘of goodly countenance’ (Dan. 1:4). The real meaning of these descriptions is that the men were ‘fair’ or ‘beautiful’ in God’s eyes. But they only prefigure the one of whom it is said: ‘Thou art fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever’ (Ps. 45:2). For us Jesus had ‘no form nor comeliness’ (Isa 53:2). We failed to see his beauty. But the eye of God always looks deeper. What He saw was only glory and beauty. The Lord Jesus is unique and incomparable. He manifested all those wonderful traits that God wanted to see in man on earth, and there was nothing that could disfigure or distort this wonderful display of divine glories and excellences in Him.

And let her guard against mere outward adornment. No doubt it was common then, as It is now, that women would draw attention to themselves by branding ornaments into their hair, wearing of expensive clothing and jewelry. Certainly it is no virtue to wear slovenly or careless dress; but neither Is showy attire becoming. Generally speaking, one should be desirous of wearing what will not draw undue attention. For it is pride that desires attention, whatever direction it may take.But much more precious than outward show, there is an adornment the opposite of this, connected with the inner motives of the heart, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. In this is real and eternal value, no corruptibility, and of great price in the sight of God. How infinitely more precious is this then the pretty baubles that may for the moment dazzle people's eyes!

There is indeed much that is beautiful in nature, and the natural man is capable of producing and appreciating much that is beautiful in music and art and literature, and yet sets little value on that which is morally beautiful. How can it be otherwise in a world that could see no beauty in the One who is altogether lovely?

Of Christ it is said, "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." Whatever there is of beauty or glory in things great or small, in all the wide universe of God, it has derived its shape, its beauty, its lustre, its functions, from Him, and He is greater, more glorious, more beautiful, than all that He has created. "Part of His name divinely stands on every work impressed." Behind all that can be called nature or creation, and earlier than the earliest forms of all matter, there is this glory; accounting for the "all things" that appeal to us now; the worlds piled upon worlds, the ages heaped upon ages. It is the glory of the eternal Son. It fills up the vision of our faith as we gaze backward into eternity.

(Vv. 3, 4). If, however, the wife is to live rightly with the husband, she must live in spirit before God. Her adorning is not to be after the passing fashions of this world, which only seek to make the woman outwardly attractive in the sight of men, while of necessity having nothing to say to the moral character, which is of great value in the sight of God. The Christian wife is to think rather of that which God sees — “the hidden man of the heart” — and adorn herself with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. This is the opposite of the vanity and self-assertiveness of the flesh which ever seeks prominence for self. Moreover, this meek and quiet spirit is to be cherished in the heart, in the sight of God. If cultivated there, it will surely form a meek and quiet character before God and men. There may be at times the affectation of a meek and quiet manner, but this is of little value unless it is the outcome of a meek and quiet spirit. Only that which comes from “the hidden man of the heart” will rightly affect the life.