The Shulamite said to Solomon,

“I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept” (Song 1:5-6).

She contrasted the darkness of her skin with her true inward loveliness. She asked that she not be judged by her outward appearance, but by the grace of her heart.

She was like the tents of Kedar, rough in appearance. She was like the curtains of Solomon, so that she may have been well-weathered, but she was beautiful as the tents of Solomon and the beauty was inward.

She was a field worker, which gave her a deep tan, yet, she was in the king’s chambers. She was from a lowly life, so some might think that she was not worthy to be Solomon’s bride, but her worthiness was inward.

In ages past sunburn and sun tan were signs that one was a mere laborer, and certainly not of royalty. Today that image has changed, because most civilizations consider beauty to be the opposite of whatever that society considers to be normal.

However, leaving the vineyard to be Solomon’s bride, she had not been able to keep up her own vineyard.

Regardless of what a culture thinks, we need to see beauty from the eyes of God, who looks not at the outward appearance, but at the condition of the heart.