The King and His Bride ...and the Shepherds: Part Two

 

Soon a delegation from the great city of Dollar arrived to speak to the pastors of the royal court. The rulers of Dollar had heard of the betrothed’s appearances at regal balls in the surrounding lands and they had a request. They were not requesting the beloved’s attendance at a ball, but rather a trade festival, for their city was all about commerce and making money – they loved money. They thought that if the queen-to-be would attend their upcoming trade festival that it would attract people far and wide.

 

They also had another request; they had brought with them various products their city was known for and wanted the young woman to try them and to endorse the ones she liked. In return, the leaders of the city would make a payment to the pastors.

 

By this time, the pastors were accustomed to displaying the betrothed to others, and they were enjoying the attention they received when they brought her with them to grand functions. Furthermore, compared to the pastors she was a child, and a trusting child at that. She was convinced that these learned men whom her beloved husband-to-be had entrusted her to meant the best for both her and the king.

 

The pastors saw no problem with the offer from the City of Dollar, instead they saw opportunity!

 

Needless to say, the Festival of Dollar was a great success for the merchants and manufacturers and…to the pastors. Within days of their return to the royal residence in the land of the great and good king a delegation from another city arrived to seek audience with the pastors; they were from the City of Fashion.

 

The City of Fashion was having its annual grand festival in just a few weeks and having heard of the astounding success of the City of Dollar, they had an offer for the pastors that shouted of innovation and opportunity. They would triple the payment the pastors had received from the City of Dollar, plus give the pastors a percentage of the profits from the sale of every dress and gown the betrothed modeled at the City of Fashion.

 

Furthermore, in order to ensure that the young woman displayed fashion in its best light, they brought make-up artists with them, and dress designers, modeling coaches, and dance instructors.

 

The offer was immediately accepted.

 

However, this time there were questions from others within the royal court. While there had previously been murmurings, now the questions were louder, the concerns more forcibly expressed. Why were the pastors doing this? Why were they putting themselves and their agendas ahead of the king and his beloved bride-to-be? What were they doing to her? Why were their bank and investment accounts growing? Why were they not being transparent about their finances? Why were they not paying attention to the welfare of the people? The poor, the widow, the immigrant seeking refuge, the sick, the prisoner, the hungry?

 

The pastors had a stock response, “You don’t understand. These things are best left to us” (John 9:34).

 

To those who continued to protest, the pastors and their servants paid them special visits and suggested that perhaps they would be better off moving to another land, to another kingdom; they need not think about returning.

 

Well, dear reader, my heart breaks as I write this, the visions in my head make me sick as Daniel was sick (Daniel 7:28; 8:27). For by the time the betrothed walked down the runways of the City of Fashion you could not recognize her as the innocent young woman who had once faithfully endured the imprisonment of the evil prince, she no longer looked and moved as the bride-to-be of the great and good king – I will venture no more description – considering our own society it probably would not shock us, but it should.

 

The King and His Bride...and the Shepherds: Part One

 

The King and His Bride…and the Shepherds

 

There once was a great and good king who was engaged to be married.

 

When his betrothed was younger, she had been kidnapped by an evil prince, taken to a far-off land, and imprisoned and tormented in an effort to force her to marry the evil prince. However, the great and good king disguised himself, traveled to the far-off land, and after many trials and privations, fought the evil prince and his wicked servants, freeing his beloved betrothed, and bringing her safely back to his Kingdom.

 

Before the wedding date, the good king had to leave on an urgent matter on behalf of his people. Keeping in mind the horror of the kidnapping, he called together a cohort of trusted servants, known as shepherds or pastors, and placed the safety and welfare of his bride-to-be in their hands. The great and good king was confident that these men would faithfully care for his beloved and that he need not be concerned for her well – being.

 

As for the betrothed, as she looked at the kindly faces of the shepherds, she was certain she had nothing to fear and that she could spend her days and nights looking forward to the return of her husband-to-be and preparing herself for that great wedding day and their marriage supper.

 

After the king departed, the first few weeks were quiet and restful. The betrothed enjoyed spending time with her ladies in waiting, gardening, walking in forests and by waterfalls and gently running brooks; and of course she was preparing, always preparing for the return of the king and the much-anticipated wedding day.

 

As for the pastors, at first they were content with fulfilling the king’s charge to them, but the longer the king was gone, the more restless they became.

 

“How long will he be gone? When will he return?” they asked one another.

 

As the weeks became months and as the months multiplied, they asked, “Why hasn’t he returned? Perhaps something happened to him? Maybe he is ill. He could have died of sickness or even been killed in battle.”

 

At one time these pastors spoke of the king and only the king. They talked to the bride-to-be of the king, they talked to the people of the king, they taught the children of the land about the king.

 

Then one day a messenger arrived from an adjacent land. The ruler of that land was giving a ball and was extending an invitation not only to the pastors, but also to the king’s betrothed; he wanted the pastors to bring her with them.

 

Such a thing was unheard of in all the history of the land of the great and good king. From time immemorial kings would only dance with their spouses or their intended spouses, and queens and queens to be would only dance with their husbands or husbands to be. The eyes of kings were only for their queens, and the eyes of queens were only for their kings.

 

The pastors thought, “Even though such a thing is unheard of, the king has been gone far longer than we thought he would be. He may come back, or he may not. The young woman must be bored waiting for him, we certainly are. If the king does return, would he not be pleased to know that we had brightened his betrothed’s life by taking her to a grand ball where she could shine before others? He would certainly appreciate our efforts.”

 

And so it began, for as word spread abroad that the beautiful betrothed of the good and great king was being escorted by the king’s pastors to balls and festivals invitations deluged the royal court. The shepherds convinced the young woman, after prolonged argument with her, that even though such a thing had never happened before in their kingdom, that these were exceptional times and that the king would not only understand, but that he would approve.