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Let's begin by introducing the author of OUT story ... King Solomon.
He tells us about a beautiful young woman to whom he was attracted,
but lost, in the rendition of "SONG OF SOLOMON" in the Bible. Even
though he had all of the qualifications that any woman could ever hope
to find in a man, Solomon failed to win the love of this lovely
Shulamite woman about whom he writes. Solomon doesn't give any proper
names to the characters in this story, but he simply identifies each
one with descriptive words, so I will do the same.
As our story unfolds, we find a young Shulamite woman in the harem of
the wealthiest, most intelligent and most handsome young king who has
ever lived, and she definitely did not want to be there! You may be
thinking that she was a very foolish woman for not being the happiest
and most fortunate woman in existence, but perhaps, when you hear her
story, you will understand her reasoning.
Before she was brought into the palace, the Shulamite woman had found
her "prince". He was a shepherd who took care of a flock of sheep near
her home not far from Jerusalem. They grew to love each other and
vowed that they would marry. Joyfully, she took him to her home where
she supposed he would be accepted by her widowed mother and her
brothers. Instead, her brothers were very upset and said she was much
too young for marriage. They forced the shepherd to leave and made her
work in the vineyards of Baal-hamon, which the brothers leased from
the king. Her duty in the vineyard was to keep the foxes away from the
grapes on the vines.
While working in the vineyards one day, the Shulamite woman saw a
magnificent chariot coming down the road. As it came closer to her,
she noticed that the air was filled with the scents of myrrh and
frankincense. Some scented powders were being cast up into the air,
and the sight resembled great pillars of smoke. She knew immediately
that the chariot belonged to King Solomon.
There were a great many soldiers accompanying the chariot as the king
toured the countryside to check on the land he bad leased to farmers
in the area. Oddly, our heroine had the feeling she was being watched,
and when the chariot came closer, it stopped, and several of the men
approached her. They said the king was the man in the chariot, and
that he was attracted to her. They asked if she would accompany them
to die palace where he could talk with her.
She was most anxious to leave her duties in the vineyard, and bought
perhaps she would be better able to find her betrothed shepherd if she
was with other people who may know of his whereabouts. With that in
mind, she went with the men to the palace of the king.
The king did not place her in the harem with his wives, but she was
taken to the house where the servants lived. In our story, the
household servants are called the "virgins of the harem" or sometimes
the "daughters of Jerusalem"
The virgins of the harem bathed and perfumed the Shulamite woman's
body and dressed her in beautiful clothing so that she would be
presentable to the king. Then they told her that the king was planning
to persuade her to become one of his queens.
It was common knowledge among all of the people in the kingdom that
King Solomon had many wives ... in fact, he had seven hundred of them!
They were all princesses who had been given to Solomon by their
fathers when a peace treaty was signed with Israel.
CHAPTER 2
While being prepared for an audience with King Solomon, the Shulamite
woman told the virgins about her wonderful shepherd and how he alone
was the one who filled her thoughts She said that her one desire was
that he would find her and take her away from the palace and
particularly away from the king! As she spoke about her lover, the
ladies also wanted to see him, and they said, "If you leave, we will
follow you!"
They told her they were curious and puzzled as to why she had agreed
to come to the palace if she was so much in love with her shepherd.
She related the whole story to them and said, "While I was living at
home, I desperately wanted to find my lover! One night I arose from my
bed, I dressed and went out into the streets in the middle of the
night to look for him. I wanted to take him to my mother and my
brothers to ask for their permission for us to many. I was unable to
find him. Suddenly, my search was interrupted! A policeman stopped me
and questioned why I was out in the street in the middle of the night!
He said it was not proper for a respectable young woman to be
wandering about alone the way I was. The officer listened politely to
my explanation and then escorted me to my home. When my brothers heard
that I had been arrested and the reason for my arrest, they were very
angry with me. Then they sent me away to work in their vineyards, and
that is where the king saw me and had me brought to this place."
As the Shulamite woman was telling her story, the doors of the room
suddenly burst open, and King Solomon appeared in all of his glory! It
was truly a breathtaking sight to behold as he approached her and
kissed her hand! Then he stepped back a little and said very
dramatically, "As my eyes look upon your beauty, my love, I can only
compare your person with the very magnificent horses in Pharoah's
chariots!"
When she heard that, she drew back, and while attempting to free her
hand from his grasp, she said to Mm, "Please don't look upon me, your
majesty, because I am very unattractive ... my skin has been blackened
by the sun, and it is like the tents of kedar!" (Kedar had tents made
of black skins)
The Daughters of Jerusalem who were with her spoke in a chorus and
said, "Oh, No! We would compare your skin to the beautiful and
delicate white curtains of Solomon!"
Not to be outdone by the flattering words of the virgins, Solomon
passionately began to use many other descriptive words with which to
describe how beautiful she was.
Our heroine felt a little sickened by all of those words, so she
interrupted the king and pleaded, "I am formally engaged to another
man! Please do not force your attentions upon me!"
No matter how hard she tried, Solomon was not about to be distracted
by her pleas, and he continued to try to win her favor with even more
flattery. He was very sure that she would not be able to resist his
chaim!
Finally, in desperation, the Shulamite woman said, "I'm feeling a
little faint, your majesty! Please allow me to go out into your
beautiful gardens for i breath of fresh air!"
Reluctantly, Solomon gave his consent, but he went to the window that
overlooked the gardens below and watched eagerly as she ran down the
pathway to his beautiful gardens.
As he watched, Solomon was mentally planning the next strategy he
would use when she returned, but his thoughts were suddenly distracted
by a familiar voice questioning, "What do you see in this Shulamite?"
Solomon turned away from the window and saw that it was one of his
favorite queens who stood there speaking to him. He said very
politely, "My dear, how long have you been standing there listening
and watching?" The jealous queen answered, "Long enough to know that
this woman presents no competition for me, your majesty! Just watch me
now as I dance for you!"
Meanwhile, down in the gardens below, the Shulamite woman thought she
heard the voice of her beloved shepherd. She ran to the gate and
called his name! He answered and then climbed over the wall near the
gate, swept her up in his aims, and they sped away quickly in his
humble chariot and went to her home.
The brothers were watching as they came down the road in a cloud of
dust, and they called their mother so she could also observe what was
happening...
Then the brothers said, "It is our sister and that shepherd others in
the chariot! If she is undefiled, we will build a beautiful house for
them, but if she has been defiled, we will lock her up and keep her
away from this man whom she loves."
Their mother said, '1 raised her as a proper girl!"
By this time, the couple had arrived and they had overheard what was
said about them. In response, the Shulamite woman said, '1 am not
defiled, even though I was in Solomon's palace for a brief moment! My
love is only for my shepherd, and for that reason I have remained pure
and undefiled.
After hearing that, the brothers and mother gave their permission for
the two lovers to marry.
THE END
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