Married to the Monarch
The world has been recently saddened with the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, just short of his 100th Birthday, and then he could have received a special congratulatory message from the Queen, his own Wife. Apart from all the other things, all the documentaries telling us all about his life, and all about his Funeral and who will attend, well this interesting concept has peeped through, so let us explore. Prince Philip married a lovely lady, actually a princess, who was upon her father’s death thrust into a whole new world, and was “Crowned” the Monarch of about one third of the world, and some postulate that the actual realm is really much bigger than that. We will let others debate that point, as we wish to explore his role as, “Her Husband.”
Prince Philip, upon his “Father-in Laws” death, in essence lost his wife as well, as she then became the “Monarch.” He was no longer able to take a holiday away with her whenever he wanted, take her for a stroll in the countryside, pop out with her for ice-cream, bring her a hot drink and a piece of cake or a cookie, curl up with her to watch a sunset or a Movie, she was the “Monarch,” and she had dominion over him, he now served her with his everything, for his life and existence was in her hands, to honour and to exalt, to be banished and rejected, or even to imprisonment or even a death sentence, which previous Monarchs have used to remove a spouse. Prince Philip had no access to his wife, without it firstly being put in a spare space in her Diary, and the amount of time, subject matter, was all very strictly controlled, by her role as the “Monarch.” Prince Philip could not ring her on the Telephone, pop into her Office, any contact was strictly controlled so that her organized schedule was not messed up so that things in the Realm might not get left unattended to, for his wife is the “Monarch.”
We get this glimpse of “Being Married to the Monarch,” from these few verses in the Bible, Esther 4:11 “All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, [there is] one law of his to put [him] to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.” Esther is the Queen, and she has no access to her Husband the King, unless he comes to her or gives her an appointment to come to him. Esther 4:16 “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. Esther 5:1-2 “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on [her] royal [apparel], and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, [that] she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that [was] in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.” You see Queen Esther had overstepped her role, her life was now fully in the King’s hands, and unless she received “Mercy and Grace,” her breaking the rules and arriving unsolicited and unannounced, was normally instant death, from her very own Husband.
Prince Philip lived under less rigid rules, but access to his own wife, “the Monarch,” was under the strictly enforced rules of the Monarchy, and no longer as a spouse. He was required to walk a couple of steps behind her, to sit after her, to arise from seated after her, to eat and drink only when she had started firstly, his life was to be “just behind her in everything,” and what he did, said, ate, drank, everything was strictly monitored, so that he represented the “Monarchy” correctly. Very interesting, but what is the point? Colossians 1:27b “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” So in a “Marriage Concept,” if “Christ is in you,” then you are “one Flesh” with him, so Jesus Christ is your Husband, but we are only talking about the “Marriage Concept,” and not a gender dilemma. Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” John 4:24 “God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.” Jesus alludes to the Redeemed as having no gender of being men and women, so we are depicted as non-gender it appears, now let us get back to our study, of a “Spiritual Marriage.” Therefore Jesus Christ holds your very life and existence in the “Palm of his Hands,” and you are now required to live an exemplary life, fully reflecting your Husband, Jesus Christ, and we all know how very instantly the Press and TV Reporters will report any and every perceived discretion. Paul plays with this concept in 1 Corinthians 4:9 “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
With this “Reporter” concept, with the Angels being depicted as recording your everything, so what are they reporting on you? Paul once more captures this concept in Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring [spouse].” So what reports are being aired on “Heavens nightly Hot News,” all about what you have said or done or thought Or? 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Do you and I live with God “First, Last and Best in everything?” Do we live, “all to the glory of God?” Are we still one step behind Jesus, or somewhere far behind? Are we “In-step or out-of-step with Jesus?” Let us always be in-step and holding firmly God’s hand.
