SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2013
1:22 PM
My Worship Time Focus: There
Meeting in the Garden
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Song of
Solomon 6:1-13
Message of the
verses: “1 ¶ “Where has your beloved
gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your beloved turned, That we may
seek him with you?" 2 “My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds
of balsam, To pasture his flock in the gardens And gather lilies. 3 “I am my
beloved’s and my beloved is mine, He who pastures his flock among the
lilies."
4 ¶ “You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my
darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As awesome as an army with banners. 5 “Turn
your eyes away from me, For they have confused me; Your hair is like a flock of
goats That have descended from Gilead. 6 “Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one
among them has lost her young. 7 “Your temples are like a slice of a
pomegranate Behind your veil. 8 “There are sixty queens and eighty concubines,
And maidens without number; 9 But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is
her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who bore her. The
maidens saw her and called her blessed, The queens and the concubines also, and
they praised her, saying, 10 ’Who is
this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the
sun, As awesome as an army with banners?’
11 ¶ “I went down to the orchard of nut
trees To see the blossoms of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded Or
the pomegranates had bloomed. 12 “Before I was aware, my soul set me Over the
chariots of my noble people." 13 “Come back, come back, O Shulamite; Come
back, come back, that we may gaze at you!" "Why should you gaze at
the Shulamite, As at the dance of the two companies?” (NASB)
The Shulamite knew where her husband was because they
knew each other, and this is an important aspect in marriage, that is to get to
know your spouse so well that you are like one, which is a large part of the
oneness that happens when people are married.
I mentioned in an earlier SD that it is believed that the biggest thing
there is to not having oneness with your spouse is selfishness.
We see that Solomon was not upset at his wife even though
she would not let him in the house, but he even goes on to extol her beauty
similar to what he had done in an earlier chapter. This is another important aspect of marriage especially
what the husband needs to do with his wife, that is tell hear how beautiful she
is.
I guess I find it hard to understand that he even
mentions the fact of other women in his harem, but even though this was not God’s
idea of having more than one wife it was the custom of that time period, and
Solomon would have many more wives and concubines latter on in his life.
There are some interesting comments in this section by
Dr. Wiersbe about marriage that I want to pass on: “Her husband’s army was arriving, and the
garden looked like a battlefield. But
gardens are for beauty and nourishment, not for battles. Is there a suggestion here that marriage
should be neither a battleground nor a playground, but a garden that is
carefully cultivated and thoroughly enjoyed?
The first marriage took place in a perfect garden (Gen. 2:18-25), and
marriage ought to be like a garden. This
takes work, but it’s worth it! Noticing
her absence, the daughters of Jerusalem call for her to return so they can gaze
upon her beauty, but in her modesty, she asks, ‘Why look at me? What is there to look at?’ Solomon answers the question from 6:13c to
7:9.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I like the idea
of marriage being like a garden, that needs constant care or else the weeds
will overtake it.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Get rid of any weeds in my garden to the
glory of God.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 46:1-3
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear,
though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 Though it’s waters roar
and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
Answer to Bible Question
from 6-26-2013: “God” (1 Corinthians
3:6).
Today’s Bible
Question: “What happened to the seed
that fell by the wayside?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
6/29/2013 1:45 PM
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