SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/20/2013
7:44 AM
My Worship Time Focus: True love is
like an Adventure in the country
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Song of Solomon 2:8-17
Message of the
verses: This is the second sub-point
under the main point entitled “Anticipation: The Courtship.”
“8 ¶ “Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, Climbing
on the mountains, Leaping on the hills! 9 “My beloved is like a gazelle or a
young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the
windows, He is peering through the lattice. 10 “My beloved responded and said
to me, ’Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along. 11 ’For behold,
the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 12 ’The flowers have already
appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice
of the turtledove has been heard in our land. 13 ’The fig tree has ripened its
figs, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my
darling, my beautiful one, And come along!’"
“14 ¶
"O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret place of the
steep pathway, Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is
sweet, And your form is lovely." 15 “Catch the foxes for us, The little
foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom."
16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies. 17
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be
like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether.’”
While driving in my car yesterday I was listening to a
Christian radio station and on it was a program to encourage people to continue
to read their Bibles each day. The
question on the program to which people were to call in and participate was “Where
are you stuck?” People called in telling
the difficulties of having a regular time in reading and studying their Bibles
and where they get stuck at. Leviticus
was a common thread in answers to where many people got stuck in reading
through the Bible. There was a lady who
said that she had a problem with Song of Solomon and the host who was answering
questions mentioned that there are different views as to what the book is all
about, views that we discussed at the beginning of our study of this book. The host stated that he believed that the book
was real as far as the people who were in it, people like the Shulamite, and
Solomon, and that there was a relationship that really was going on between
them to which I agree. As stated in an
earlier SD on Song of Solomon I believe that this is God’s gift to His people
on how to have a happy and fulfilling marriage including the sexual part of
marriage, and that there is an application from the book that speaks of God’s
relationship with Israel, and also Christ’s relationship with his bride, the
Church. I did find it interesting that
others who have looked at the book of Song of Solomon had questions regarding
the meaning of it.
It seems that the king comes to the Shulamite in the
spring to take her off on an adventure with him, but she would not go, for she
wanted the safety of her home. The
invitation would come again in 4:8 “Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, May
you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana, From the
summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of
leopards.” The Shulamite would offer an
invitation to the king in 7:11, & 8:14.
Let’s move from the story of the king and the Shulamite
to look at the word “come” and how important a word it is when we look at
different verses from the Bible, for after all the king was asking her to come
with him. Let’s begin with God’s loving
invitation to those who are weary from Matthew 11:28-30 “28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and
heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light.’” Now we will look at those who
are sin-stained and in need of cleansing from Isaiah 1:18 “"Come now, and
let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as
scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They
will be like wool.” Next we will look at
Luke 14:17 for those who are in need of nourishment, “and at the dinner hour he
sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ’Come; for everything is
ready now.’” For those who search for
the water of life we look at Revelations 22:17 “The Spirit and the bride say,
"Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the
one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without
cost.” Now we will look at the
invitation for those who are God’s own children beginning with John 1:39 “He
*said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they came and saw where
He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth
hour.” Jesus tells His own to come and
drink in John 7:37-38, “37 ¶ Now on the last day, the great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to
Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ’From his
innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’" Lastly we look at John
21:12 “Jesus *said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the
disciples ventured to question Him, "Who are You?" knowing that it
was the Lord.”
We want to talk a little bit about the little foxes from
verse fifteen. I remember going to a
marriage retreat a few years back and the person doing the talking at the
retreat spoke about the little foxes that cause trouble in a marriage. In the context of our text the people who
took care of the vineyard would have to tie up the branches of the vines so
that the foxes could not reach the grapes to eat them. In the context of a relationship there can be
small problems that need to be taken care of so that they do not develop into bigger
problems. Marriage is hard work, and it
takes commitment to make it work.
Marriage is a picture of the Trinity as Paul speaks of in the book of
Ephesians and other letters he wrote.
When we look at the different members of the Godhead we see that they
all submit to each other, for Christ submitted to His Father’s will by coming
to earth to die for the sins of the world, and that the Spirit submitted to the
Son in caring for the Church by living in each of the believers after He calls
them to salvation. The point is that
marriage is a picture of being submissive to each other.
I found a little study on the web about the Song of
Solomon and so I will paste a portion of it here:
“2:8 – “The
voice” – Jesus said His sheep “know his voice.” (John 10:4)
-
God communicates to us in ways that transcend our five senses.
-
We need to learn to hear His voice above our circumstances.
- “the mountains” – Biblically, mountain
s often speak of government or problems.
-
These mountains could also speak of the high places God brings us to.
(Hab. 3:19)
2:9 – “looking through the windows” – “Now we
see in a mirror, dimly.” (1 Cor. 13:12)
-
It is God’s desire to
be seen and known.
2:10 – “Rise up, my love” – He is issuing an invitation to deeper
fellowship.
-
She postpones her response to His invitation.
- “my fair one” – This is God calling His beloved.
-
God sees us differently from the way we
see ourselves or the way others see us.
2:13 – “fig tree” – Possibly picturing the
re-birth of the nation of Israel in 1943.
- “come away” – It is good for couples to
continue to date throughout their marriage.
2:14 – “the clefts of the rock” – Moses was hid in
the cleft of the rock
as God’s glory passed by.
(Exod. 33:22)
- “your voice is sweet” – And most
of the time all we do is whine.
2:15 – “little foxes” – It is often small
things that ruin relationships.
-
“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin
that so easily ensnares
us.” (Heb. 12:1)
2:16 – “I am his” – She is confident in his love for her.
2:17 – “Bether” – means “separation.”
-
In our relationships with Jesus there
is separated from and separated unto
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: Marriage is hard
work as stated earlier, and one of the foxes that destroy a marriage is
selfishness, for selfishness is the biggest issue that keeps oneness out of a
marriage, for one cannot be one with one’s mate if they are being selfish.
My Steps of Faith for Today: By God’s grace I will not be so selfish to
destroy oneness in my marriage.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 46:1-2
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;
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question “Jesus” (Galatians 3:16).
Today’s Bible
Question: “In what city did Jesus cast
the money changers out of the temple?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
6/20/2013 9:10 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment