Wednesday, June 19, 2013

True Love is like a Banquet PT-2 (Song of Solomon 1:12-2:7)



SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/19/2013 8:18 AM
My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  True Love is like a Banquet PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Song of Solomon 1:2-2:7
            Message of the verses:  Let us begin by looking at chapter one and verse twelve all the way to chapter two and verse seven:  “12 ¶ “While the king was at his table, My perfume gave forth its fragrance. 13 “My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts. 14 “My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi." 15 “How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves." 16 “How handsome you are, my beloved, And so pleasant! Indeed, our couch is luxuriant! 17 “The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters, cypresses.
    “1 ¶ “I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys." 2 “Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens."
    “3 ¶ “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4 “He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love. 5 “Sustain me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, Because I am lovesick. 6 “Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me." 7 “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases.’”
            We can compare a banquette such as going on in these verses with the reign of Jesus Christ upon planet earth for there are Scriptures that suggest that His reign will be likened unto a banquette.  (Isa. 35:6; Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:29 and 14:15; Rev. 19:6-9.)  The Shulamite notices that her perfume attracts the attention of her lover, “in fact she sees him as a sachet of myrrh over her heart and as a cluster of beautiful flowers from the rich oasis of En Gedi.”  (Dr. Wiersbe’s Commentary)
            By speaking of his couch (not bed) and the beams of his house the Shulamite is conveying to him that her love for him will last.  Strong beams in the roof will assure that the roof will not fall down.  The green color of the couch is like a verdant garden or field.
            We had mentioned that the Shulamite did not speak kindly of herself because of her skin was dark from taking care of her brothers flocks, and now she goes back into that mode of thinking by comparing herself to a common rose that comes from Sharon, and also an ordinary hyacinth or lily.  The woman is making the comparison of herself to these flowers and not Solomon making these comparisons to himself.  Solomon does compare her to a rose among thorns to which she then compares him to apples in a forest, something that one does not find too often because apple trees do not usually grow in forests.  By saying this she is saying that he is one of a kind.
            Chapter two and verse four the Shulamite is happy that Solomon has brought her into this banquette thinking that he really loves her, and as she thinks about being loved by this great man she becomes faint, and this is why she asks for apples and cakes of raisins to help her recover her strength.  Now when we look at verse six, “6 Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me,’” she is thinking about the consummation of their marriage for this image speaks of sexual love between a man and a woman.  She is only thinking about this and will not want this until they are married.  She will talk about this again later on in this book.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “True love isn’t something we work up; it’s something the Lord sends down within us when we meet the right person at the right time.”  His endnote on this subject says “This repeated admonition to the unmarried daughters of Jerusalem is a warning against premarital sex.  The Shulamite wants them to remain pure in mind and body so they will enter into the full joy of married love at the right time and with the right person.  No matter what society does and the law permits, the Bible knows nothing of unmarried couples living together as though married.  Some things are legal that may not be biblical.”  This end note was also used in an earlier SD.
            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This teaching from the Word of God is something that is sadly missing in our society today, and the sad part is that churches allow people who are living together without being married to attend their services.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will guide me in all that I do today as Proverbs 3:5-6 speak of.
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 earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Land of Goshen (Exodus 8:22).”
Today’s Bible Question:  “Who fulfilled God’s promise that Abraham’s seed would bless the whole earth?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
6/19/2013 9:28 AM    
             

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