Monday, July 1, 2013

They Pledge Unending Love & Faithfulness (Song of Solomon 8:5-14)



SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/1/2013 8:19 AM
My Worship Time                                         Focus:  They Pledge Unending Love & Faithfulness
Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Song of Solomon 8:5-14
            Message of the verses:  I wish to begin this SD by saying that it was on October 21, 2011 that I began the study of Job, which was the first book in the poetry section of the Word of God, and was the first book that is in one of the four volumes that I have that are written by Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, and this will be the last SD the book of the Song of Solomon.  I remember that Job was a very difficult book for me to study as I had a “Job” moment while studying that book.  The Psalms were a blessing and that book took over a year to complete.  Ecclesiastes was a wonderful study that I recently finished, and now the Song of Solomon has spoken to my heart about my own marriage, and as I continue to read a book written by Tommy Nelson on his commentary on the Song of Solomon my prayer is that the Lord will continue to open my mind and heart to the things that I need to do in order to have a God centered marriage.  Tommy Nelson entitles his commentary on the Song of Solomon “The Book of Romance,” and if someone wants to enhance their study of the Song of Solomon that is a wonderful way to accomplish it.
            They Pledge Unending Love & Faithfulness (8:5-14): “5 ¶ “Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved?" "Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and gave you birth. 6 “Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the LORD. 7 “Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised."
    “8 ¶  "We have a little sister, And she has no breasts; What shall we do for our sister On the day when she is spoken for? 9 “If she is a wall, We will build on her a battlement of silver; But if she is a door, We will barricade her with planks of cedar." 10 “I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace. 11 “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He entrusted the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit. 12 “My very own vineyard is at my disposal; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit."
    “13 ¶ “O you who sit in the gardens, My companions are listening for your voice- Let me hear it!" 14 “Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of spices.’”
            Let us look at how Dr. Wiersbe writes about this section:  “Verses 8-14 form an appendix to the story.  As the Shulamite returns to her girlhood home with her husband, she remembers what her brothers said about her when she was younger.  They didn’t think she was ready for marriage because she hadn’t yet matured.  The images of the wall and the door have to do with the girls virginity.  If she was a door, a woman of easy access, then she would not be firt to be a bride, but if she kept herself pure, behind a wall, as it were, then they could give her asay to the man who asked for her.  The Shulamite boldly stated that she was a wall and entered the marriage bed a pure virgin.  But in spite of her brothers’ sneers, she developed physically and had breasts that her husband admired (4:5-6; 7:3, 7:8).”
            “The book closes with the Shulamite in her garden, chatting with some friends, and her husband calls to her because he wants to hear her voice.  Where there is love, the husband and wife want to be together and share their ideas and feelings.  Yes, ther’s a place for other companions, but nobody must replace the mate God gives to us.  How does the beloved respond to his call?  She tells him to hurry up and leave with her, because the ‘mountains of spices’ (her breasts, 4:5-6) are awaiting his touch.  Of course, her companions in the garden don’t understand this code word, so she doesn’t embarrass anybody.  Husbands and wives frequently have a secret language of love that others don’t understand.”
            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have mentioned that before that one of the reasons for reading and studying the Bible is to be convicted of things that one is doing wrong, and then by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit correct those wrong things with right things.  Having one’s toes stepped on is a common way of explaining this.  That is what happened to me as I read and studied the book of Song of Solomon, and as I continue to read Tommy Nelsons book on this OT Gem.
My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to study this book and ask the Lord to help me in doing the things that I learn from it to make my marriage into one that is of the Lord.
Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-4
            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 its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah. 
            4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The Ethiopian eunuch” (Acts 8:34).
Today’s Bible Question:  “What did Jacob call the place where he dreamed of a ladder to heaven?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
7/1/2013 8:59 AM

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