The Believer’s Walk as Revealed in the Song of Solomon – Chapter 2

• This book was written by Solomon to recount his love relationship and marriage to a lovely young Shulamite maiden. It is also a portrait of God’s relationship with Israel. The Song of Solomon is cherished as a guide and an inspiration for the Bride of Christ, the Church, and her relationship with the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and seeks to lead the believer toward a closer and more OBEDIENT walk with the Lord. The Song of Solomon became one of the five scrolls of the third part of the Hebrew Bible, each of which was read publicly at one of the annual Jewish Feasts. This one was assigned to be read at the PASSOVER. Passover also marks the beginning of the journey to the Promised Land.

The DISCIPLINE of the Lord Is Not Forced OBEDIENCE

Climbing the Mountain of Faith

¹I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys.

• The bridegroom calls Himself “The Rose Of Sharon, the Lily of the Valleys”. The rose is considered to be the zenith among all flowers. The lily has always been a symbol of purity. In the lowlands of humanity where the swamps of human degradation abound, there is a spotless lily, Christ the Lord.

²As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

• The bride is called “The Lily among Thorns”. And so the church should be, so very different from the world and so pure that she resembles a lily among thorns.

³As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

• The bride compares her beloved to “The Apple Tree among the Trees of the Forest”. The apple tree “viewed” as the king of fruits is here described as sweet, fragrant and suitable for shade.

• The fruit was used figuratively to show how precious we are to God. The bride described “THE TASTE OF HIS FRUIT AS SWEET”.

⁴He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love.

• The king takes his maiden “To the Banqueting Table”. At a banqueting table no ordinary or common foods are served. A banquet is a feast of the choicest foods.

• When we enter into close fellowship with the Lord we will no longer be restricted to a common prayer and study life, but we will find delicacies in THE WORD served in grand abundance (Prov.15:15).

⁶His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me.

• The bride describes the bridegroom’s all encompassing care and protection as “His Left Hand Is Under My Head, And His Right Hand Doth Embrace Me”, Deu.33:27.

⁷I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

• The maiden charges the daughters of Jerusalem “That Ye Stir Not Up, Nor Awake My Love, Till He Please”. Solomon’s maiden was insisting that the other women not disturb this precious time of intimacy. We too, must insist that the cares of this world not disturb and destroy our time alone with the Lord.

v.8 begins a transition in our story. Of course there is more to Christianity than just building a love relationship with the Lord. However, our relationship must be established FIRST in order to hear His call to go further. From henceforth, the bride is called out of her protective place to follow Him and to serve Him in the power of the resurrection.

⁸The voice of my beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

• The bride hears “The Voice of Her Beloved! Leaping upon the Mountains, Skipping Upon the Hills” portrays Christ the bridegroom coming in majesty and power.

⁹My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. ¹⁰My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. ¹¹For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; ¹²The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; ¹³The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

• Where did the bridegroom stand? “Behind Our Wall”. What did he call to her? “Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One, And Come Away”.

What time of year did he tell her it was? “Springtime”. Springtime has always been symbolic of the resurrection. The Lord calls to His people to rise up and come away from the self-life and enter into the springtime of His resurrection power.

¹⁴O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

• The bridegroom’s request of the maiden “Let Me See Thou Countenance, Let Me Hear Thy Voice”. Solomon speaks of a day when he went to call his Shulamite bride to come to the palace. For some reason, although she heard his voice, she did not respond. Some Christians assume that if they feed in the Lord’s green pastures (read their Bibles and go to church) and dine at His banqueting table (read books, listen to tapes and watch Christian television), then the will of God has been done in their life, Ecc.12:12.

• The bride speaks of a wall between them v9 and the bridegroom is twice forced to call for her response, vv.10, 13. We can become like Peter on the mount of transfiguration who wanted to build a tabernacle and stay in the presence of God, while human need was crying out at the bottom of the mountain, Luke 9:38. Many Christians are still seated at the banqueting table delighting in the banner of Hid love when there is much work to be done for the Lord, and the call has come to go to work in the field, Mt.9:37-38.

¹⁵Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

• While remaining in her place of comfort the maiden discovered “Her Vines Have Tender Grapes and the Little Foxes were spoiling them”.

• The little foxes hide under the leaves of the vine and when all is quiet they eat the tender fruit and slip away unnoticed. The maiden’s observance recorded here is direct instruction for the believer. It is the little things that spoil our vine and keep us from responding to the Lord’s greater call. These little areas may hide from everyone’s eyes, except the Bridegroom’s.

• Foxes are very fond of tender young grapes. If they are permitted to remain in the vineyard, they will eat away at the tender fruit of our relationship with Jesus, and our spiritual growth will be hindered, Gal.5:9; I Cor.5:7.

¹⁶My beloved is mine and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

• Here the bride reveals that she is confident in her position and that she knows just where to find the bridegroom. This points to an overconfident attitude. An attitude that often yields to a common deception; that we can respond when WE choose and not as HE chooses.

¹⁷Until the day break and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

• She asks her beloved to “Flee Away until the Day Break”. The maiden didn’t respond to Solomon but thought that she could call to him later. Poor foolish bride! And poor foolish Christian if we think we can determine the time of our response.

• The Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man (Ps.103:9). You’re have heard it said, “It’s never too late to serve God.” that’s partly true. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” but THE OPPORTUNITIES are not (Ro.11:29).

http://youtu.be/CvIxwc90BEI

 

(To be continued…)

How Bill Gates Inspired an Israeli to Bring One of the World’s Earliest Musical Instruments to America and the World

Dan Wooding

“Christianity is actually based on Judaism. Jesus was Jewish and, in our tradition and religion, the blowing of the Shofar encourages heavenly mercy.” -Avi Mishaan

(Nashville, TN)—I watched with fascination as an Israeli called Avi Mishaan suddenly startled broadcasters when he began blowing a Shofar, one of the earliest musical instruments known to humanity, from his booth at the recent NRB 2011 convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

This historic instrument, developed by the early Hebrews, and is made from the horn of an animal, usually a ram but sometimes of a sheep, goat, mountain goat, antelope, or gazelle, certainly provoked a lot of interest with some of the delegates.

The Shofar is usually blown on many different occasions: on the Jubilee Year, on Rosh Hashanah (New Year’s), also called Yom Teru’ah (the day of blowing), in religious rites, or as a call to war. Today the shofar is synonymous with the High Holy Days, but on this occasion it drew a lot of attention on the floor of the event.

So, once he finished his “blowing” I decided to interview Avi, who had come all the way from Israel, to display his wide array of Shofars.

He began by telling me, “I was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel and I am married and a father of three children. My family has been involved in the Judaic and Christian business for six generations now.

“My story with the Shofars began about eight years ago. I have always known that the Shofar is the greatest connection between a man, his prayer and his Creator.

“One night, I was watching Bill Gates [from Microsoft] being interviewed on some television program and he revealed that he had promised to buy each child a new computer. It was then that I promised myself that I would be the one to grant as many people as I can, access to a Shofar.”

Avi went on to say, “Christianity is actually based on Judaism. Jesus was Jewish and, in our tradition and religion, the blowing of the Shofar encourages heavenly mercy. It is the intimate connection between a person’s soul and the Creator of this world in times of prayer. It is the instrument that has enabled the communication between us since the world was created.

“We are G-d’s messengers, here to spread this great opportunity amongst all communities.”

Read this article in its entirety at the source link provided.

Source: ASSIST News Service