Intimacy with GOD, Esher Shoshannah [red queen free ebook .txt] 📗

a chaste virgin to Christ." II Corinthians 11:2

 

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready. And He says unto me, 'Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.' These are the true sayings of God." Rev.19:7,9

 

"For thy Maker is your Husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called." Isaiah 54:5

 

"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying…`I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.’" Revelation.21:9

 

The Lord even uses the analogy of a bride and bridegroom in giving us the garments for salvation as seen in the following verse:

 

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

 

Welcome bride of Christ, to a very special devotional study which will draw your heart closer to your Beloved Lord as never before. It is to be read as the Holy Spirit leads you to sit for a time with your Husband, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

At times you will find yourself so touched in your spirit you will need to set the devotional aside, and sit quietly in His presence, with no words spoken except the love of your heart flowing to His.

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Lord, my heart belongs to You alone! Take me now and let me be the bride who will bring You great joy. Cause me each day of my life to walk so closely to You that I will experience Your intimacy which will begin to change me into Your blessed image forever."

 

To get a real glimpse of this bride’s heart, turn to chapter 8:6 where her Bridegroom asks her to give Him a very special gift. He says, "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm…" With a heart overflowing with love for Him, she gladly obeys knowing this will give Him greatest joy of all! And you too will be asked the same question by your spiritual Bridegroom when you reach chapter eight!

 

Listen, dear bride of the Lord Jesus, to the following words spoken by Him to you as He looks deep into the eyes of your soul saying with overwhelming love and joy:

 

"Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of thy neck." S of S 4:9

 

"How fair (beautiful) is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of your ointments than all spices!" S of S 4:10

  

"Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah…Turn away your eyes from me, for they have overcome me…" S of S 6:4,5

 

With a great longing in His heart, Jesus desires for you not to know Him just as Savior but as your Bridegroom! You are His eternal joy!

 

He wrote this wonderful, spiritual Song to reveal the innermost thoughts of His heart to you. Why? So that you may be able to grow deeper in the fullness of His love!

 

 

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AND NOW A MYSTERY TO BE SOLVED!

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Consider what the bride declares about her Bridegroom in 2:16:

"My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feeds among the lilies."

 

Compare the above with what she proclaims in 6:3:

"I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine: He feeds among the lilies."

 

What caused her to reverse the first declaration? The difference will lead her life into a defining moment of intimacy and service that she had never experienced before. This most powerful spiritual moment takes place in the 7:10 where she proclaims:

"I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me."

 

May the Holy Spirit bring you into this same life-changing moment where your heart will never again turn back!

 

THE SONG OF SOLOMON: WELL KNOWN BELIEVERS TESTIFY

 

C. H. SPURGEON (the great 19th cent. preacher) on the Song he said,

"The true believer who has lived near to his Master will find this book to be a mass, not of gold merely, for all God's Word is this, but a mass of diamonds sparkling with brightness; and all things thou canst conceive are not to be compared with it for its matchless worth. If I must prefer one book above another, I would prefer some books of the Bible for doctrine, some for experience, some for example, some for teaching, BUT LET ME PREFER THIS BOOK ABOVE ALL OTHERS FOR FELLOWSHIP AND COMMUNION (my emphasis). When the Christian is nearest to heaven, this is the book he takes with him." (From the book, “The Most Holy Place” – Christian Focus Publications)

 

CHARLES FINNEY (the great 19th cent. revivalist) shared his heart:

The moment Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) entered into the power of this love relationship with Christ he said, "...The whole Scripture seemed to be all ablaze with light, and not only light, but it seemed as if God's Word was instinct with the very life of God...At this time it seemed as if my soul was wedded to Christ, in a sense in which I had never had any thought or conception of before. The language of the Song of Solomon was as natural to me as my breath. I thought I could understand well the state of mind he was in, when he wrote that song.I not only had all the freshness of my first love, but a vast accession to it. Indeed, the Lord lifted me so much above anything that I had ever experienced before...." (From the book, “They Found the Secret” – Zondervan Publications)

 

HUDSON TAYLOR (famous 19th cent. missionary) wrote a wonderful little book on the Song of Solomon entitled “Union and Communion” dealing with our spiritual relationship with Christ, the Bridegroom.

 

JOHN GILL (One of the great Puritan theologians of the 18th century preached 122 sermons in 1724 on the Song of Solomon.)

"...The subject of this song...is Christ, the true Solomon, of whom Solomon was an eminent type...the transcendent glories and excellencies of His person; His inexpressible love unto, care of, and concern for His church and people, together with the nearness of access unto and sweet communion and fellowship with Himself, which He indulges them with, are here particularly expressed and set forth, so that it may be called the Song of Songs." (From the book “An Exposition of the Song of Solomon” - Sovereign Grace Publishers)

 

JONI EARECKSON TADA (well known 20th century Christian writer)

"When I approach the Lord in prayer, I relate to Him in different ways. Occasionally I talk with Him as my elder brother, which He is. If I’m under spiritual attack, I’ll go to Him in prayer as the Captain of my soul. He is my friend when I want to pour out my heart. I even have single friends who look up to the Lord as their husband, as it says in Isaiah 54:5. Lately, I’ve enjoyed relating to my Savior as the lover of my soul. And when I want to tell the Lord how much I adore Him, I use the language of love in the Song of Songs. This beautiful book of the Bible is more than just a love poem; it’s a picture of the love relationship between the Bridegroom and His bride. From your heart, tell Jesus that He is the fairest of ten thousand. Praise Him for being altogether lovely. Let Him know that His love is better than wine. He is the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley." (From “Women’s Devotional Bible” and “Diamonds in the Dust” – Zondervan Publishers)

 

THE HEART OF HIS LOVE SONG

 

I. The Desire for Intimacy: 1:1 - 2:7

  

II. The Depths of His Power and Desire: 2:8 - 2:15

 

III. The Decision for Self: 2:16 - 3:5

 

IV. The Dream of His Strength and Power: 3:6 - 11

 

V. The Discovery of Full Acceptance: 4:1 - 5:1

 

VI. The Danger of Hesitation When He Calls: 5:2 - 5:6a

 

VII. The Desperation & Depression of Loneliness: 5:6b - 8

 

VIII. The Drawing of Her Heart Back to Him: 5:9 - 6:3

 

IX. The Delights of His Heart Revealed: 6:4 - 7:9

 

X. The Dying to Self: 7:10

 

XI. The Devoted Life: 7:11 - 8:14

 

TESTIMONIES FROM THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BLESSED

Shalom Esher – in the name of the Beloved,

This devotional has affected my life so deeply- words cannot say. Thank you – for putting your years of time with Him on paper – so those of us who long to peer into His heart more deeply have access to the revelation He has given you, and in turn us! Hallelujah! Through the S of S my walk with Him has been transformed, and continues to be. No other book has affected me the way this gift has. May the Lord continue to bless you more and more in the reality of His unfailing love.

Shalom in Y’shua,

Brandy

 

Dear Esher,

What a book, far more appealing, interesting, explanatory, revealing, captivating and stirring than any spiritual book I've read. I've just started to read this book very slowly, taking time to feel the heart of Jesus for me, relishing and delighting in that feeling and letting it