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

Lost men, women, boys and girls walking in darkness and yes, believers can also walk in darkness because of disobedience! He wants us to go out into their darkness with Him who is the light of the world. Will she respond? Will you? Jesus doesn’t always "show up" at the most convenient times (the Matt. 25:35-40 principle). Will you say "yes" to the Holy Spirit’s gentle beckoning? Will she? Jesus stopped at a well in Samaria and He was weary (John 4:6). It was inconvenient for Him to take time with this woman but He did! The immediate rewards were tremendous. His hunger subsided. He received supernatural energy from Abba Father and was rewarded with great joy (John 4:32-34)!

If only she would go with Him and step out in loving, obedient faith for a whole new world of blessed intimacy and service awaits her! This is where He is escorting her all through this Song. He wants her to give His heart to others. His great joy is for Him to minister through us in blessed, intimate fellowship. You might be thinking that this approach here is really reading too much into the text. This is exactly what will take place later (7:11-13; 8:5,8)! For now, at least, there is a desire on her part to go with Him.

In chapter two He yearned for her to go with Him. Praise God this is a learning experience here for the bride and not condemnation. She will never be the same after this failure. It will lead her into a deeper, fully surrendered relationship. She excuses herself by saying...

V.3 "I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?"

Listen carefully, and you will be able to hear a slight tone of irritation in her voice. Have you ever been somewhat "put upon" with an "untimely" request of the Lord to do something or go somewhere? You said in your heart, "Lord, I don’t mind doing it but not right now! I just need to sit and relax for a little while." But His voice quietly persisted, "Open to Me and let Me take care of that irritation." You had no idea that a "little leaven" of hesitation has been sprinkled over your "will" (Gal. 5:9)! The sad result will be seen in Song 5:7! O the "little leaven" of my rights, rights of convenience. "O Lord, expose the leaven so I will not begin a destructive, downward journey." She had taken off the coat of practical righteousness (Isa. 61:10). It was the mind of her old nature making the choice and not the mind of Christ! She asks, "how shall I put it on"? The answer is by declaring, "Not my will but My Beloved’s will!" But alas, she continues with the excuses of leaven, "I have washed my feet..." Will He not wash her spiritual feet with the water of the Word when they are through ministering (John 13:8-12; 15:3; Eph. 5:25,26)?

Although she is truly surrendered in heart to Him and in no way wants someone else, the bride falls back into the trap of inconvenience which constantly pleads, "not now, but later!" We would never say it that way. We dress it up in a more spiritually acceptable tone. In vs. 2 and 3 the little word “I” appears five times. She is saying to her Beloved, "You know how much I love You but don’t You see, I need to relax now and sleep? I thought You really cared for me! I want to spend some time reading Your Word before I go to sleep. I absolutely don’t want to take another bath later!" Notice the words, "my coat" and "my feet"! She is in control of their use! They are not totally submitted to Him! Ministering to the Samaritan woman He met at the well was certainly inconvenient for Him. He was tired, weary and hungry! But He laid aside that which was of temporal importance to deal with the emptiness of a longing, hurting, wounded heart!

Lovingly He asks her, "Have you forgotten that I gave up all My rights (Phil. 2:5,6) for you My love?" Will she respond? Will you? Her concern about defilement is admirable, but a "little" defilement has taken place already in her hesitation to respond! So many of us think we are clean, when, in actuality, there is still spiritual dirt clinging to the feet of our will. Her spiritual feet, which were clean, have now become polluted. This wouldn’t have happened if she had bound all decisions to the "mind of Christ" which is in her (I Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5). This is the mind which causes us to always make the right decisions!

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear Lord, may I never, never hesitate in responding to Your prompting! I long to do Your will and Your will alone. Cause me to walk in Your ways (Ezk. 36:27). May my response always say, 'I love You with all of my heart. Your desire is my desire. In Jesus name, amen!'"

V.4 "My beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels (feelings) were moved for Him!"

The doors were quite thick and had large holes in them where a person could reach through and unlock the door. Do you see the hand of your Bridegroom through the hole in your heart’s door? Do you see the nail-scarred hand there, desiring a quick, loving response from you to go with Him? O how your Blessed Lord wants you to share in the work which He had already chosen just for you in eternity past (Eph. 2:10). There is no reason for reluctance. Our Omniscient God has the work all planned out and the dear Holy Spirit provides the power to accomplish it! Surely there will be no hesitation on her part! It is unthinkable!

Her emotions were moved because of His voice just as our feelings are touched when we read the Word of God and the voice of the precious Holy Spirit speaks to us through it. That should have been enough for an immediate, positive response to submit. But are stirred emotions enough to cause us to obey His voice and answer, "yes" to any request of our Bridegroom? No! The feelings, which she is experiencing, are from the soul. God made us with emotions. The Holy Spirit tells us in Psa. 103 for our soul to bless Him with all that is within us. But emotions alone will not necessarily move her feet. An inalterable decision should have been made in her spirit long before this, that whenever her Beloved calls she would go, with no questions asked! Each day as we hug on Him during that special "first love, love" quiet time, by the Spirit we should look Him in the eyes and say once again, "My Husband, I will obey You today because of Your grace-filled, loved-filled heart for me which never changes!"

This indecision will cost her dearly. He will go away grieved having His purpose for her to share in His work unfulfilled. Eph. 4:30 tells us that we can grieve the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). Previously when asked by the Beloved to go with Him she declined because of the desire to have Him just for herself alone. That decision brought on an unexpected and fearful separation (2:17). Since that time her heart has changed. She will go with Him but only at a convenient time. The good news is, the bride does arise and goes to the door. All seems well, but is it?

V.5 "I rose to open to my Beloved; and my hand dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet myrrh, upon the handles of the lock."

The door handles smelled of myrrh. His nail scarred hand had touched it leaving a reminder of the cross there. She loved that fragrance. It had become so much a part of her life since going to the mountain of Myrrh. Her heart beats faster as she detected the scent of the myrrh. O how well she knew what it meant. It was the symbol of total and complete love for her and how He had shed His blood for her sins making her heart beautiful. That very moment blessed thoughts of His infinite, giving heart raced through her mind. "O my Beloved, I see the cup Your Father offered to You in the garden. Dear, dear Lord You saw my dirty soul in that cup, then, without hesitation, You reached forth Your hand to take the cup of wrath, knowing full well what it meant! You went to the mountain of Myrrh for me. It was a bitter taste to You, but it was there that You placed the very costly myrrh on my soul. I remember skipping and jumping all the way down to the hill of frankincense in holiness. Thank You, thank You my Love!" Her heart, bursting with excited love for Him, couldn’t wait to put her arms around Him and say, "I love You so much for Calvary and the myrrh!" As she put on her garments the bride raises her voice in panic, "My Beloved, I’m coming! I will be there in just a minute! Wait! Please Wait!" Instead of joy there would be shock and dismay as she said...

V.6a "I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone…"

She gets to the door quickly! Her heart pounds anticipating the joy of His fellowship. She opens the door with great anticipation calling out to Him, "Here I am my Beloved!" Her heart sinks! He’s gone! She runs outside shouting, "I am here, don’t, don’t leave me! I’ll go with You! I’m sorry I hesitated, I won’t do it again!" But there is no answer, just the quiet sounds of the night! Tears fill her eyes as she shouts over and over again, "He’s gone!" "He’s gone!" Sharp pains pierce her heart and mind. The depressing realization hit her, "I have deeply wounded Him!"

Howling winds of doubt begin to swirl in her mind! "Will He come back? If He does, how long will I have to wait?" The enemy of her thought life begins to build a stronghold there. Thoughts rush through her mind, "He won’t come back, I have deeply grieved my Love! There is no way He will ever want me again! It’s too late!" Despair floods her soul! She cries out, "O my soul why, why did I hesitate? I’m so sorry Lord, I hurt You again." Weeping and sobbing uncontrollably, she falls asleep. A cold, spiritual distance begins to creep into her heart. He now seems so far, far away! The hurt is so much greater than before.

She awakes from an uneasy sleep realizing all over again what she had done. O the pain of the voice of her heart, "No! No! No! It can’t be! He’s gone, really gone! O my Love how could I have done this to You? How could I give You the impression that I did not want to be with You anymore; that You were not worthy of my immediate obedience and attention? What can I do to change what has happened? I love You so much and now You’re gone! My Love, please, please give me just one more opportunity. In anguish my heart cries for You!" The Lord has to allow her to go through this terrible emptiness so she will never again permit the leaven of her will to detract and divert her from the blessed filling and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit.

That very moment the enemy came rushing to speak to her mind. "Yes, you blew it, He no longer loves you. You are worthless. He will find someone else who really loves Him. He knew