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

of His loving, protective gaze. The bride desires that her eyes will not focus off onto some worldly distraction which would pain His heart. She earnestly wants her eyes to be as His, "fitly set."

Listen once again to her worship in the temple of her heart, "My Beloved Husband You are the One and only true God enthroned in the glory of heaven. You rule over all of the universe (Mt. 19:28; Heb. 1:8; Rev. 4:10; 5:13)". She sees in His eyes the eternal glory of the King of kings and Lord of lords! "I am forever enthroned upon His heart (Jer. 31:3) and seated with Him in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6)! I feel so safe when my eyes meet His eyes of forgiveness, mercy and compassion for me!"

How could she have forgotten those intimate talks with her Beloved and His words of promise? Words such as, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I WILL GUIDE THEE WITH MINE EYE." (Psa. 32:8). It is so important to keep your eyes upon His gaze. Do you desire to look into the eyes of your Beloved Lord? Gaze with love within the pages of His Word. The eyes have a language all their own. When you are truly in love with Jesus others will see it in your eyes.

 

PRAY WITH ME: "O Lord, I am so ashamed that I failed to look into Your eyes and missed Your look which would have kept me from straying away. Be enthroned upon my heart that I might have a clear view of Your loving, caring, correcting, leading and forgiving gaze. I give You praise that You have eyes only for me, Your bride. Thank You for assuring me that You have doves eyes! I love You and long to be faithful to You only. Take me Holy Spirit and cleanse me and make me after the will of my Lord and my Savior. Dear Bridegroom, I do not want to hurt You with my sinful wanderings anymore. Thank You, for Your ever watchful eyes ready to guide me. In the blessed name of Jesus my Lord, amen."

 

The more she speaks of Him the more healing of her heart takes place. She doesn't understand it but there is great expectancy flooding her soul. Her guilt and shame, the enemy’s accusing finger of worthlessness and failure have all but disappeared! With joy she says...

 

V.13 "His cheeks are as a bed of spices (balsam), as sweet flowers (herbs): his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh."

The Holy Spirit is about to bring to her memory the horrors of the cross, the pain of Calvary and a vision of what she was before she met Him. It will have a profound effect upon her heart in driving her back into the loving arms of her Beloved!

"Balsam" is a plant from which is extracted balm to be used for healing. Her eyes filled up with tears seeing in a vision the bloody and bruised cheeks of her Beloved. She watched them being slapped in mockery many times (Mt. 27:30; Mark 15:18-19; Luke 22:64) and O how He despised the shame of it all (Heb. 12:2)! She saw His beard being ripped out (Isa. 50:6)! Then came the spit! Soldier after soldier spit ugly contempt upon those lovely cheeks! All this before He was led away to die for her. His countenance was hideous, marred more than any man (Isa. 52:14). The Holy Spirit's voice spoke in her heart, "All this your Beloved allowed because He so desperately desired your love for eternity! All of this is for your healing, your restoration!" She responded, "How could I have ever forgotten what He went through to make me beautiful for Him? O the sin of neglect, putting my comfort over His call to go with Him. Forgive me My Beloved, forgive me!"

All of a sudden she detected the aroma of balsam. At that very moment the stripes and wounds on His back and face appeared realizing that by them she is healed (Isa. 53:5). She could feel the healing virtue flow through her body, healing all the cuts and bruises she had just suffered (I Pet. 2:24). She rejoiced at the scent of sweet smelling flowers and herbs about His person. It reminded her of the garden in which He had prayed, the garden in which He died and the garden in which He was resurrected (John 19:41)! It brought back memories of the beautiful garden He had made out of her heart. The scent of resurrection life was in the air. Great expectancy filled her heart.

She understood for the first time that the only way to walk in the resurrection life was to open to Him when He knocked and to go with Him when He beckoned. A beautiful glow of God's presence enclosed her as she continued to describe Him whom her soul loved...

 

"...his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh." (go back and read about the myrrh in 1:13)

The bride had wronged Him and now, guilt ridden, feels she is an embarrassment to Him. She desperately needs grace for failing Him a second time and bringing shame to His testimony. Immediately the Holy Spirit reveals to her heart another glorious aspect of her Beloved's "sweet smelling myrrh". She hears His voice speak in her mind Psa. 45:2 that, "...grace is poured into thy lips...!" Her heart began to pound with joy! It was grace she needed and grace she was receiving - forgiving grace, loving grace (I John 1:9 and Jer. 31:3). He just can't help Himself! He is infinitely in love with her! The constant dropping of sweet smelling myrrh tells us what His abounding, rich grace cost Him - the crucifixion! She felt His healing virtue continue to flow through her body. She looks at her arms and the bruises were disappearing. This priceless myrrh was bringing back the beauty she once possessed. What was bitter to Him becomes sweet to us.

She knew that "lilies" represented surrendered believers (2:1-2) and also His glory (Mt. 6:28-29). True surrender brings glory to Him. The bride speaks of His lips being like lilies. What a blessed revelation about our God! He was the epitome of the surrendered life. Jesus, the Son of Man, taught us how to live. He surrendered His rights to exercise the power of His deity when He took upon Himself the form of a servant (Phil. 2:5-7). He "...made Himself of no reputation..." (literally - "He emptied Himself"). That's surrender - That's a Lily! Every word spoken out of His mouth came from His Father (John 14:10; 12:49). That's surrender - that's a Lily! All the miracles came from the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit; Jesus did nothing of Himself (John 5:19, 30). That's surrender - that's a Lily! It is a holy, loving passion to obey and please the Father. When lilies speak, only life is produced (John 6:63) because they are under the total control of the Beloved’s Holy Spirit.

The ultimate surrender was Jesus’ human soul in the garden of Gethsemane. His soul was saying to Him, "I don't need to die, I've committed no sin!" But Jesus’ spirit surrendered that last right to the Father when the sweet smelling myrrh came from His lips and declared, "And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt." (Mark 14:39). How sweet those obedient words to His Father's heart! That's surrender - that's a Lily's mouth! When we surrender the rights of our attitudes, actions and words we are applying Rom. 6:6! When we say "no" to self we are seeing the power of the Cross at work in us (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:22; II Cor. 4:10) producing the sweet smelling myrrh of Rom. 6:14 and Gal. 2:20. Jesus never sinned but His human soul sure was tested throughout His lifetime.

The daughters of Jerusalem are overwhelmed. They had never heard such glowing descriptions before concerning any human. A miracle of transformation was taking place right before their eyes as the bride described Him whom her soul loveth! O the joyful, satisfying, sweet words which continually proceed out of His mouth when He looks at His lilies and sees the victory of His bitter "myrrh" in their lives. As His lilies apply the cross to their daily lives that bitter "myrrh" becomes sweet to His taste and His lilies’ taste (Psa. 119:103)! Their lives were changing into the image of the Bridegroom (Rom. 8:29). 

 

PRAY WITH ME: "Dear, dear Bridegroom of my heart, O thank You, thank You for making me Your lily! Thank You for always having me upon Your lips. May my lips be sweet to You! Thank You for the myrrh! Your precious and holy blood is sweet to my soul having changed me from a thorn to Your personal lily. Thank You for the healing which now allows me to have Your glory displayed in me here, then totally when I reach Your arms in Heaven! I love only You dear Lord Jesus!"

 

V.14 "His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright as ivory overlaid with sapphires."

She remembered those nail scarred hands which gently held her (2:5). "How could I have taken my hand away from His? If I had only held on to His hand I would not be in the condition I am today! How could I have so easily forgotten? O how secure I felt the time when He took me by the hand and led me away from the dens of danger on the mountains (4:8). He was always there to protect me, even when I was unaware of the menace to my spiritual well being."

His hands were the hands of God! Her heart raced with excitement as thought after thought flooded her soul, "Every time He held my hand, it was God holding me." The Holy Spirit spoke to her heart, "Remember the time when Jesus held your hand so tightly and whispered into your ear, 'My love, I have given you eternal life and you will never perish, neither will any one ever pluck you out of My hand (John 10:28)?' Yes, it’s true you have stumbled but even now He still holds your heart no matter what (II Tim. 2:13)”. Waves of spiritual anticipation of seeing Him real soon swept over her heart! She just knew all would be well!

 

"gold rings set with the beryl"

"Rings" – no beginning or ending! Whatever the Beloved, eternal God touches it must respond to Him. Whatever He accomplishes with His hands it is an infinite, eternal work! Thank You dear Lord, since we are in Your hand, then we are encircled by Your "gold rings". O the security, the comfort, the assurance, the peaceful shelter in being surrounded by His hands; to be totally encompassed by God Himself! People wear rings to display their symbolic value, beauty or cherished meaning. Is that not what the Beloved will be doing with His bride in Rev. 21:1-11? Glory to God! How befitting that we should be part of His ring ("beryl").

In Exo. 28:20 "beryl" is mentioned as one of the twelve stones on the breastplate of the high priest and it represented one of the tribes of Israel. These stones were placed over the high priest's heart so that he would never forget how special the tribes of Israel were in the sight of God. He would intercede for them! And Jesus, her High Priest, continually intercedes for His bride (Heb. 4:14-15). The bride paused with this blessed knowledge and thought to herself, "My Beloved must be interceding for me right now (Heb. 7:25)! And thank You dear Holy Spirit for You must be praying for me also since I could not in my bewilderment, pain and shame (Rom.8:26)!"

All of these thoughts