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

his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Rom. 5:8,9)!

And now, the Beloved of her heart saw the wine in her spiritual lifeline! The blood was ever on her thoughts and was her daily victory. Jesus very clearly proclaimed to the leadership of Israel after the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:5- 14) that unless they ate His body and drank His blood they could not have eternal life nor would they abide in Him in the Christian walk. Jesus stated that His body was true food and His blood true drink (John 6:51-58)! Praise God for the "blended wine". Praise God for the blood of Jesus! Enjoy again a devotional review concerning the blood of Jesus: (Exo. 12:13; Lev. 17:11; John 6:55; I Cor. 10:16; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:20; Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Heb. 10:19,20; 13:12; I Pet. 1:18,19; I John 1:7; 5:8; Rev. 1:5; 7:14; 12:11)! Jesus is the Bread - we must fill up on the Word! The life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:17). His blood runs through the Word. Without the shedding of His blood, the Word from Genesis to Revelation would be powerless. Drink in His Word fully!

 

"...thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies."

The word "belly" in other passages is translated, "womb"; "birth"; "body"; "stomach" and "inward parts". In other words it is the center of the body. It is the place where the Lord forms new life! The Holy Spirit tells us in Psa. 147:14 that wheat represents being satisfied and filled by the hand of God. There is so much here in this verse. He knew us while we were in our mother's womb. He birthed us by the power of the Holy Spirit. He gave us a spiritual body. He fills us with spiritual food to satisfy our inward spiritual cravings. Wheat or its grain is full of spiritual meaning for us. It is symbol ical of satisfaction (Psa. 81:16; 147:14); true believers (Luke 3:17); the Word of God (Mt. 13:25). Jesus, Himself, is the grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died (John 12:24). Praise His holy name, He rose from the grave and produced much wheat - us! Yes, our wonderful Savior and Lord is the "heap" of spiritual food to our souls so that from the very core of our innermost being a "heap" of praise and worship must flow back to His heart!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "You, my wonderful Bridegroom, are the good seed planted in my heart by the Holy Spirit. Your glorious kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven, has taken deep root in the garden of my heart (Mt. 13:24,25). The water of Your Word has caused it to grow into the wheat of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17)! O my King, You are my grain offering (Lev. 2:1) of pure wheat flour that I offer to Abba, Father! My Beloved, You are the wheat of my soul for You alone satisfy and fulfill my life! Glory to Your name alone, Lord Jesus! Amen and amen!"

 

"...set about with lilies."

Lilies were etched into the temple (I Kin. 7:19:22; Hos. 14:5). That was the place of worship. Her Beloved sees her now worshipping and rejoicing with other lilies. They desire to gather round her because she is filled with Him! Lilies surround her "wheat". Only when we fellowship with other lilies who are filled with wheat will we ever truly be satisfied. She is seen as an army (6:10) worshiping Him, loving Him, adoring Him and caring for Him!

A victorious army is filled with joy, praise and exultation! Months, even years later, veterans will come together to reminisce over the momentous triumphs won at great cost. These soldiers will talk about it to their children and their children’s children - future generations are never to forget. Whenever these conquering heroes have the opportunity to talk about it they will! It’s their continuous delight! What joy there is to be with other surrendered lilies whose great delight is to speak about the triumphs of their Beloved Commander in their individual lives! Any place where they meet to talk about or worship Him becomes His banqueting house of wine! Isn’t this what the Lord’s Supper is supposed to be all about – a corporate victory celebration?

He is overjoyed that her concern is for the lilies too. They have become part of His bride's life. It is extremely important that we fellowship with other surrendered lilies (Eph. 4:15,16). The bride and the Love of her life walk a little further hand in hand without saying a word, but O so much is being communicated heart to heart in the silence. Then He speaks lovingly once again;

 

V.3 "thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins."

Here, the Beloved repeats the words He uttered in 4:5. Be reminded that I Thess. 5:8 unlocks the secret of the two breasts. She is filled equally with faith and love. That is exactly what she needs when she actively goes with her Beloved to minister to Him ("love God") and to others (“love one another”). And it is faith that is the product of love and only pleases Him (Heb. 11:6). It is faith that overcomes the world and blesses others (I John 5:4). All she needs is to serve in the faith and love imparted to her! (Rom. 5:5; and the last part of 12:3).

It is significant what is omitted here. The additional words in 4:5 are, "...which feed among the lilies." Faith and love are developed through other Holy Spirit filled believers. We definitely need the fellowship of other surrendered lilies. The Holy Spirit feeds our spirits and souls through their hearts sharing about Jesus. It cannot be described: the oneness, the love, the unity, the joy, the fellowship, the glory that is experienced when a group of Mary of Bethany’s come together in perfect spiritual harmony with the Lord to love Him and share Him!

However, a truly sold out Christian for Jesus must never depend on that fellowship for spiritual sustenance. There will be times of loneliness when no surrendered lily is to be found with whom you may fellowship. Jesus alone must be enough to truly satisfy the inward longings for fellowship. Ultimate Spirit-filled surrender confesses, "You, my King, my Bridegroom are more than enough to fill all my needs. Thank You for the blessing of sharing together with the lilies. and as thrilling and precious as the lilies are, You alone are my portion. You always will be! I exclaim with Jeremiah in Lam. 3:24, 'The Lord is my portion saith my soul....' ".

There is a touching testimony of a French lady named Madame Jeanne Guyon, a 17th century Christian imprisoned for her deep faith and voluminous writings on the Word of God. This dear Christian had a special place in her heart for the Song of Solomon. It was this deep love relationship she had with her Bridegroom that caused her to survive the many long years of imprisonment in the Bastille where she "lived" in a cell below ground level. She had no light except a candle at mealtime. After ten years in such misery she wrote:

 

"A little bird I am, shut from the fields of air;

Yet in my cage I sit and sing to Him who placed me there;

Well pleased a prisoner to be,

Because, my God, it pleases Thee!

 

Nought have I else to do; I sing the whole day long;

And He whom most I love to please, doth listen to my song!

He caught and bound my wandering wing,

But still He bends to hear me sing!

 

My cage confines me round; abroad I cannot fly;

But though my wing is closely bound, my heart's at liberty.

My prison walls cannot control

The flight, the freedom of the soul!

 

Ah, it is good to soar these bolts and bars above,

To Him whose purpose I adore, whose Providence I love,

And in Thy mighty will to find

The joy, the freedom of the mind!”

 

 

V.4 "Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus."

The neck in scripture represents the human will (see 1:10; 4:4,9 to review). Ivory was first mentioned in describing her Beloved (5:14). Now the ivory, His image, is appearing in her character (Rom. 8:29). Ivory is a product of suffering and sacrifice. Many an elephant has died at the hands of cruel hunters for the procuring of their ivory tusks. Jesus died willingly at the hands of bloodthirsty leaders for us, but O the glory of the resurrection, O the joy of the victory over evil! He who was crushed in all of earth's ugliness, is now altogether lovely! Jesus is the polished ivory of eternal purity and righteousness!

Much time is also needed to polish the ivory to perfection. Our wills are dealt with by the Holy Spirit in grace, in truth, with mercy through the application of His loving discipline. This polishing of the "new man" progressively gets rid of the ugliness of the human will and replaces it with the will of the Beloved Bridegroom! What does the Lord use to polish the rough ivory in our necks - the everyday circumstances in a believer's life! There is nothing more beautiful than a Christian totally submitted to the will of God and filled with all glorious Holy Spirit fruit! In the beginning of her surrendered journey (1:10; 4:4; 6:3) the bride had presented her body (neck-will) "...as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God...."

In order to have a polished neck of ivory you need to have His yoke rubbing constantly upon your neck. Jesus commands us to, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt. 11:29,30). His yoke, which is His will for your life, goes around your neck! It is there to lead and guide you. Why is it so easy? It is because He carries it for you. It is done through the power of the Holy Spirit and His sword! You are so close to Him He carries the real weight!

 

PRAY WITH ME: "O Lord, place Your yoke upon my neck! Guide me into the paths and works already planned for me in the councils of eternity past. Thank You for revealing to me the way that satisfies and completes! In Jesus’ holy name, amen!"

 

 

"...a tower..."

Her neck (will) had become spiritually, like a "tower". The Lord Himself is a tower according to Psa. 61:3. She is becoming more like Him! O to be a spiritual tower! A tower may function as a lookout to spot an approaching enemy or as a light giving revelation, warning, direction and protection in the night. The white of the ivory is symbolical of the bride’s pure motives and her will submerged into His. His will is her will! His heart yearns to cultivate young believers into mature, fruit bearing members of His body. That is her heart's desire also (7:11)! She has become a tower into which young Christians may run and find His light and protection, and a place into which they may leave their burdens! "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2).

Dear surrendered saint, has your neck been highly polished with submission to His will? When your will rises to do something that is contrary to His Word, does your Bridegroom hear from your lips, "not my will but thine be done!" said with delight and resolve? This is His joy! This is His satisfaction! This is His eternal reward