April 1, 2011

Song of Songs 6
Yesterday we closed with the Shulamite’s description of her beloved, her friend. Today in sarcasm the court ladies ask, “So where is your beloved?” Implied in the sarcasm is, “Why do you keep holding on to this hope of your beloved when you are in the presence of the Solomon and you could be enjoying the pleasures of his court?” Once again the world casts its sarcasm upon us as we are willing to hold out for the beauty of His presence denying all the riches and pleasures that this world promises to us. For those ensnared by the world’s system, it is incredible that we should seek Him above the riches of this world. How many people have stood in astonishment as men and women have given their lives for the glory of their Shepherd? How many people have seen the sacrifice and declared, “What a waste!”
But the Shulamite will not be persuaded. Once again she states, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Her beloved is far more beautiful than all the wealth of Solomon. But now Solomon arrives on the scene. Now he begins to try to woo her to himself. How do we know this is Solomon speaking this time? The speaker compares the beauty of the Shulamite to things with which he is familiar and things with which she is familiar. He begins by comparing her to Tirzah and Jerusalem. According to the KJV Bible commentary, Tirzah, which means delightful, was a city of great beauty and of course Jerusalem was Solomon’s capital city in which he was doing many building projects. If this were the Shulamite’s shepherd, he probably would not be comparing her to cities. Solomon knowing that he had competition also uses pastoral imagery to woo her. But the really telling feature is that Solomon in his arrogance compares her to his harem by stating that she is the most beautiful of all his queens. Verse eight could literally be translated, “I have sixty queens and eighty concubines.” He goes on to talk about how there is only one like her. I semi-jokingly often tell my daughter that she is my favorite daughter. She is never impressed because she is my only daughter. The Shulamite, however, has lots of competition. But her desire is not to be the best of many, but to be the only love of her shepherd.
She tries to explain to Solomon (v.11) how this whole sordid event was put into motion. She was simply on a gathering excursion for groceries when she encountered the royal accompaniment. Before she knew what was happening she had been recognized for her striking beauty and placed in the prince’s chariot to be forced into Solomon’s harem. Now back in the present and she trying to run away, they call out to her to return. Her response is, “What would you see in me?” The reply of the men is the dance of the two camps, Mahanaim. That was the name Jacob gave to place where he wrestled with God. In Genesis 32:1 we read that when morning came that Israel saw a camp of Angels next to his own camp. So, he named it Mahanaim. Israel was speaking of the place where the Divine met the human. The men were speaking of her that they saw in her something of where the Divine met the human.
Today the church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God-ordained place where the Divine meets the human. If the world is going to see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is going to reveal it in the church (Eph. 3:21). So, if Satan is going to seek to hide the glory of our Lord from the world, what is he going to do? He will do his best to seduce the church to draw her away from her true love her true shepherd. IF he can fill her with the world, then the glory of our Lord will be hidden. Now more than ever, we must resist the advances of the world and focus only on the Glory of our Lord Jesus. We are betrothed to Him and Him alone. Only to Him can we give our affections. Oh Lord, help us to love only You and not love the world. Lord, everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, are not of the Father but of the world. Oh Lord, help us to perceive that the world is passing away. Its allurements are only to draw us away from you. When it is done with us, it will just toss us aside like used toilet paper. Oh Lord, give us pure hearts, hot for the love of You! Like the Shulamite, enable us to sacrifice all for You. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john