Song of Solomon 3

WEEK   5                                 Song of Solomon 3

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

Why does the person here seek the one they love? Is it because they are driven by love/desire? Maybe, but the issues here seem that the love may not be reciprocal. The lover has other gardens, but true love calls for exclusivity.  

However, when we awaken our love for God, we don’t have to worry about having to seek and hoping he will love us, because God will always be there and he always loves us.

Son 3:1-11
(1)  By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
(2)  I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
(3)  The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
(4)  It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
(5)  I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
(6)  Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
(7)  Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
(8)  They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
(9)  King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
(10)  He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
(11)  Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Photo by Quaid Lagan on Unsplash

Song of Solomon 2

WEEK  5                                  Song of Solomon 2

TUESDAY  Reflections

 

I have found a friend in Jesus,

 He's everything to me,

He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;

The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see,

All my needs to cleanse and make me fully whole.

In sorrow He's my comfort,

in trouble He's my stay,

He tells me every care on Him to roll;

He's the Lily of the Valley,

 the Bright and Morning Star,

He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul

 

These words, written by William Charles Fry (1837–1882), were in response to his meditations on Song of Solomon chapter 2. As I wrote before, this book is an interaction between two lovers. It isn't incorrect to see some correlation between Christ and the church. St Paul, after all, said that marriage is a symbol/image of Christ's relationship with the church in Ephesians 5.

 

If this book raises your awareness of God’s love that is good. If this book raises your affection for your spouse then that can be celebrated also. After all, God instituted marriage before the fall. Marriage under God is holy.

Son 2:1-17

(1)  I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.

(2)  As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.

(3)  As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

(4)  He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

(5)  Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.

(6)  His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.

(7)  I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

(8)  The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

(9)  My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.

(10)  My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

(11)  For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

(12)  The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

(13)  The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

(14)  O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

(15)  Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

(16)  My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

(17)  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Photo by Matt on Unsplash

2 Samuel 24

WEEK  5                                              2 Samuel 24

MONDAY  Reflections

"I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24)

 

What are you giving to God? We understand that salvation through Jesus Christ is free, but what we offer the Lord after that costs us. We are asked to give him our lives, our loves, and in short everything we have so that he will be the Lord of our life.

 

Too often people want things from God but they don't want it to cost them anything. It is like the person who wants the benefits of owning a car without buying it, maintaining it, or putting any gas in it. It doesn't work that way, and neither does salvation. Salvation is free, we can't pay for it nor can we ever earn it, but part of salvation is surrendering all of our life to Jesus. This action of surrender costs us, it costs us selfish desires and sinful actions, but the benefits outweigh the costs. It is like surrendering a broken-down bike for a new truck. Yes, you don't have a bike but you don't need it. You have something better.

 

David understood the sacrifice he was offering needed to come from him. He needed to give up something that cost him something and so do we.

2Sa 24:1-25
(1)  And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
(2)  For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.
(3)  And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?
(4)  Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
(5)  And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
(6)  Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
(7)  And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba.
(8)  So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
(9)  And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
(10)  And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
(11)  For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
(12)  Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
(13)  So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
(14)  And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
(15)  So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
(16)  And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
(17)  And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house.
(18)  And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
(19)  And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
(20)  And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
(21)  And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
(22)  And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
(23)  All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
(24)  And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
(25)  And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

Photo by David Sam Levinson on Unsplash

Jeremiah 41 -- Worthless Advice

WEEK  4                                              Jeremiah 41

SATURDAY  Reflections

In the previous chapter, Gedaliah was warned that Ishmael son of Nethaniah was going to kill him. He didn't believe it, and here, while seated at a table together, Ishmael struck. The advice doesn't do anyone any good if it isn't listened to.

Why didn’t Gedaliah believe those who were trying to warn him? Maybe it was because there wasn't much left, or he thought Ismael was a friend, but whatever the reason it cost him his life.  What we don’t see is Gedaliah seeking wisdom from God.

This scripture sets up what is going to happen to Jeremiah in the next chapter, but for us, I believe the lesson we may be able to take away is that treachery is real. Sometimes you can protect yourself against it and sometimes you can't. If nothing else this is an example of what we shouldn't be like.

Jer 41:1-18
(1)  Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
(2)  Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
(3)  Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.
(4)  And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,
(5)  That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
(6)  And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
(7)  And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
(8)  But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
(9)  Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.
(10)  Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
(11)  But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,
(12)  Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.
(13)  Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.
(14)  So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
(15)  But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
(16)  Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon:
(17)  And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
(18)  Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

Photo by Thanh Tran on Unsplash

Song of Solomon 1

WEEK  4                                  Song of Solomon 1

FRIDAY  Reflections

As depressing as Ecclesiastes can be, Song of Solomon can be erotic. Some have said it was included in the canon of Scripture because it reflected the love between Christ and His church (this does have some symbolic merit). The Song of Solomon may not have been penned by Solomon but during his time and showed an example of a couple's love for one another. There have been some who have tried to say sex and marital love have little value, yet these aspects of humanity predate the fall of man and were part of humanity when created. I believe the greater reason God has this included in scripture is to remind people that God loves a great love story. 

Son 1:1-17
(1)  The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
(2)  Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
(3)  Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
(4)  Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
(5)  I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
(6)  Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
(7)  Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
(8)  If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
(9)  I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.
(10)  Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.
(11)  We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
(12)  While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
(13)  A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
(14)  My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.
(15)  Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.
(16)  Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.
(17)  The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash