Song of Songs Chapter 5, Part 2

The maiden finds her way back to enjoying the presence of Jesus through describing Him to others.  Reflection is often the path to a spiritual revival!

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Well, hello everyone. Welcome once again back to Jeff's Bible Trek. This episode is on the second half of chapter 5 of Solomon's Song of Songs. In the first half of the chapter, the maiden had gone out in search of her Lord and couldn't find him. Back at home, he eventually came to the door and asked her to open the door to him, which she did. And so we pick up at verse six. I opened for my lover, but my lover had left. He was gone. My heart had gone out to him when he spoke. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him, but he did not answer. Now that just doesn't seem fair, does it? I mean here she had overcome all her excuses to obey him, and once she does, he splits. This happens all the time to God's people. You step out and do what you believe God has spoken you to you to do and and then you get tested. Have you experienced that or know someone who has? Mm-hmm. You feel like God has left you all alone to face the task without his help, support, and presence. But it's a test for the Christian. Now here's here's something to keep in mind. In school, you are taught the material first, and then you're tested. In the kingdom of God, you receive the test first, and then God teaches you the material. Why does God test us in these matters? Well the answer is to see what's in our heart, what we're made out of, and if we'll obey him no matter what. This reminds me of God leading Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, seemingly a god forsaken place. They thought God had disappeared, just like Jesus disappeared when he drew the maiden out from behind the door. Listen to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy eight, one through five. Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger, and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out, and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. That word discipline in the Hebrew means to chastise literally with blows or figuratively with words. Hence it means to instruct. Well the maiden obeyed. She opened the door and came out, but the presence of Jesus had left her. There's a story that Jesus told on obedience. He said a certain man told two men to go work in his field. One said no, then went. The other said yes, but didn't go. Now, although although the first guy went, I'll bet he didn't really experience the presence of God in it. Now with us, we can accept a task or we are unwilling and possibly miss out on God's best for us. So it is with the maiden. She begrudgingly obeyed, and then God's presence was gone. This brought about a crisis period in her life. She began to search for him. It was a time of testing for her, but also representative of what takes place in the body of Christ. In verses seven and eight, she said, The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me, they took away my cloak, those watchmen of the walls, O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you, if you find my lover, what will you tell him? Tell him that I am faint with love. These watchmen could not understand how a mature Christian like her could lose the presence of God. They wanted to help, but their counsel only brought her pain and suffering. She needed consolation, but got only rebuke. It's like what David said in Psalm sixty nine and verse twenty. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless. I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. The maiden looked to the watchman to find Jesus, but found the society of Job's friends instead. If God's presence was gone, she must be in the wrong, which was her thinking. That rhetoric from the watchman only caused greater suffering. They thought scolding her would help. She said they beat her and bruised her, but she said they took away my cloak or veil. These watchmen not only failed to comfort and guide her to Jesus, but actually made public news of her failure before God. Now this is different from church discipline because of a difference in attitude. Church discipline takes place when a person sins and is unrepentant, unyielding, and self justifying. But the maiden was looking for help and instead was only scorned. Let's say it plainly, the watchmen here are the responsible leaders of the house of God. They should have been able to counsel her. Often, though, they are ones who misunderstand what's happening. When they don't have an answer, they'll just blame it on the sufferer. So finding no help from her pastor and deacons, she turns to the daughters of Jerusalem for help in verse eight, those less spiritually mature than herself out of desperation. She likely said things like I've failed. Jesus has left me. Please pray for me. She says if you find my lover. See, she knew these babes in Christ she was talking to would have difficulty finding Jesus, but she was desperate. The phrase I'm faint with love was something she had said before. It was in chapter two and verse five, where she said it in the midst of a stream of love taking place between the two of them. And here in verse eight, she said it again. She had grown by leaps and bounds spiritually. This love sickness was not an emotional high from drinking and being full of love, but from very deep hunger and thirst for his love. It was a tremendous longing for him. The response from the daughters of Jerusalem is in verse nine. How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others that you charge us so? Now, although the maiden had lost the light of the Lord's countenance, these babes in Christ could still recognize a superior quality of life that she had, spiritual beauty, humility, a holy character, and a touch of glory, and this is why they called her most beautiful of women. But their questions showed they had an inadequate view of Jesus. How is your beloved better than others? They obviously had an inadequate view of Jesus. The fact is, he has no equal, no comparison. They're saying, What's the big deal? Why is this so important? Don't get all depressed about it. Time will heal this too. But as immature as their question and attitude were, it made her think Oh, I almost got a little emotional there. It made her think of Jesus. Her face lit up as she began to share her impressions of him. This awakened a new love and appreciation for him. She was revived. It's interesting, though our image of Jesus becomes hazy, it is never completely lost. Even the backslider remembers what it was like when he or she walked with Jesus. The maiden speaks again in verses ten to sixteen as she recounts to them, these daughters of Jerusalem out loud what her Lord is like. In verse ten, she says, My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. This is basically a general description of his godliness. He is radiant and ruddy. He has the complexion of perfect health. He is vibrant, full of life and power. Her description sounds like the one given to us about David in 1 Samuel 16 and verse twelve, where it says he was ruddy with a fine appearance and handsome features. It is the glow of eternal health and vigor. Therefore he is outstanding or chiefest among ten thousand, the one all his people rally to. Following this general description, she then goes into his specific qualities. In eleven A it says his head is purest gold. This is a description of his deity. He possesses God's life and glory. Reminds me of Colossians two nine, which says, For in Christ all the fullness of the deity, or the Godhead, lives in bodily form. God has established Christ as head over all things, and he has all of God dwelling in him. And we the church hold Christ as quote the head from whom the whole body supplied and held together by its ligaments and sinews grows as God causes it to grow. That's Colossians two nineteen. In eleven B, she said his hair is wavy and black as a raven. This also describes his everlasting vigor and power. Black hair represents the power of his eternal life that will never deteriorate or weaken. Hosea seven verses eight and nine says this Ephraim mixes with the nations, foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. So here, gray hair represents the unconscious loss of spiritual power. Jesus, however, did not have a single thread of gray in his hair, according to the way she viewed him. There is the continual freshness of his eternal life. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever, as it says in Hebrews thirteen and verse eight. Next is his eyes in verse twelve. His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. The most beautiful feature of a dove is its eyes. At the baptism of Jesus it was said that the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove. So it was the Spirit's anointing that made the Lord's eyes so tender. His eyes looked as though washed in milk. Milk represents pure doctrine and teaching. So it represents the purity of Jesus as snow or wool, and his gaze at her was so pure it had a purifying effect on her. His eyes were mounted like jewels. This means well positioned and properly located, meaning he viewed her with great favor and understanding. He was well focused. So his eyes are beautiful as doves eyes, full of life, free from disease and pollution, expressing pure thoughts of love and focusing with well proportioned vision. Therefore, he was never in danger of seeing wrongly or the wrong thing. In thirteen A, she said his cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. These are the same cheeks that had undergone tremendous abuse at the hands of unbelief. Isaiah fifty in verse six says, I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. And as we know this happened to Jesus. In fact, that section is very hard for me to read in the Gospels every year during the reading plan. And because Jesus was obedient to the cross, now this maiden or believer looks upon his cheeks as beds of fragrant spices. This is what God can bring out of the life of those who take up their cross and follow Jesus. But Jesus Himself is the focus here, and this is how he appears to us. In thirteen B, she said his lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. Lilies here speak of kingly glory. Jesus said this, see how the lilies of the field grow. I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. That's from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew six, twenty eight and twenty nine. So this speaks of the glorious teachings of Christ, the glory that came from his lips. No one ever spoke the way this man does, said a group of guards who were sent to apprehend Jesus but came back empty handed in John seven forty six. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips Luke four twenty two. The maiden said his lips were dripping with myrrh. Myrrh represents suffering. So the thing that makes his words so rich to us is his death on the cross, and perhaps even the beating that preceded it, which has unparable unparalleled suffering at the cross. But they only become meaningful to us when we get saved. In other words, when we go to the cross and identify with his death. Not only that, but his lips were where she would kiss him. Therefore, every time she got close to him, she got a taste of his sufferings. Paul wrote, Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. In fourteen A, she said his arms are rods of gold set with chrysalite. The hands and arms of God are what he accomplishes his purposes with. You'll remember seeing the phrases, his mighty arm or his right hand. So the rods of gold set with chrysalite speak of the strength of his hands and arms to firmly establish and bring to completion the purposes of God. In fourteen B, she says, His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires. The body is better understood in the original language as the seat of his emotions. It's the same word as in chapter 5 and verse 4, my lover thrust his hand through the latch opening, my heart began to pound for him. In other words, Jesus Christ is a person with deep feelings, and he is moved with great feelings of love for his people. Since ivory comes from elephants' tusks and requires great pain and death to extract them, this is another reminder that his love for us moved him to suffer and die for us. The sapphires on the ivory resulted from delicate and exquisite craftsmanship, and therefore speak of the many facets of his feelings for us. In fifteen A, she said his legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. Legs represent his power to stand, so what we're seeing here is the Lord's righteousness, his power, and his stability. He cannot be shaken. He is the rock of ages. Three times now in this description she has compared him to fine gold, his head, his hands and arms, and now his legs. Gold represents the nature of God. So we see that God is expressing himself through Jesus Christ, confirming the fact that Jesus Christ is God. In fifteen B, she says his appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. Lebanon is known for its lofty mountains covered with tall, stately cedars. So this speaks of his high, lofty, heavenly nature. As cedars towered over and transcended all other trees, so the Lord is far above all other men and objects of worship. In sixteen A, she said his mouth is sweetness itself, he is altogether lovely. Again, this is another possible reference to Christ's word and teachings. But a different word is used here than the one normally used for a mouth. It is similar to the one she used in chapter two and verse three, where she said, His fruit is sweet to my taste. So here it's not necessarily his mouth, but his taste is sweetness itself. And of course that brings to mind Psalm thirty-four and verse eight. Taste and see that the Lord is good. And that's what she's saying to the baby Christians here. His mouth is sweetness itself, he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Remember, she is describing him in answer to their question in verse nine. How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others that you charge us so? She had lost touch with Jesus and she got revived just reflecting on him. We should do well to reflect on him. We should cry out as the maiden did, he is altogether lovely. Those who love him can proudly say as she did in the last sentence of chapter five, this is my lover, this is my friend. This brings chapter five to a close. It's been a chapter that addresses the ups and downs in our walk with Jesus. And I hope you've gained some insight into why these things happen from time to time and how to pull yourself out of the downtimes. We'll be back with chapter six in our next episode. And so until then, God bless you.