Living UnReserved | 365 Days in the Song of Songs/Solomon

In the last three episodes, we mentioned the temptations we must guard against (isolation, idleness, and independence) if we want to grow deeper with Jesus and find satisfaction and rest in Him. Many people however after they go through hurt, disappointment, or persecution in the church it's hard to let go. Some cease church entirely, and some others go but are distanced. Some never submit again to spiritual authority, and others do submit but do not give their all. Some do not serve at all, and others serve holding on to past hurts. No matter what we go through, God's structure stands. So we must take the effort to receive grace, heal and recommit ourselves fully again to the local church and its authorities. How do we deal with church wounds? Separate God and His character from whatever happened: We mustn't judge God by the flawed characters of His vessels and sheep. As long as we're on this side of eternity, we are subject to experiencing human frailties, whether our

“If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents .” Song of Songs 1:8 The third direction given by the Beloved was where the Bride should feed her little goats. Surprisingly, he doesn't say by his tent, he said by the shepherds' tents. After a negative experience of not just being overworked but being on the receiving end of her brothers' anger, the Bride is still directed to stay close to and work with others. To stay beside the shepherds' tent is to submit to spiritual authority and learn from others as she served. To do this is to overcome the temptation of being independent which is usually either a sign of rebellion or resistance to spiritual authority or being unteachable for one reason or another. Shepherds are spiritual overseers looking after the Lord's sheep as assigned to them by Jesus the Chief Shepherd. As we have in physical societies, a child is born into one famil

“If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents.” Song of Songs 1:8 In verse 6, the Bride spoke about how her brothers overworked her in their vineyards. However, the second instruction the Beloved gave the Bride is to come feed her little goats.  One would think the Beloved's answer to her request for rest would be to do nothing, but instead, he directs her to work. Idleness is another temptation we face as believers especially when we realize the amount of work required to be carried out in the body or when we have experienced exhaustion or burnout. But as previously stated in lesson 53, it's not about what you do or how much you do but how you do it. A life of intimacy with Jesus is a life of tireless service and partnership with Him. Jesus tells Peter in John 21 that the way to show that He loves Him is to feed His sheep. The same principle applies to us. One of the crucial ways we sho

“ If you do not know, O fairest among women , Follow in the footsteps of the flock , And feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents.” Song of Songs 1:8 In response to the Bride's request to know where her Beloved fed and made His flock rest. He told her to do three things. The first is that she should follow in the footsteps of the flock. As stated earlier in this series, though intimacy with Jesus is private and personal, it is not a life of isolation. To find food (satisfaction) and rest from the shepherd of our souls, we must commit ourselves to a local church. When we consider all that the Bride has gone through in verses 6 and 7, the first temptation she will have to overcome to heed her Beloved's words to follow in the footsteps of the flock is isolation. She had been ashamed of how imperfect she was compared to the daughters of Jerusalem, but she had to be bold and not let her imperfections hold her back. Many times when people's weaknesses show forth or they

“ If you do not know, O fairest among women , Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents.” Song of Songs 1:8 Many times in the Bible, the disciples asked certain questions one would expect them to know the answer to, or lacked understanding of Jesus' words when they should understand. There were times they lacked faith and spoke in unbelief. Jesus was always tender to them in those moments. When He scolded, He scolded in love, when He taught, He taught patiently. In verse 3 when the Bride began to speak about herself, she said she is dark but lovely. The Beloved speaks for the first time in reply to all she had said and her question. He started by calling her the fairest, most beautiful among women without even acknowledging her darkness. This showed that her darkness was not even significant to him. What Jesus sees in us is a perfect image of Himself. Just like a sculptor does not see a weirdly shaped stone but that which is concei

“Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:7 In our scripture, we see the word flock in both its singular and plural forms. To be with the Beloved, to be among his flock is to also  be at home by the flocks of his friend. Women in those days veiled themselves in the company of strangers. She was expressing a desire to be friends with the companions of her Beloved. In John 10:16, Jesus said to Jewish believers: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." He was talking about bringing Gentiles from all over the world into His fold, His flock. The universal church is one body of believers. One family. One flock of Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd. However, Peter in 1 Peter 5:4 called Jesus the  Chief Shepherd, indicating there are other

“ Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:7 Aft er the Bride's experience of being overworked, she didn't seek her Beloved in His chambers, nor did she seek Him in a place of leisure. Rather, she sought Him at His workplace. When we find ourselves in a spiritual crisis, especially when we're overworked or burnt out by activities, we must realize that oftentimes, the problem is not how much or what we're doing but how we are doing it. There is only so much the human flesh and mind can handle when it comes to physical work talk less spiritual. Paul did express in 1 Corinthians 15:58 in the Amplified version that we are to labor in our work for the Lord to the point of exhaustion . I believe it's why Paul in praying for the Ephesian church prayed for them to be strengthened with might by God's Spirit in their inner man . Thin

  “ Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?”    Song of Songs 1:7 When you see anyone that has labored hard in the field, under the hot sun, there is something they always desire after: food and rest. In John 10:11 Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Jesus is our shepherd, and everyone who believes in Him is His sheep. According to the Bride, there are two things the beloved is doing among His flock: feeding and making them rest. Jesus our Lord and shepherd does the same just as David said in Psalm 23:1-2 (Good News Translation): “The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in fields of green grass...” Feeding does go beyond providing food. It encompasses supplying all needs. Sheep usually don't have to worry about anything even protection. We have the example of David who went after a

  Tell me, O you whom I love, Where you feed your flock, Where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself By the flocks of your companions? Song of Songs 1:7 In verse 6, the Bride expressed how she had been blackened by the sun, how she had labored hard under the sun to keep other peoples' vineyards but neglected hers. Service had occupied her so much she had not paid attention to her life and her assignments. Here she retraces her steps by reaffirming her love for her beloved though she was distanced from him and asking where to find Him. Luke 22 narrates how Peter denied Jesus three times despite Jesus warning him he would. Just like we neglect our vineyards, and our lives in God when we don't pay attention to fellowship and prayer, Jesus had charged Peter and the other disciples to pray lest they fell into temptation but they did not heed His words. Because of that Peter lacked the strength to stand when it mattered. Peter's guilt was evident

“Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept. ”    Song of Songs 1:6 In John chapter 15 Jesus gives us the blueprint of a fruitful vineyard. He said He is the True Vine, God is the Vinedresser and we are the branches. Then He proceeds to state the responsibility of each party in keeping the vineyard. Let's look at them. 1. Responsibility of Jesus as the True Vine: Just like a branch cannot exist talk less bear fruit without the vine, we exist in God because of Jesus. He is the source and sustainer of eternal life which we received at salvation and it is this empowers us to bear fruit. 2. The Responsibilities of God as the Vinedresser: The Father is the One working on us to bring forth good works (fruits) for his glory. Jesus lists the responsibilities of God as the Vinedresser in verse 2. First to the branches that don't have fruit and to

  “Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.” Song of Songs 1:6 In the previous lesson, we examined how the Kingdom of God is a vineyard of laborers. Each believer is entrusted with both vineyards to co-labor in and their own vineyard to steward for the Lord. We concluded that we must labor tirelessly in the company of other believers, giving service our all but not neglecting our personal assignments.  Love for Jesus compels us to service. Not just service but sacrificial life-consuming service. Where we lay our every desire on the altar and pick His life goals. It's a beautiful and fulfilling life to live however we must guard against living a performance-inclined and not fellowship-inclined life. Luke 10 narrates to us the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha welcomed Jesus into their home, we can say Mary got saved through her

  “Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.” Song of Songs 1:6 Many times in the Bible, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a vineyard with laborers. According to Matthew 24:45, among these servants are those kept in charge of the others, those we know as spiritual authorities and church leaders. These are in the Bride's language her mother's sons: her brothers. Part of the duties of these leaders is to ensure the furtherance of God's kingdom by delegating duties just like we see when the Apostles appointed deacons in Acts 6. Aside from the great commission, every man is entrusted with a vineyard (a church or an assignment of some sort) to steward by the Lord. Not every believer will pioneer a church or take the gospel to remote locations. Not every believer will stand on a stage or be in the spotlight. But every believer has a c

“Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me ; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.” Song of Solomon 1:6 The Bride says her mother's sons (her brothers) were angry with her. It's a statement that indicates persecution among people that should love and accept us unconditionally. Mother's sons or brothers here refer to fellow believers especially those who have been in the faith longer than we have. Paul in Galatians 4:19 talks about travailing in birth like a woman would, to bring forth spiritual children. Verses 26-28 of the same chapter refer to the heavenly Jerusalem that bore us all. Then in 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Paul talks about nurturing younger believers as a mother nurtures her children. We see many examples of persecution from unexpected sources in the Bible. From Joseph's brothers selling him to slavery to David running from Saul to Jesus dying like a commo

  “Do not look upon me, because I am dark, Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept.” Song of Solomon 1:6 In those times, dark skin was a sign of labor in the field which was alien to noble women. They spent hours each day on beauty routines that kept their skin fair. The Bride says she is dark because the sun has tanned her. That indicates that, unlike the daughters of Jerusalem, she had gone through hardships and labor they probably do not know. Throughout the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon referred to life on earth as living under the sun. The sun though has its benefits, can be hot and uncomfortable. Solomon throughout the book was saying that living in this world burns us in different ways. Though individual events may not be unique, they affect us in different ways. But what does it mean to us to be exposed to the sun? Psalm 92:13 tells us that the righteous are planted in the

When man sinned in the garden of Eden, the first thing we see him do was to hide from God. The Bible says in Genesis 3:8: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 tells us the contrast between godly and worldly sorrow is their resultant action and end. Worldly sorrow births shame, characterized by the desire to hide and not be seen. The more shame takes root, the more the desire to hide sin grows, and the conscience gradually becomes dull. Sin is darkness, so it grows when it is hidden. As darkness must be exposed to light, sin must be exposed to light. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13: “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But whoever confesses and turns away from his sins will find compassion and mercy. ” One of the best examples of worldly sorrow in the Bible, shame, and its outcome is Judas

Do not look upon me, because I am dark , Because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept. Song of Songs 1:6 In lesson 42 we looked at why the Bride's statement I am dark but lovely was directed to the daughters of Jerusalem (fellow believers). In this verse, the Bride speaks to them from a place of deep hurt and perhaps shame. Her appearance was different from theirs: her dark skin stood out beside their fair skin. She states the reason but first, let's look at why the Bride is more conscious of her darkness than her loveliness. This is a stage many go through in early Christian life or when they experience exposure of some weakness whether to themselves, a few or the public. There is a knowing of loveliness to God but the knowledge of those flaws seems to supersede it. While it is good to feel remorse when we see how truly sinful or flawed we are, it should never result in shame

"I am dark, but lovely, o daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. " Song of Songs 1:5 To reemphasize and explain what she had said earlier: I am dark but lovely, she uses comparisons. She compares her darkness to the tents of Kedar and her loveliness to the curtains of Solomon. She was saying, I am dark like the tents of Kedar and lovely like the curtains of Solomon. Let's see what they mean. There are many insinuations to the mention of Kedar. Some are: The word Kedar itself means to be dark or blackened. Genesis 25:13 tells us that Kedar was one of the sons of Ishmael: The people of Kedar were nomadic people known to dwell in tents. Their tent was usually woven from the very dark hair of black goats. Hence the Bride's reference to the color to explain her initial words. The reputation of Kedar: Kedar was a very strong, prosperous, and powerful nation, probably the greatest among the twelve sons of Ishmael. They were known to b

" I am dark, but lovely, o daughters of Jerusalem , like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon." Song of Songs 1:5 There is a very important reason this statement in verse 5 was directed to the daughters of Jerusalem, not to the King, and not even to herself. Other believers are often observers and spectators of our growth in intimacy with Jesus. We must remember the statement I am dark but lovely is a product of an encounter not just a beautiful statement. It elevates how Jesus sees us above how we ourselves or the world sees us. Many times, the people around us only see that which is external. So she directs her speech to fellow maidens (believers), the daughters of Jerusalem, who perhaps do not see as the King sees. In our Christian journey, we probably will make decisions or take actions that will make our imperfections glaring to all. We may be ridiculed, insulted, looked down on, or misunderstood by even those of the household of faith, but we must remember