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Day 68: A Bittersweet Treasure (SoS 1:13a)

"A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, That lies all night between my breasts."
Song of Songs 1:13

In this verse and the next, the Bride made two statements about the king. She referred to him as My Beloved for the first time though she already acknowledged her love for him earlier.

These addresses and two statements describing the Beloved are a product of time spent dining with him at His table. He was beloved by many as the Bride stated in verse 2, and her love was largely based on their reports. But here, she begins to describe a love that is now by experience.

It's as we fellowship with Jesus through the word and His Spirit, we grow in love for Him, and receive revelations of His person and experiences to back them up. There are many things we can say about Jesus. Things we've heard from church, fellow believers, friends and family, and even total strangers through the media. But who can we say Jesus is to us?

We've dealt with this in Lessons 16, 36, and 37 so we'll just go on and find out what the Bride's first statement means to us.

Like the spikenard, myrrh was also a very fragrant plant that was very expensive in those days.  It had a bitter sharp taste but a very sweet smell. It was used in different varieties and had many uses and numerous benefits.

- Myrrh was one of the ingredients of the anointing oil in Exodus 30:23. Exodus 29:2 and Leviticus 2 tell us the grain offering was anointed with oil before it was presented to the Lord. 
- It was used for cosmetic purposes also. Esther 2:12 mentions the maidens selected for king Ahasuerus were beautified with the oil of myrrh for six months. 
- It was used as a perfume as mentioned in Proverbs 7:17.

- Psalm 45:8 describes Jesus saying His garments are scented with myrrh. It was one of the gifts given to Jesus by the wise men at His birth in Matthew 2:11. In Mark 15:23, it was mixed with wine for Him to drink on the cross. It was also used in John 19:39-40 to prepare His body for burial after His death.

We can see then that its significance about Christ is that myrrh is a symbol of Christ's sacrificial love and death. It represents all the suffering He endured before, on the cross and in hell for us.

Aside from the accounts of His death in the gospels, Isaiah 54 and Psalm 22 describe not just how terrible that suffering was for Jesus but His triumph after. Though the event is bitter, the sacrificial love of Jesus and its outcome and benefits are a sweet-smelling fragrance to God and us. When we meditate on Christ, we must meditate on both. We must think about what Christ is worth to God and what it cost God to give up His only begotten Son.

Think about it, the Bible says Jesus is the Word, the same word with which God created everything we see. He is the one through whom and for whom all things exist according to Hebrews 2:10. John 1:3 in The Passion Translation says nothing has existence apart from Him. Colossians 2:9 says the fullness of God, His nature, character, and person are in Christ. This precious, priceless One is the One God sacrificed for us. Christ is the most precious gift God gave us. A gift that cost Him His all.

When I contemplate this, my conclusion is God became bankrupt on the cross just to have us and enrich us with His All.

How precious should God's All be to us?

When we receive a revelation of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, we will say like the Bride that a bundle of myrrh is our Beloved Jesus to us. Or as the King James Version puts it, a bundle of myrrh is our well-beloved Jesus to us.

PRAY WITH ME:
Dear Father, for counting me worthy of Jesus Your only begotten Son, I'm grateful. Beloved Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to endure the sufferings of the cross and hell for me. I realize again today how precious You are. Teach me to cherish You and cherish Your sacrifice all the days of my life. Amen.

REFLECT AND ACT:
  • Read Isaiah 54 and Psalm 22. Contemplate the suffering of Jesus as you do and celebrate His resultant victory.
  • What is Your Beloved Jesus to you? What revelation of Him has been cemented with experiences so far in your Christian journey?




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