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Day 102: Lift Up Your Eyes (SoS 2:11-13)

 For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of the turtledove Is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away! (Song of Songs 2:11‭-‬13)

Let's interpret the event in SoS 2:8-10 in light of our text for today.

The Beloved came running to the Bride and did not even step in for refreshments. He wasn't there for chitchat or fun. He came to ask her to go away with Him. He reports the situation outside to the Bride who had been indoors. He described what was going on in the fields.

At the start of his description, he said: Lo! Lo means to look, see, or behold. He gives her seven things to take note of. These seven are the reasons she must and why it's safe to go away with him. When we look at everything the Beloved said, it's a description of the progression of spring. When juxtaposed with a particular event recorded in three of the four gospels, however, we see the true meaning of this.

In John 4:35 Jesus said to His disciples:

 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 

The key phrase here is ‘four months and then comes the harvest'. It refers to two things:

     1. There are four months between the final harvest of the year in Autumn and the beginning of another harvest season in Spring.

     2. The saying four months and then comes the harvest means there is enough time to get something done. It's the language of procrastination.

In light of the second meaning, Jesus told the disciples that in the natural world there are seasons of planting and harvesting. In the kingdom, however, every time is harvest time. Every season is harvest season. There is no room for delay or procrastination.

Before we unravel the meaning of each of the seven descriptions in our text, let's talk about the harvest.

Harvest in the New Testament refers to two distinct but related events. Harvest in both cases refers to men coming into the Kingdom of God but at two different times. Jesus used this language often in His sayings and parables. He used it in Matthew 13 when he told the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

     1. Harvest is evangelism time. A time when the good news of the kingdom is preached.

Jesus said to the disciples in Luke 10:2 when He sent them out two by two into the villages to preach:

 ...“The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 

     2. A time of Christ's return when He will gather all that are His to be with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus in Matthew 13 used wheat harvested and kept to refer to the sons of the kingdom and tares burned to refer to those who reject Him. 

So, Jesus skipping over the mountains and hills to come to us, inviting us to come away with Him and stating the reason for His request can be expressed in these old but evergreen lyrics:

Go tell it on the mountains

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountains 

That Jesus Christ is Lord

The call to come out of the comfort zone is a call to partner with Him for men's salvation. It's a call to take our place as laborers of the harvest. To unashamedly proclaim His triumph by demonstrating it among men.

The call to leave the comfort zone can also be interpreted as the Lord calling our attention to the results of rest and satisfaction. It is Him calling us to work with Him to bring to maturity all the fruits: the gifts and graces He is cultivating in us that are starting to show forth.

PRAY WITH ME:
My Beloved Jesus, I hear your call to venture into the mountains and hills and work with You in the harvest. Grant me Lord, eyes to see as You see. Give me a vision of the harvest and help me partner with you to bring your work in me to maturity. Amen.

REFLECT & ACT:

  • Evaluate your spiritual growth. What fruits of the Spirit, gifts, and graces are showing forth in your life?
  • How can you work with Jesus to cultivate them to maturity?
  • How important are the two harvests to you? How do they impact your life daily?
  • How can you labor in the harvest now and prepare for the one to come?

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