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Day 99: The Invitation (SoS 2:9b-10)

 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.
Song of Songs 2:9-10

In the last two lessons, we saw the Beloved leaping and skipping over mountains and hills to his Bride. In our text today, the Bride tells us why. Her Beloved stands behind their wall. He didn't knock and ask to be let in. Instead, he looks from the outside and peer through the lattice. What does this mean?

     1. Their wall:

Walls represent comfort and safety. Considering it was the beloved who led her there to rest, it means God orchestrates situations to keep us safe for a season. In that enclosure, we meet with the Lord, experience His love, and are grounded in it. They are seasons of rest and times of preparation, training, and capacity building. 

We see many of them in the scriptures. John in the wilderness, the 120 disciples in the upper room for many days before the Holy Spirit came, David in the wilderness tending to his father's sheep, and so many more. 

Walls are also barriers. The situations God orchestrates for a season may become comfort zones we don't want to step out of. The Beloved behind the wall represents Jesus standing behind the wall of our hearts. Walls are ideologies that harden the heart and stand between us, Jesus, and His purposes. 

It was the same for the Pharisees. They were prevented from receiving Jesus as their Messiah by the very laws, ordinances, and prophecies that led to salvation. 

     2. Looking through the window:

The Hebrew word translated through is translated in the King James Version as forth which is more accurate. The Hebrew word does not mean to look through but to gaze at, glance sharply at, or stare at. It gives the picture of catching somebody's gaze to get their attention.

   3. Gazing through the lattice: 
The King James Version also translates it better. It says he was shewing himself through the lattice. That word also means to shine, twinkle, sparkle, or blossom.

There is a popular saying that the eye is the window to the soul. So this is a picture of a look meant to convey an idea or message. For lovers or friends who know each other and have spent a lot of time together, a look says a thousand words in a moment.

We can therefore conclude that the goal of the Lord's visit at the end of a season of rest, is for the Lord to shine through as the triumphant King. It's for us to receive revelation light from His word so we may as He requests in verse 10, leave our comfort zones, arise, and follow Him to the mountains and hills.

Let's see an example.

In Acts 10, an angel appeared to a man called Cornelius and asked Him to send for Peter to preach the Gospel to him. Peter not knowing Cornelius' servants were coming went to the rooftop to pray and had a trance. In that trance, God instructed him to kill and eat animals designated unclean by the law of Moses as given by God Himself. When he awoke God instructed him to go with the men who seek him. So he did and a Gentile household got saved. From there the message of the gospel spread to the Gentiles as it was God's plan from the beginning.

Let's relate it to our text:

The wall was the idea that the Gospel was for Jews alone. Jesus when He was alive sent them only to the lost sheep of Israel. However, Jesus' death and resurrection ended that season and began another one.

The trance Peter had was Jesus gazing at his window (enlightening his heart/soul) to catch his attention. Jesus shining/gazing through the lattice was the conveyed revelation that all men are now clean by the blood of Jesus. The invitation to come away to the mountains for Peter was to do something out of his comfort zone. He was to preach the gospel to a Gentile man and his household. 

Thank God Peter stepped out of the wall. The Gospel probably would not have come to you and me otherwise.

Every private encounter is an equipping for a public task. We are not called to live a life of comfort, but to partner with Jesus to bring His purposes to pass. There is an invitation per time to experience the triumphant resurrection life but we must leave our comfort zones and follow Jesus to the hills and mountains.

PRAY WITH ME:
My Jesus, my triumphant king, look into my heart today and tear down every wall that stands between You, Your purposes and I. Open my eyes to see the men and situations around me as You see them. Amen.

REFLECT & ACT:
  • What has the Lord called you to do but you've held back on?How is He looking through your windows, gazing through your lattice and calling you away?
  • Meditate today on Matthew 16:25 in the Amplified Classic Version:

 For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting]. 

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