Day 151: Go Your Way (SoS 4:6)

 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. (Song of Songs 4:6)

Many people attribute this verse to the Beloved (the Bridegroom king) speaking but when we put it in the context of the story progression, the Bride is the one speaking here.

In SoS 2 the Beloved invited the Bride to go away with Him as the harvest approached. Unfortunately, she declined His invitation. She told Him to scale the mountains and chose to be separated from him instead. By that action, she lost communion with him, lost her peace, and sought him until she found him.

When she found him, she took him home, rekindled their relationship, and saw him in the wedding procession. After all those events, she now has more understanding and revelation of her oneness with him, his splendor, wealth, and his ability to protect and provide for her. She also received revelation knowledge of her beauty and capabilities as the Beloved complemented her. Because of these, she consents to his previous request.

The level of risk we are willing to take for Jesus depends on our revelation knowledge of Him and who we are in Him. It also depends on our understanding of what our covenant relationship with Him demands and the benefits of our oneness with Him.

The Bride begins her consent with the same reason she initially declined his request:

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee away...

We studied this same phrase in Lesson 122. Here's an excerpt to refresh our memory of its meaning:

The word translated day indicates the time from sunrise to sunset. At this time the sun is out and hot. The word translated break here is more accurately to breathe/blow air (as a breeze) (thereby making the atmosphere cooler). The fleeing shadows refer to when the sun is down and the shadows it cast are no longer visible. (Emphasis added).

Previously, this statement meant the Bride was unwilling to go away with her Beloved until it was a more convenient time. This contradicts Jesus' statement in John 9:4:

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

The same night, when the sun is down and it's much cooler, Jesus said it will be too late to do the works of God.

After a series of revelations about herself and her Beloved, she agreed to do whatever he wanted. She said:

...I will go...

The Beloved did not coerce her, rather he loved her despite her reply pointing out the potential he saw in her when he asked her to go away with him.

This statement comes immediately after an affirmation of the Bride's growth. Sometimes our potentials and qualities need to be pointed out for us to be aware of them and put them to effective use.

In Lesson 50, we said the branches of the vine that do not bear fruit are staked up by the vinedresser so they can receive more sunlight and air. As a result, they are able to gain the nutrients they need to produce fruit. The ones who bear fruit, He prunes so they can bear more. This is exactly what happened to the Bride here.

It's what the Father does for each of us. As long as we are connected to the vine, He stakes us up to receive more revelation knowledge about who He is, who we are, and what He's made available to us. When we do, all that is not of Him is pruned away, and our capacity to obey and do greater exploits is increased.

Even though the Bride didn't know what lay ahead, she knew the journey wouldn't be easy but she decided to carry on despite that. She agreed to go no matter how hot the sun is (how unfavorable conditions are) and resolved to not only labor but to labor continually until it's nighttime.

God expects us also to continually labor until the night comes. Night for the believer is when the breath in our lungs ceases and we finally fall asleep in the bosom of our Lord to rise again on resurrection morning or when the trumpet sounds to take us home.

Another good point to note is that she specifically said:

...I will go my way...

Everyone is born with a predestined purpose. God told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 (Good News Translation):

“I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.”

Paul testified of the same in Galatians 1:15-16. He said:

...(God) separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles...

There is a predestined path for everyone. It is not enough to consent to obey. We must be determined to walk the path God has ordained for us. In spite of adverse circumstances, we must be willing to walk it. We must be willing to do it consistently until night comes.

PRAY WITH ME:

Dear Lord, thank you for every gift, grace, and ability you have put inside me. I commit Lord to do all you have predestined me to do. I commit to walking the path you have set before me tirelessly till the day I see your face. Enlarge my capacity to obey. Amen.

REFLECT & ACT:

• How committed are you to obeying God?
• Has your capacity to obey grown in the last few months?
• Meditate on Philippians 4:13 (Amplified Version):

I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]