Secure in Love 2️⃣

On to part two!! The story is a bit lengthy, so I'll not upload the whole chapter (not me struggling to find a polite way to ask you to read it first 🙃 ~ preferably on a physical bible that has subtitles for better clarity). It's chapter five to be precise. I'll only put up the most relevant verses to this study. With time though we'll make more references to it as there's so much to learn from it. Let's get started!

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Song 5:1 NKJV 

I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!

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The first line indicates that this must have been a response to a request the Beloved had made. The Lover had come in response to an invitation and was announcing his presence. The last line of the previous chapter was an actual invitation made by the Beloved to her Lover: Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. (Sounds more or less like the invitation we talked about last time on 'Let Him kiss me', don't you think?)

It's incredible how the Lover's coming is almost immediate...it's almost as if that was what he'd been waiting for all along. It's disheartening to find out, however, that when he knocked and asked to be let in, the beloved began making flimsy excuses as to why she could not open the door then. "But I'm in my nightgown--do you expect me to get dressed? I'm bathed and in bed--do you want me to get dirty?" (MSB) You would think that since she was so in love with him, she'd leap out of bed to go meet her lover. It may seem like a very petty sin - if at all you consider it sinful - but it sure did cost her a lot. Check this:

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V6-7 NIV

I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.

The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen of the walls!

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We might be tempted to label the Lover as the one who was impatient and probably quick to anger. However, it's more about the Beloved's heart posture. Though she's the one who gave the invitation and genuinely loved the Lover, her heart wasn't quite ready. She was so preoccupied with her own comforts and 'needs' that she missed her time of visitation. That tells you her heart wasn't really prepared to receive what she'd asked for. If it were, we'd see a different response altogether.

Oftentimes we behave exactly the same way. We're quick to say with our mouths that we honor God and we're willing to follow Him with all that we are yet our hearts are far from Him. When He gives a simple instruction and we struggle to obey, it only shows that we haven't yet come to the point where we can cheerfully place His needs above our own and consequently experience a series of inconveniences. It's why Jesus would say: No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

You really don't want to start this journey if you're not so sure your mind is fully made up. Remember Lot's wife? Her only offense was that she looked back. You don't want to be a half- hearted believer, do you? I say this because the in-between is dangerous ground. We all know that Lot's wife became a pillar of salt. The Shulamite woman in our case ends up beaten and bruised by the watchmen as she's trying to make amends for what she'd done. Elijah would ask, "How long will you go on limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him."

Please don't get me wrong on this. I'm not saying the Beloved's love towards her Lover wasn't genuine...I'm just saying that maybe it wasn't whole. It was only given in part. The remaining part was reserved for 'self'. It's why the excuses surfaced before she actually opened the door for him. The reluctance in her obedience isn't just random. It's actually pointing to her heart's true posture.

On the flip side, we cannot ignore the fact that though there are gaps, she genuinely loves her Lover. When she began making excuses, the Lover doesn't leave immediately. Check this:

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Song 5:4 NKJV,5 AMP

My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him. 

I rose up to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with liquid [sweet-scented] myrrh, [which he had left] upon the handles of the bolt. 

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It's almost as if the Lover was intentional about leaving a sign that he'd been there. He knew the one thing that far though the Beloved's heart was, she could not resist - the fragrance of his presence. It was enough to make her lay aside her previous excuses and finally rise to open the door for him. She longed for him. She longed to be with him. She longed to have him express his love to her. 

The mere fragrance of his presence was enough to rekindle the flame of love in her heart. She delayed no further...her comforts ceased to matter more. She arose immediately. That was her way of saying, in Paul's words: But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8 NIV). 

Whatever 'things' are choking to death our love, passion and commitment to God ought to be put aside. We have to get to that point where we too can with confidence say, 'Nothing matters more'. In all honesty it takes an awakening to get there. What's encouraging is that the awakening doesn't need you to work yourself to the bone trying to win God's approval. All you need is an awareness and a longing for His presence. The Beloved in this story could not resist that - neither can you. There's nothing more beautiful than sweet fellowship with the Lover of your soul - in His Presence.

We'll not go into the details of verses 9-16 in this blog. It will be an entire blog of its own - just so the themes don't get mixed up. You could take a look at it though. In a nutshell, the Beloved begins searching for her Lover with the help of her friends. At first, they're a bit reluctant to help out so she sort of composes a love poem just to point out of how much value the Lover is to her. In the first verse of chapter six they seem convinced enough and begin to look for him with her. Check this:

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Song 6:1 NIV

Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him with you?

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Realize that before this the Beloved had already searched for her Lover in the city and ended up being beaten and bruised by the watchmen. It would be right to say that she honestly didn't know where he was at the time. This time though, there's something different. Her answer makes it look like she knew where he was from the very beginning - she'd probably just lost sight of it. Take a closer look:

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Song 6:2 NIV

My beloved has gone down to his garden,

to the bed of spices, 

to browse in the gardens 

and to gather lilies.

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We all know that her Lover didn't tell her any of this before he walked away. It's almost like she had an instant realization. She didn't have to see him there in order to believe that knowing. She knew it without a doubt. Her next words are actually the foundation on which this particular blog's been written (I had to begin as far back as that just so the context is right🙃). It's what being secure in love is all about🙂:

I am my beloved's

and my beloved is mine;

he browses among the lilies.

Oftentimes when we sin against God it's almost like there's a distance that's created between us. We either try to run and hide (like Adam in the Garden of Eden) or we try to find Him (like the Beloved in this case). Either way none of this bridges this gap we so often feel. It's almost like the enemy jumps at such opportunities to come and rob us of the joy we had when we still enjoyed sweet fellowship with God. He fills our minds with all kinds of thoughts which only pull us further away from Him whom our souls love. He makes us so insecure in that one mistake that we can no longer approach God's throne of grace with confidence. 

What makes the Beloved's story different from that of Adam was that she was secure in love. She had been physically separated from her Lover - no doubt about that - but there's a oneness she had with him that kept them connected, even though she had stumbled. 

At no point did her confession change. She didn't see herself through the lenses of her mistake, but of love. She still called him 'my beloved', and herself, 'his beloved'. Her first response to her friends in the love poem I mentioned before was, "My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand."

She did not for a moment stop identifying herself with her Lover. In fact, she did it all the more. She was not ashamed to profess her love for him to her friends even then. She did not hold back because of what they might think of her. She said with utmost confidence what she knew was true, despite the fact that the reality of her mistake was still glaring at her. Here's how she ends her 'love poem'(5:16):

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His mouth is sweetness itself;

he is altogether lovely.

This is my beloved, this is my friend,

daughters of Jerusalem.

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The sudden realization of where he actually was came right after this. Because she was still 'one with him', she knew exactly where he would go, as was his habit. Because of that renewed sense of connection she needed not anyone to tell her his whereabouts. He was right there, in his favorite place, doing what he loved to do ~ tending the flocks in the garden and gathering lilies. He was never really gone ~ it only appeared that he did leave.

Immediately he shows up (6:4-9), he goes on to profess his love to her in beautiful words of poetry, as if nothing had happened prior to that. It almost seems like he was flattering her, especially this one verse: 

Sixty queens there may be, 

and eighty concubines, 

and virgins beyond number, 

but my dove, my perfect one, is unique.

It's all just too good to be true, you would say, but then again that's what genuine love is. Patient. Kind. Content. Humble. Selfless. Polite. Slow to anger. Keeps no record of wrongs. Takes pleasure in the flowering of Truth. It always protects. Always trusts. Always hopes. Always perseveres.

Her friends were drawn to this beautiful, perfect love she was experiencing with her Lover. They couldn't help but get curious about her Lover. 

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Song 6:10 NIV

Who is this that appears like the dawn,

fair as the moon, bright as the sun,

majestic as the stars in procession?

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This... 

It's the kind of love no man can give. The kind that truly satisfies. The kind that makes secure. The kind whose width and length and height and depth are immeasurable. The kind that makes complete. The kind that we need. The kind that you need. It's time you get a little more curious, don't you think? There you will discover just how much God loves you, that He gave His son for your redemption. He has amazing plans just for you! He says:

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                          Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' 

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No one is ever too far gone. There's always more mercy in Christ than sin in us. More love than wrath. More safety. More peace. More joy. It's time to drink ~ not of the wine that gives but fleeting pleasures. It's time to drink your fill of love. It's time to let Him kiss you with the kisses of His mouth. His love is surely more delightful than wine. He it is who appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession. The fragrance of His perfumes is pleasing. His name is like perfume poured out. Let him come into your garden too. Let Him bring you into His chambers. Let Him rejoice and delight in you. Let Him call you 'my beloved'. It's my hope and prayer that when He comes knocking, you will be quick to open that door and let Him in before it's too late. Meanwhile, He knocks gentler still.