"That they may seek Him with you..."

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Song 6:1 NKJV

Where has your beloved gone, O fairest among women?

Where has your beloved turned aside, 

That we may seek him with you?

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A few blogs ago on A love gone cold?, we talked about how sometimes we grow weary and complacent in our walk with God. In such moments it's almost as if the fire on the altar of our hearts is extinguished and it's so hard to set it ablaze once more. 

Later on in Who is like Him?, we dwelt on the role of praise and adoration in melting away that coldness of heart and causing that flame of love to burn in us again. 

Recently on A higher calling, perhaps?, we sort of laid a foundation for what we'll look into today. Impacting nations for Christ starts right here ~ when we let our light shine wherever we are and in so doing allow Him to be glorified in the eyes of all. 

Today we set the pace for an even higher mandate. Sometime ago when I read that verse (Song 6:1), I thought about how it almost looks like the start of the breaking out of a mighty revival. Because the Shulamite's love for her beloved was rekindled to its fullness, her friends were drawn to seeking him with her. The light of her flame was so brightly shining that they could not ignore it. They literally asked to go with her on her quest to seek her lover. In time, they too began beholding him in his beauty, and couldn't help but exclaim:

Who is this that appears like the dawn, 

fair as the moon, bright as the sun,

majestic as the stars in procession?

Why I say this looks like the breaking out of a mighty revival is because various prophets speak of a time in the end when Jerusalem will be restored and as a result, other peoples and powerful nations will go there so they may seek God in one accord. (Remember, this whole story is like a foreshadowing of what is to come -- the Shulamite being the nation of Israel and the lover being Christ). Check this:

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Micah 4:1-2 NIV

In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

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Zechariah 8:20-23 NIV

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,

and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.'

And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'"

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Now I'm not a Jew myself, neither do I live in Jerusalem, but I believe that I'm an heir of this great promise because I'm in Christ Jesus. Paul says in a letter to the Galatians: You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:26-29). 

I believe that quite settles it. So, this shouldn't be treated as foreign to us or belonging to a certain group of people...we too are heirs of this great promise. God wants us to burn so brightly that we will automatically draw more people to Him, that they too will seek Him with us, and that that same hot, fiery love and passion for Jesus will be imparted in them. God saves us so that we too can become a blessing to others. 

I gave some thought to why it specifically says, "ten men". Could there be a mystery behind the numbers? Remember the Gerasene demoniac? After his deliverance (Mark 5:1-20), Jesus asked him to go home to his own, and tell them how much the Lord had done for him. Scripture then records: And he departed and began to publicly proclaim in Decapolis [the region of the ten cities] how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were astonished and marveled. (AMP)

Also, Jesus' disciples while he walked the earth were twelve, and they had been picked one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Later after his death and resurrection, Scripture records that the number of believers who were gathered at Jerusalem were a hundred and twenty (Acts 1:15), so they increased by a multiple of ten. Ten men each took hold of the robe of "a Jew" and asked to seek God along with them. It may not have been as literal, but you get the idea. 🙂

Whether all this is a coincidence or that it was intentional may not be very important (let's not magnify this or idolize it 🙃). The whole point of this is that God did not intend for us to seek Him entirely in solitude. Trying to walk this journey alone will have you tired and worn out and your fire will quickly be extinguished in the face of the trials and tribulations of this life. God wants us to fellowship with one another, iron sharpening iron, till we all attain to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. 

Before we jump into the evangelistic aspect, it would be wise to note that there are three levels here. The first is the most basic yet most fundamental one. I like to call it the "Brooding" phase because it paints a picture of a mother hen sitting on her eggs or on her newly hatched chicks. I think it's a perfect portrait of the beauty of warmth in fellowship. Here's what the Preacher has to say:

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Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV

Two are better than one, 

because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down, 

his friend can help him up. 

But pity the man who falls 

and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 

But how can one keep warm alone?

Though one may be overpowered, 

two can defend themselves. 

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

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Here's how I see it. A flame of fire from a single stick may not be vehement enough to last through the most outrageous of floods; but that from a bundle of sticks is bound to burn brighter and for longer. You can only go so far when you're alone. One chases a thousand, but two can chase tens of thousands. Jesus' disciples embraced fellowship with one another while He was still with them and after his ascension. 

During the three and a half years they were with Him, they generated a fire bright enough to each draw ten men, and so grew to a hundred and twenty. From there it's almost like the fire they had was so great that it set ablaze not just Jerusalem, but the whole world. Scripture records that they were even being referred to as "those who turned their world upside down" ~ Acts 17:6. Even after they were scattered due to the persecution, their fires were not quenched. In any case, they burned all the more, preaching the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:1-4)

I believe this is a call to us to start right there ~ cultivating the friendships that God has blessed us with, iron sharpening iron. I now realize that what our key verse, Song 6:1, is talking about isn't exactly an evangelistic affair. It's more of a mutual one where both the Shulamite and her friends intently seek her lover. It's a brooding phase. They all have something to give. It's a cordial relationship. 

Zechariah 8:23 gets a little foreign since those who take hold of "the Jew" are people from all languages and nations ~ strangers if you may. It's like a second phase where there's just enough fire to draw "ten" (like the disciples when they grew to a hundred and twenty). The third phase is the breaking out of the wildfire, where it's almost like the whole world is set ablaze by that flame (Acts 17:6b). 

So, before all that comes to play in our lives, it's time we brood. We can intentionally stir each other's hearts to the warmth of sweet fellowship with our Lord. We can pray together and for each other. We can study and share the Word with one another. We can help each other up if one of us falls. We can check up on one another every once in a while and be accountable. Together we can keep the fire on the altar burning - all these as we seek to lay hold of Him who laid down His life for us all. It's time to get a little more intentional with your friendships, don't you think? 

You dare not jump into the evangelistic bit of it alone. This will quickly end in a burnout. Spend time in the brooding phase. Learn from others. Grow with others. In due time, you all will impact the nations for Christ, ten men at a time. It might take a while, but it will happen.

Meanwhile, here's where it begins ~ That they may seek Him with you.