Song of Songs 8

Scripture 

Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness

    leaning on her beloved?

Observation 

Total trust and dependence 

Understanding 

We all have experienced times of being in the wilderness, circling around the same mountain again and again. Some of us have experienced being in the desert, dry and scorched, nothing in sight, and it seems the end is so far off. 

There are many things we can do while being in the wilderness . We can complain, get mad, make our own idols, or even just lie down and die. 

But  I am convinced that He is hoping we will turn to him. 

Maybe sometimes the wilderness is not just a bad place, maybe it was supposed to be a place of transition. A place of “reboot”, a place of “start over” and “clean the slate”. 

Maybe it was supposed to be a place of getting closer to the One who delivered you from slavery, sin. 

Maybe It’s the middle place between freedom and new beginnings. It’s the place where your communication barrier is gone and now there is nothing to keep you from having intimate communion with him. 

Maybe it's the place where He is calling for you to come up the mountain to meet him face to face. 

Will you call on Him? 

Will you choose to see Him?

How will you come out of the desert? With regret because you didn't go deeper, with sadness because you could have seen his face and chose to hide?

Will you come out scorned,

mad, 

never acknowledging the manna that was sent down 

or the water that came from the rock?

What will you do?

Life Application 

Choose to Lean

I love the way the scripture asks the question, who is coming up from the wilderness? 

I imagine they looked different coming out than when they went in. Isn’t that the point? For you to be changed! 

When you enter the wilderness, God calls to you, 

you experience him, 

your transformed.

Then when you come out of the wilderness, 

You look different! 

Israel experienced God while they were in the wilderness!

Moses met with Yahweh face to face while he was in the wilderness!

Elijah was in the wilderness when he heard God whisper!

The second part of the scripture takes notice that they are leaning on their beloved. When you lean on someone you trust them, you depend on them, you find comfort in them. 

When you walked in the wilderness with anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, control, pride… You did not lean on God. 

When you are in the wilderness, the harsh or dry times of life, call on Him. Go to his word. Seek Godly counsel from fellow believers in your church family. Choose to walk toward the things of His world and not ours. 

No one can be in the presence of God and not be changed. The more we walk closer to him the more we will change. 

And when you come up from the wilderness, Will you be leaning?

 

Deborah Lee

Psalm 133

Scripture

Psalm 133:1

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.

 

Observation

The person writing this psalm extends the idea that the body of believers are to live together in unity to be effective. Additionally, they extend that unity leads to goodness in the presence of others, rather than stress and anxiety.

 

Understanding

Goodness follows unity.

Recently I’ve discovered something truly wild: relationships take work (SAY WHAAAT?!). How crazy is that? So I find it kind of ironic that this verse mentions the goodness and pleasantness of living in unity, while not saying whether or not that’s easy. I know that’s not the point of the verse to tell us whether it is easy or difficult, but the point is: the work is well worth it. Take it from someone who thought relationships with people were kind of cliche, shallow, and necessary. Another thing to note here to… although we say or identify with a specific ministry or group within that ministry. As Pastor Gary mentioned a few Sundays ago: ministry is simply a chore in being a part of the family.

What does that mean, you may be wondering. Well let’s put it this way: it isn’t just a job to do on a Sunday. Serving goes way beyond that, and I would like to tie that in with today’s verse. Ministry goes ways beyond a single person or the job they execute. When ministry is run effectively being God’s people is so pleasant! Paul calls that the body of Christ an actual body that needs all its body parts. That after you’ve put in the hard work to achieve unity, goodness wherever you go will surely follow.

 

Life Application

I implore you to please look past your area of ministry as just a one and done deal. Jesus did not say that, that is what being a Christ follower is about, he and his disciples demonstrated it. The application of this verse is definitely easier said than actually done: be good to your fellow Christ followers. Put in the work and effort in getting to know them because God placed you in a particular situation for a reason. Most of the time that is to learn and grow from those around you. Let’s stand as one united front!

-Allison Khan

Song of Songs 6

Scripture

 

Song of Songs 6:3

 

"I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he browses among the lilies.”

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Observation-What does it say?

 

The Song of Songs (aka Song of Solomon) is a celebration of love between a husband and wife, most specifically King Solomon with a Shulamite woman. It is a beautiful picture of marriage, where a husband and wife love each other physically, emotionally and spiritually.

 

Understanding-What does it mean?

 

The marriage relationship between King Solomon (aka lover) and his Shulamite wife (beloved) is a direct picture of how Christ loves us, His church, His bride.

 

Life Application

 

I am Christ’s beloved and Christ is mine.

 

Even as a married woman, some parts of the Song of Songs makes me blush because of the written account of the intensity of the love relationship between the lover and his beloved. However, that is the purest form of love there is within the context of marriage.

 

In parallel, Christ’s relationship with us, His bride, is the most intense and relentless love story there is. God loved us to the point of leaving His throne in Heaven to die so that He could have a relationship with us.

 

Just as we are to protect the sanctity (or purity/holiness) of our marriages, we must continue to live in the truth of God’s deep love for us and protect it against the enemy’s attempts to destroy it. Living in the purity of God’s love is what changes people. It’s what changed me.

 

-Michelle Gaddi

 

References: gotquestions.org and christianity.com (Matthew Henry commentary-Song of Solomon 6)