September 7- Behold I Stand At The Door And Knock

September 7, 2011

Scripture Reading:
Song of Songs 5:1-8:14; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15;
Psalm 51:1-19; Proverbs 22:24-25

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 
I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  
~Jesus  Revelation 3:20

Song of Songs 5:1-8:14

Yesterday's passage began with the young Shulamite woman asking her lover to kiss her, again.  Today, the passage begins with the young man eating in her garden.  Oh my, this is so intimate.  Do you realize that God wants an intimate relationship with you?

Now, the young woman describes a night where her groom is standing at the door and knocking.  He is calling for her to open the door.  When she eventually gets out of bed to open the door, her lover is gone. She calls for him, but he cannot be found. She tells the watchmen to let her lover know that she is sick with love for him.  Here we have two pictures.  One is that Jesus stands at the door of our hearts and knocks to be let in.  He pursues us and desires a relationship with us.  The other picture is that as the Church on earth, our lover is not physically present with us.  Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.  There will be a time when our lover returns. This is also true for the nation of Israel.

As she describes her lover in verses 10-16, we are shown images of Christ as bright light and jeweled.  This is similar imagery that is scene at the transfiguration and in Revelation.  The young woman describes him as her lover and her friend.  Is Jesus your lover and your friend?  When you see the risen Christ in all of His glory will you be returning to a lover and a friend?

The young man then describes how beautiful his bride is to him. He is overcome by her beauty. When he sets out to do other things, he ends up in her bed.  The draw and attraction are strong.  He cannot contain his love for her.  It overwhelms him and dictates his actions.  Do you realize that Jesus is drawn to you?  Do you realize that he is overwhelmed with desire to be intimate with you?  He will end up in that sort of relationship with those who are his Bride.  His passion will dictate the outcome!

As they come up from their love in the desert (Please note that love can be fostered in a desert.  It is not only in paradise that love flourishes.), the Shulamite girl states that love is as strong as death.  Surely, she is correct because Christ loved us even unto death. Death is all consuming.  Also, jealousy is as enduring as the grave.  Do you realize that Jesus is jealous to be your only lover? 

There is then what appears to be a strange section about a little sister whose breasts are undeveloped.  This is more than likely a flash back to the girl when she is young and being promised in marriage to the bridegroom.  We see that just as this girl must develop from physical immaturity, the Church began with Jesus and the twelve apostles being built on the foundation of the prophets.  The bride of Christ begins immature physically and spiritually.  What began small flourishes and becomes a mature woman capable of love and fruitfulness. She satisfies her lover with her maturity. This imagery can also be applied to the nation of Israel. Notice that the brothers of the girl require that she be chaste in order to marry.  If she is promiscuous, she will be cut off from men (vs. 9).  This brings up images of Israel cheating on God with foreign gods and idols.

The book ends with the young woman calling for her lover to come quickly.  This hearkens to John's call in the book of Revelation 22:17,

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." 

Do find yourself saying to Jesus, the lover of your soul, "Come!" ?  We must be eager for his return.  This is a sign of our passion for Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Here, we have the concept that God loves a cheerful giver.  Paul also teaches that just as we sow, so shall we reap.  If we are generous in our giving, we will reap great spiritual rewards.  This is not a call to the prosperity gospel which teaches that if we give, we will receive abundantly here on earth in material ways.  Paul is firm that he speaks of storing up eternal treasures by helping others in need here on the earth.

God intends to give opportunity to help others and which then produces a harvest of generosity in our hearts.  Our generous gifts to others helps to glorify God.  Do you think of your charitable giving in this way?  Do you realize that your gifts serve to glorify your Creator who gives all good gifts on this earth?  Ultimately, his greatest gift was His Son!

Psalm 51:1-19

This is a psalm asking God to purify us.  As He cleanses us from our sin, we are an acceptable bride for His love!

Proverbs 22:24-25

We are not to hang around angry, short-tempered people because their tendencies to be angry will rub off on us.  Not good.

What did you notice today as you read?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton