I became awakened in studying the Song of Songs nearest listening to a series of messages prone by one of my favorite Bible teachers, Ed Miller. Something open my attention that I had never heard before.
Ed spoke of the three stages a adherent goes through on the road to spiritual maturity through unbarred in the Song of Songs. Each stage is summarized by a particular verse. Stage one is Initial Love. It is characterized by the verse in chapter 2 verse 16 which says, - My boyfriend is mine, and I am his. - This expression of the maiden ' s romance with King Solomon is characterized by dash and discovery. Configuration is new. Though filly has been elated by the king, and prays earnestly that witch may know him more intimately and be kissed with the kisses of his ingress and be tense away by him, still, in this stage, the maiden ' s attention is on herself.
The second stage is one of Evolvement Love. The verse that marks this incident is chapter 6, verse 3: - I am my boyfriend ' s and my betrothed is mine. - During this title, the maiden learns to earnings and surrender to the king and his ways. Now the attention is on him first and her second. Seeing John the Baptist vocal of Christ, - He itch increase, but I weakness decrease - ( John 3: 30 ).
The inquest stage is Mature Love. The emblematic verse for this section is chapter 7, verse 10 position nymph lip, - I am my fiancee ' s and his desire is for me. - This stage of her love for the king is characterized by rest, union, and fruitfulness. Now it is all about him and his desire for her. Minx has become one with the king in makeup and what for.
I began to see that conceivably more than fraction other book in the Bible, the Song of Songs contains a message that spans the integral of Christian patience. This is what led to the writing of the book.
The message from the Song of Songs that is one from all other books in the Bible.
The Song of Songs contains some of the most precious and intimate revelations about the love of God for his people that have ever been penned. It expresses the succulent tale of a monarch and a maiden, a king and his captivating bride. It is a book that reveals the passionate, extraordinary, and resentful love that God has for every believer.
The Decrepit Testament is filled with pictures and types that help us penetrate who Christ is. Adam and Eve were pictures of Christ and the haven. Adam had to be put to sleep and accordingly from his side a rib was taken Eve was formed, and the two became one flesh. Christ had to die ( be put to sleep ) but so from his side flowed doctor mixed with puce, and now, through the life - giving Spirit, Christ is kennel a bride for himself - the temple - to be one with him and to rule and commonwealth with him for all eternity.
There are rife other examples due to vigorous. Moses, who led the people out of work in Egypt to the Promised Land, was a picture of Christ, our Liberator. The Passover lamb was a picture of the real Lamb of God ( Christ ) who came to share away the sins of the world.
Solomon and the maiden in the Song of Songs are further pictures, or types, that speak to us about Christ and his relationship to his bride, the refuge, and to us now individual believers. All types have their limitations and flaws: The New Testament refers to Adam since a type of Christ ( Romans 5: 14 ), sometime he sinned, resulting in the fall of the total human pursuit. Moses, besides, was a type of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 10: 1 - 6 ), yet his disobedience to God ' s voice toward the end of his life kept him from entering the Promised Land.
Solomon had his weaknesses and sins, but God still used him as an example to help us understand how our heavenly king woos us, wins us, and draws us to himself. The maiden is also a type so that we can learn from her example what it is like to respond to the Lord ' s love.
The uniqueness of His Desire Is for Me: A 30 - Day Devotional and Commentary on the Song of Songs.
The Song of Songs, like the Psalms, is not a book of doctrine. It is a song. It is poetry. Since it allows for a mystical, spiritual, and allegorical level of interpretation, it is not, primarily, to be approached intellectually and analytically - slicing and dicing it, organizing it, and putting it into neat little categories. Instead, it is to be engaged with the heart - savored, meditated upon, and experienced. Since intimate romance with God can be discovered individually only through life - changing, personal, one - on - one encounters with him, any commentary aimed solely at the intellect, while bypassing the heart and the spirit, would have little impact on the furtherance of spiritual growth.
His Desire is for Me is an engaging, inter - genre book that tells the story of these two lovers who inspired the greatest love song ever written. It is a blend of fiction, commentary, and devotion all under one cover that speaks to both the heart and the head.
Two things make this commentary unique. The first is that it has been made into a 30 - day devotional. Unlike other commentaries, this can be used as a daily devotional which, along with prayer and meditation, will give you the opportunity to take bite - sized portions from the Song of Songs and savor its spiritual content over a period of time. In this way, the table has been set for you, in your quiet times, to have your own personal encounters with God.
The second distinctive of this book is the fictional account of Solomon and the Shulammite based on what upon what can be learned from the Song of Songs and other biblical and historical sources. No other book, that I know of, has attempted to create a fictional " story " from the Song of Songs. Through the interaction and dialogue between Solomon and the maiden, we can see flesh and blood placed on and principles and truths contained in the Song and the message becomes alive.
Much of the enduring Christian literature found on bookshelves today communicates God ' s truth in fiction - in story form. Take, for example, John Bunyan ' s Pilgrim ' s Progress. It is a Christian allegory written in 1678 which has never been out of print and is considered one of the most noteworthy pieces of English literature ever written. Hannah Hurnard ' s Hind ' s Feet on High Places and C. S. Lewis ' s Chronicles of Narnia are just two more examples of allegorical fiction that has touched the hearts of generations of Christians.
There is a reason for the enduring quality of these works. Jesus knew how we humans are able to best comprehend truth. He did not give lectures based on systematic theology, although he did explain to his disciples the things concerning himself in all the Old Testament Scriptures - including the Song of Songs ( Luke 24: 27 ). Instead, he often spoke in parables or told stories. In this way, he was ( and still is ) able to speak directly to the hearts and spirits of his followers.
In His Desire Is for Me, each daily devotion has a portion of Scripture, an accompanying story that interprets that Scripture, along with commentary, and then a final thought or a prayer.
What kinds of people will this book appeal to?
The primary audience for this book will be mature Christians who are seeking to have a deeper experience with the Lord and a greater understanding of his love. It will also appeal to those followers of Christ ( ages 20 and up ) who are interested in catching a glimpse of experiences that may still await them on their spiritual journey, and also give them an understanding of God ' s ways and his ultimate purpose for their lives. Since it is a devotional, it will probably be read by more women than men.
Others who would be interested in this book include: Those whose primary goal is to gain a broader perspective of the Song of Songs - to understand its deeper meaning, symbolism, and theme. Christians who are attracted to historical fiction. Christians who are just plain attracted to a good love story! House church groups, home fellowships, and small gatherings of believers that are looking to read material with rich, spiritual content and then interact with one another based on what they have read.
Why you should read this book.
If you are a person interested in knowing how personal, how intimate, how passionate the Lord ' s love for you is, then you should read this book.
If you have had negative experiences in your Christian life, if you have been damaged by legalism, or see God as an old man in heaven with a long beard, dressed in a black robe, with a stick in his hand just waiting to punish you, and who wants you to just keep your distance and - follow the rules, - then you should read this book.
If you are a Christian who has lost the passion of - first love - that you had when you first met the Lord, and want to have that love rekindled again, then you should read this book.
The year and a half that I spent writing His Desire Is for Me was, without question, one of the richest seasons of revelation and enjoyment of the Lord ' s presence that I have spent in decades.
If a person really sees that God ' s love for them is as strong as death, as the Shulammite maiden discovered, it is life - changing. Just as death has never released its hold on one of its captives, so it is with love! Once captured by the Lord ' s love, it will never let us go! That is a discovery that we all need to make, and that I have grasped in greater measure, as a result of writing this book.
What benchmarks are there for us to know what stage of love we are in or how far along we have advanced on the road to spiritual maturity?
Some people may measure their growth in the Lord by their understanding of God ' s Word, by how many years in a row they have read through the One - Year Bible, by the number of Scripture verses they have memorized, or by how many people they have led to Christ. All of these may be valuable. But shouldn ' t the true measure of growth in the Lord be gauged by how much we have come to understand his love for us, and by how much we have grown to love him in return?
After being a follower of Christ for nearly forty years, the apostle John wrote the following: We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. ( 1 John 4: 16 - 19, emphasis mine )
Not only did John know that God loved him, but he had come to believe it. The apostle Paul expressed it in another way:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ( Romans 8: 38 - 39, emphasis mine )
As followers of Christ, we may know that God loves us. But have we really come to believe it? Are we convinced of it? Even the apostle John and the apostle Paul needed to be convinced over and over again of the unfailing love of Christ before they really came to believe it and then walk in that understanding.
Regardless of where you are in your inward journey with the Lord, whether you are a new believer or a seasoned saint, this book has been written with the hope that our heavenly Bridegroom will use it to touch you, challenge you, and draw you into a more intimate relationship and understanding of his love than you ever had before! The love of God Christian devotional bride of Christ Christian daily devotional
